Courts - West Virginia Environmentalists sue Massey Sierra Club, others allege pollution

By Vicki Smith Associated Press Writer MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- The Sierra Club and three other environmental groups sued five Massey Energy Co. subsidiaries in federal court Tuesday, alleging that more than 3,000 violations of the Clean Water Act and surface mining laws show the companies routinely put profits before the people of West Virginia. The lawsuit only adds to the legal troubles of the nation's fourth-largest coal company, which has come under public attack and federal scrutiny since an April 5 explosion killed 29 miners at its Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal. The filing in U.S. District Court in Charleston says the five subsidiaries have dumped toxic aluminum into waterways from as many as 16 mines in West Virginia. The subsidiaries are Elk Run Coal Co., Independence Coal Co., Marfork Coal Co., Peerless Eagle Coal Co. and Power Mountain Coal Co. Richmond, Va.-based Massey, which was notified of plans for the lawsuit in January, has previously denied the allegations. A company spokesman did not immediately comment on the filing Tuesday. Massey also operates mines in Virginia and Kentucky, but the lawsuit targets only mines in West Virginia, the nation's No. 2 coal-producing state, and does not target the state or federal agencies that regulate Massey's operations. The environmental groups base their claims on Massey's own discharge reports and on Clean Water Act regulations. In all, they claim Massey companies racked up 3,307 days of permit violations from April 2008 through December 2009 through 255 illegal discharges. The groups say extreme levels of aluminum can be toxic to fish and have been linked to bone and brain diseases in humans. The lawsuit also says some of the mines are violating permit standards for pollutants such as iron, pH, and suspended solids. Joining the Sierra Club are the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. Lawyers with Earthjustice and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment handled the filings. Dianne Bady, co-director of Huntington-based OVEC, called Massey's water violations "as widespread as their safety violations." Judy Bonds of the Whitesville-based Coal River Mountain Watch called Massey "an outlaw company that continues to show contempt for the people of Appalachia." In April 2008, Massey reached a $20 million settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over past violations of the Clean Water Act. That agreement covered the period between January 2000 and March 2006, but the lawsuit claims the pattern of violations has continued. It asks the court to order Massey to comply with discharge permit standards and impose fines of up to $32,500 per day for each violation since Jan. 12, 2009, and fines of $37,500 per day for each subsequent violation. The lawsuit also demands that Massey conduct monitoring and sampling to determine what environmental harm it has caused, then repair any problems and "restore the environment to its prior uncontaminated condition." Published: Thu, Apr 29, 2010

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