Aanchal Nebhnani

January 28, 2008

In one of the first steps to rectify the coal industry's most brazen abuses the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sued Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth largest coal producer, for contaminating hundreds of streams and rivers with mine runoff in Kentucky and West Virginia. Subsequent to the law suit, Massey agreed to pay $20 million in civil penalties and invest in an additional $10 million in pollution control improvement at its forty-four mine and coal facilities in Virginia and Kentucky.

The New York Times reported "[Massey Energy Co.] violated water pollution permit limits at its mines and plants more than 4,500 times between January 2000 and December 2006." Massey agreed to settle with the government because of the possibility of an even larger fine, amounting to $2.4 billion which would have been inevitable given the magnitude of its misconduct. The consent decree, to which the company agreed, carried the largest civil penalty for a wastewater discharge permit violation of this type. In the consent decree, Massey agreed to–in addition to the settlement–perform twenty water quality improvement projects on the Little Coal River in West Virginia and to set aside 200 acres of river front property for conservation. These 200 acres would constantly be preserved in a natural condition and utilized in a manner that would not endanger or interfere with fish, wildlife, and other natural resources including scenic, open spaces.

Environmentalists in West Virginia and Washington commended EPA's action and the fine imposed on Massey Energy. It was a landmark settlement for the environment and an indication that EPA will continue to enforce environmental laws.

Sources:

Ian Urbina, Coal Company Hit With EPA's Largest Civil Penalty, N.Y. Times, Jan. 17, 2008, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/us/17cnd-mine.html?_r=1&8br&oref=slogin (last visited Jan. 26, 2008).

Andy Mead & Bill Estep, Massey Energy to Pay Record Pollution Fine, Jan. 18, 2008, http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/290116.html (last visited Jan. 27, 2008).

Consent Decree, U.S. v. Massey Energy Company, et.al., (S.D. W.Va. 2008), available at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees/Massey_Energy/r_Massey_Energy_Co_CDFinal.pdf.

David A. Fahrenthold, Mining Giant to Pay Twenty Million Dollar EPA Fine, Wash. Post, Jan. 18, 2008, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011702838.html?wpisrc=rss_business (last visited Jan. 27, 2008).