Consol Taps Veolia for W.Va. Mine Water
Washington PA Observer Reporter
19
April 2011
Staff and wire reports
CANONSBURG - Consol Energy Inc. on Monday said that Veolia Water
Solutions & Technologies will design and build a state-of-the-art
zero liquid waste discharge system to treat mine water at three of
Consol's West Virginia mines.
The two companies said in a news release that they are also completing
an agreement for operation and maintenance of the facility, which will
be located near Mannington, W.Va.
The system will treat mine water from Consol's Blacksville No. 2,
Loveridge and Robinson Run mines.
Monday's announcement came a month after Southpointe-based Consol
agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty to the Environmental
Protection Agency for Clean Water Act violations at six of its West
Virginia mines.
In addition to the civil penalty, Consol also agreed to pay $500,000 to
the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the
Division of Natural Resources to settle violations regarding pollution
in Dunkard Creek that resulted in a massive fish kill in September 2009.
The settlement also included a commitment by Consol to spend $200
million on the construction of an advanced water treatment plant to
address high levels of chlorides discharged from four of its
underground mines in northern West Virginia.
The company said Monday that it chose Veolia because of its 155 years
of global water treatment experience necessary to design and operate
the system to treat high-volume, complex water from its mines.
The company has designed and operated more than 75 zero liquid
discharge plants around the world.
Final design of the facility will be completed within the next few
months, with construction to start in July and full operation to begin
by May 2013. The Veolia team will be utilizing primarily local
personnel through its office in Pittsburgh and local construction
partners.
Final design of the treatment plant will be completed within the next
few months, with construction to start in July. Full operation of the
Mannington plant is to begin by May 2013.
Consol said the project is expected to create about 200 construction
jobs over the next 30 months and will require about 20 permanent
employees to operate the facility.
In addition to the plant Veolia will build to treat water at the three
mines announced Monday, Consol is commissioning a separate $100 million
water treatment facility at its Buchanan Mine.