up their acts, but the number of citations and the significance, it gave the indication that the mine operator would have been better suited to comply rather than us fining them. >> reporter: it's an emotional issue, saved is a huge concern, but massey mines provide thousands of fences. roan wootan is the west virginia state mining director. >> reporter: are they a good operator or bad operator, in your estimation? >> i don't have an opinion. i've seen them do good things, some things not so good. >> reporter: one person that told me that you were one of the worst operators in terms of the violations and severity. >> we would disagree in terms of the condition of our mines, the number of violations can depend on what area you're operating in, who the inspectors are and the whole host of issues.