Case Comment Period - U.S., et al. v.
Consol Energy Inc., et al.
22 March 2011 through 22 April 2011
CONSOL ENERGY TO PAY $5.5 MILLION PENALTY AND INSTALL WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT TO SETTLE CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATIONS
EPA RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
DOJ (202) 514-2007
MARCH 14,
2011
EPA (215) 814-5548
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
TDD (202) 514-1888
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and State of West Virginia announced today that
Consol Energy Inc., the largest producer of coal from underground mines
in the United States, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty
for Clean Water Act violations at six of its mines in West
Virginia. In addition to the penalty, Consol will spend an
estimated $200 million in pollution controls that will reduce
discharges of harmful mining wastewater into Appalachian streams and
rivers.
“In this settlement, Consol takes responsibility for its past failures
to abide by the terms of its Clean Water Act permits,” said Ignacia S.
Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural
Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “As a result of
this enforcement action, Consol will install a state-of-the-art system
to treat wastewater from multiple mines that will set the standard for
the responsible management of discharges from underground mining
operations in Appalachia. This settlement will ensure protection
of human health and the environment for the benefit of the people who
live in Appalachia.”
“We are committed to cleaning up the waters of Dunkard Creek and the
Monongahela watershed and holding those who pollute it accountable,”
said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “The centerpiece of
this settlement – a new advanced wastewater treatment plant – will
substantially reduce pollution by keeping nearly 100 million pounds of
total dissolved solids, including chloride, from reaching these
waterways each year.”
“This agreement between the state, the federal government and industry
will create a complex waste water treatment facility that will
significantly improve the water quality in the Monongahela watershed,
and implement measures that will have positive effects on streams along
the Ohio River, while allowing the mineral extraction industry to
continue to have a positive economic impact in the region,” said Scott
Mandirola, director of the Division of Water and Waste Management for
the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“Addressing the serious issues that affect our environment, by measures
such as this one, will not only promote a healthier society and enhance
our safety, but as recent studies are reporting, the expected
investments in technology and alternative production methods may
actually result in the creation of jobs,” said U.S. Attorney
William J. Ihlenfeld, II. “It is my sincere hope that this
settlement will send a strong message that the federal government is
serious about protecting the health of its citizens and in ensuring
that its laws are followed during the process of energy extraction.”
Consol has agreed to build and operate an advanced wastewater treatment
plant using reverse osmosis technology near Mannington, W.V., to remove
high levels of chloride from mining wastewater. When completed,
the plant will be the largest such treatment plant in Appalachia and
capable of treating 3,500 gallons of mine water per minute,
substantially reducing chloride and other salts in mining waters
discharged to streams. This treatment will eliminate over 96
million pounds of total dissolved solids, including over 11 million
pounds of chloride. High levels of chloride and dissolved solids
can harm aquatic life, clog irrigation devices and carry toxic
chemicals that impact drinking water.
The U.S. complaint filed concurrently with the settlement agreement,
alleges that six Consol mines violated pollution discharge limits in
their Clean Water Act permits hundreds of times over the last four
years. The complaint alleges chronic exceedances of chloride
discharge limits at the Blacksville No. 2, Loveridge, Robinson Run and
Four States mines in the Monongahela watershed and the Shoemaker and
Windsor mines discharging into tributaries of the Ohio River.
The complaint also alleges that discharges of high amounts of chloride
and total dissolved solids from Consol’s facilities at Blacksville No.
2 and Loveridge, contributed to severe impairment of aquatic life and
conditions favorable for golden algae to thrive in Dunkard Creek.
In September of 2009, a species of golden algae bloomed in Dunkard
Creek killing thousands of fish, mussels and amphibians.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period
and approval by the federal court.
A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice
and State of West Virginia Web site at: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
and http://www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Settlements,Ordersouttopublicnotice.aspx.
There are links on that site to the following files:
- Consent Decree (PDF) 0.56 MBytes
- Appendix A (PDF) 0.01 MBytes
- Appendix B (PDF) 1.39 MBytes
- Appendix A to the Complaint (PDF) 0.01 MBytes
- Appendix B to the Complaint (PDF) 0.03 MBytes
- Complaint (PDF) 0.55 MBytes
- Federal Register Notice (PDF) 0.06 MBytes
Link to All Current Proposed Consent Decrees
US Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources
Division
The page below contains links to consent decrees that the Division
has recently lodged in the federal district courts and on which the
Division is currently accepting public comment. In each case, a notice
was published in the Federal Register and a link to that notice is also
provided. The notice includes a brief description of the settlement,
the procedure for submitting public comments, and the date the comment
period closes.
If the consent decree was negotiated prior to filing the lawsuit, a
copy of the complaint ? filed contemporaneously with the consent decree
? is also provided. Some cases have more than one consent decree
posted. Typically, this reflects cases in which the Division has
negotiated separate consent decrees with different defendants, or
groups of defendants. Each consent decree is posted separately.
From: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
The West Virginia DEP & DNR docuent regarding the proposed
settlement is posted on the DEP website at:
http://www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Documents/FINAL%20Consent%20Decree%20for%20NRD.pdf