FRANKFORT — Environmental groups are again announcing their intention to sue a Kentucky surface mining operation for submitting allegedly false pollution reports and charging state environmental monitors continue to ignore obvious violations of the federal Clean Water Act by coal companies.

Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance notified Nally and Hamilton that they found 12,000 violations of the Clean Water Act at 15 of its operations in seven Kentucky counties, and that they intend to sue the company. The Bardstown based company is the fourth largest surface coal mining company in Kentucky.

Donna Lisenby of Appalachian Voices said the environmental groups, which brought to light similar violations last fall by ICG and Frasure Creek Mining, found “thousands more violations by yet another coal company.” In all, she said, the 12,000 violations potentially could result in fines of as much as $4 million.

According to its website, Nally and Hamilton owns 30 million tons of coal reserves and operates eight active surface mines in Bell, Harlan, Leslie and Letcher counties in southeastern Kentucky. Messages seeking comment and left on the voice mail of Stephen Hamilton at the company’s Bardstown office were not immediately returned.

As they did with ICG and Frasure Creek, the environmental investigators found water discharge monitoring reports which contained identical data submissions for multiple periods of time, statistically a nearly impossible coincidence, they said. Lisenby said it suggests the company simply “cut and pasted” data from earlier reports and resubmitted them.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the Waterkeeper Alliance said the reports are fraudulent. He called on the U.S. Attorney for Kentucky and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to “prosecute these companies, not just for violating the Clean Water Act, but prosecute them criminally for fraud.”

Conway’s spokeswoman, Allison Gardner Martin, said Conway’s office hasn’t been contacted by the environmentalists and she only learned about Wednesday’s announcement from a reporter’s questions.

“They haven’t sent these materials to us,” Martin said. “Once we see it, it will be reviewed.”

Lisenby said the same thing was discovered in the investigation of ICG and Frasure Creek after which the state assured environmentalists it would “start enforcing the law. Clearly they haven’t.”

Bruce Scott, commissioner for Environmental Protection in the Energy and Environment Cabinet, said the Cabinet had previously sent a notice of violation regarding the testing lab used by Nally and Hamilton to the company. He said the Cabinet continues to review the company’s discharge monitoring reports and a report should be ready soon.

Cabinet spokesman Dick Brown said the Cabinet is conducting “a systematic review of all contract labs” that provide water testing for the pollution reports. The Cabinet’s investigation into the Frasure Creek and ICG violations determined most of the blame fell on labs with which the companies contracted to collect and test water samples, something the environmentalists dispute.

Some of the violations occurred at reclaimed mining sites, according to Lisenby. Kennedy said that shows “the whole notion of reclamation is just another big lie.” He said mountaintop removal costs Kentucky far more in health costs and damage to the economy and lives than it produces in tax revenue or economic activity.

Under provisions of CWA, Nally and Hamilton has 60 days to respond to the allegations and the state has the same period of time to conduct its own investigation. In the ICG and Frasure Creek cases, the state attempted to settle with those companies for a total of about $600,000 in fines.

The environmentalists went to court to intervene in the case and were allowed to do so in an opinion by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd. The Cabinet is asking the state Court of Appeals to order Shepherd to withdraw his ruling.

Lisenby said she’s seen no indication the Cabinet is properly reviewing the discharge monitoring reports but it “consistently sides with coal companies against the citizens’ groups.”  

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.