LOUISVILLE — A coal company has agreed to pay $250,000 to restore an eastern Kentucky watershed altered by a controversial mining practice known as mountaintop removal.
The Sierra Club and the environmental group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth sued Clintwood Elkhorn Mining in federal court in September, alleging the company illegally dumped mining waste into a stream valley in Pike County. The company acknowledged dumping the fill material without a Clean Water Act permit.
Clintwood's parent company, TECO Energy of Tampa, Fla., said in a statement Wednesday that the matter was "amicably resolved."
The Sierra Club also announced an agreement Wednesday with Appolo Fuels Inc. over stream dumping at a mining site in northwest Tennessee. The Middlesboro, Ky.-based company has agreed to pay $120,000 for land protection in Claiborne County.
Appolo President Rick Asher did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.
In both cases, the dumping came as a result of mountaintop removal, a practice fiercely opposed by environmentalists, who say it harms waterways and pollutes streams. The procedure involves blasting rock to access coal seams and dumping the excess material in valleys.
"These successful legal actions against Appolo and TECO are part of a larger effort to stop illegal mining throughout Appalachia," said Aaron Isherwood, a staff attorney with the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Isherwood said the U.S. needs a more open federal permitting process to stop future illegal mining.
The Obama administration announced last month it is taking steps to reverse a last-minute rule enacted under former President Bush that allows mountaintop mining waste to be dumped near streams.
In the Kentucky case, TECO agreed to pay $250,000 to the nonprofit Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation for stream restoration in the Levisa Ford watershed. TECO had acknowledged the dumping last year, calling it an "isolated incident." The environmental groups agreed to drop their federal lawsuit as part of the settlement.
Two Tennessee groups, Save Our Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee Clean Water Network along with the Sierra Club, notified Appolo in June of their intention to file a federal suit over dumping at its Jellico Mine site in Claiborne County, near the Kentucky border. No suit was filed.
Appolo agreed to pay $120,000 to the Tennessee Parks and Greenway Foundation. As part of the agreement signed Monday, Appolo admitted no liability for the incident.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Science/Environment
May 7, 2009
Mountaintop mining settlements in Ky., Tenn.
- Science/Environment
-
- Clean-coal project pushing for help from lawmakers Backers of the proposed $2 billion Cash Creek coal-gasification project in western Kentucky asked lawmakers Thursday to pass legislation that would force utilities to purchase the higher-priced electricity it would generate.
-
Coal legislators defend industry as activists call for change
Coal came under attack Thursday in Frankfort from a citizen activist group but not much is likely to change according to some key lawmakers.
- Grayson airs TV ad attacking Rand Paul on coal Republican Trey Grayson paints himself as pro-coal and pegs the perceived frontrunner in the U.S. Senate race as unfriendly to the mining industry in a political ad airing in the mining region of eastern Kentucky.
- Beleaguered US to blow up its chemical stockpiles Under the gun to destroy the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile — and now all but certain to miss their deadline — Army officials have a plan to hasten the process: Blow some of them up.
-
Appalachian strip mines have long-term environmental effect
Reclaimed surface mines in Central Appalachia have continuing environmental impact after their reclamation bonds are released but are not commonly monitored by state and federal regulators, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
- UN climate chief quits, leaves talks hanging The sharp-tongued U.N. official who shepherded troubled climate talks for nearly four years announced his resignation Thursday, leaving an uncertain path to a new treaty on global warming.
- Ky. National Guard adds solar panels to facility The Kentucky National Guard is going green.
- Bees impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining Mountaintop removal coal mining is destroying the flowering trees and plants that honey bees depend on for food in the central Appalachians.
-
Cold Spring man has eye on the sky
Fred Calvert doesn't have to go far for a view that's out of this world.
-
Still time for public to comment on Ky.'s forest
Kentuckians with an interest in the state's trees and forests are being asked to comment on a draft report that outlines forest-related issues.
- More Science/Environment Headlines
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
