CONSOL Energy Reaches Ground Breaking Clean Water Agreement with
U.S. EPA and West Virginia DEP
CONSOL News Release
14 March 2011
PITTSBURGH - CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX), the leading diversified
energy producer in the eastern United States, announced today an
agreement promoting environmental stewardship that will set the highest
standard for mine water treatment. The agreement being announced was
entered into voluntarily between CONSOL Energy, the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP).
"We currently employ more than 3,500 people and produce more than 30
million tons of coal per year from our reserves in West Virginia," said
CONSOL Energy President Nick DeIuliis. "As one of the largest operators
and employers in the state, we take seriously our role as stewards of
the land and are proud of our track record on environmental excellence.
This agreement represents a concrete, proactive demonstration of that
commitment."
"Today's agreement is an example of how we can protect the environment
in accordance with the law while maintaining the economic engine that
our state depends upon," said West Virginia DEP Cabinet Secretary Randy
Huffman. "In the days immediately following the fish kill in Dunkard
Creek, CONSOL voluntarily worked with the DEP and the EPA to
proactively manage their mining operations to minimize the risk of
another algae outbreak while at the same time keeping their miners
working."
Secretary Huffman added, "Mining is critical to our state's economy,
but clean water is paramount. This agreement supports both. We
appreciate having CONSOL as our environmental and economic partner in
protecting our state's watersheds."
Working with the regulatory authorities, CONSOL Energy was able to
outline an efficient, flexible path forward to implement additional
clean technologies and best practices at its operations. The agreement
will allow CONSOL Energy to treat mine water discharges from four mines
on the order of 3,500 gallons per minute, removing 95-98 percent of the
pollutants through the use of a state of the art centralized Reverse
Osmosis/Zero Liquid Discharge (RO/ZLD) facility. CONSOL Energy is
making an investment of $200 million as part of this commitment. This
facility, together with a similar $100 million water treatment facility
that CONSOL Energy is currently in the process of commissioning at its
Buchanan Mine in Virginia, puts the company at the forefront of
environmental stewardship.
With today's announcement, CONSOL Energy challenges other operators
along the Monongahela tributary to follow its lead to protect the
watershed and believes that today's announcement sets an example for
everyone in the energy industry. "This agreement advances stricter
water quality standards that CONSOL, and soon others, must meet.
However, the watershed approach is the first of its kind and we believe
it is an example others should look to in meeting their environmental
challenges," said Katharine Fredriksen, CONSOL Energy senior vice
president of environmental strategy and regulatory affairs.
Today's agreement follows a fall 2009 algae bloom that was fatal to a
large quantity of fish and other aquatic life in Dunkard Creek, a
tributary of the Monongahela River. CONSOL Energy immediately took
voluntary action to temporarily stop permitted discharges of water from
its mines to the creek. Working with renowned biologists, CONSOL Energy
determined its operations were not the cause of the algae bloom, but
because of its commitment to community and environment, initiated a
plan to manage stream water quality. As a result, CONSOL Energy
designed a multi-phase short and long-term management program for
discharges from multiple mines, including its Blacksville #2, Loveridge
and Robinson Run Mines. CONSOL Energy will construct and operate a
series of pipelines to collect water from the three mines and install
the regional RO/ZLD facility to remove chlorides and other salts from
permitted discharge water. Full operation is expected in May 2013.
Under the agreement announced today, CONSOL Energy also agreed to pay
the EPA $5.5 million, without admitting any liability. This amount was
previously recognized in CONSOL Energy's financial statements and will
have no impact on 2011 earnings.
Today CONSOL is also resolving alleged natural resource damages claims
in a cash settlement of $500,000 with the West Virginia Department of
Natural Resources. This agreement will not only avoid pointless
litigation, but will also provide resources to the state to enable them
to further address stream degradation issues such as poor stream
habitat and poorly managed sewage discharges along the creek.
CONSOL Energy Inc., the leading diversified fuel producer in the
eastern United States, is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500
Equity Index and the Fortune 500. It has 11 bituminous coal mining
complexes in five states and reports proven and probable coal reserves
of 4.4 billion tons. It is also a leading eastern United States gas
producer, with proved reserves of over 3.7 trillion cubic feet.
Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its Web
site: http://www.consolenergy.com/.
SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.