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:



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