Cabwaylingo lease called a 'windfall'

A lease that gives Vantage Mining Co. the right to mine 8,123acres of coal under Cabwaylingo State Forest is "a windfall attaxpayer expense" to the Massey Energy Co. subsidiary, thegovernor's lawyer said.

A review of the lease by professionals familiar with suchtransactions removed any doubt that it is a bad deal for the state,wrote Alex Macia, Gov. Bob Wise's general counsel.

"Certain fundamental provisions were so flawed that they fail toprovide the state with the most basic protections one would expectin a normal arms-length transaction..." Macia wrote in a July 31letter to Division of Natural Resources Director Ed Hamrick.

The lease was issued Aug. 11, …