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Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations

Posted at 5:16 PM on 17 Jan 2008

Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The company must pay $20 million in civil penalties and invest $10 million in pollution control at its 44 coal mines and processing facilities. "This is a landmark settlement for the environment, and raises the bar for the mining industry," says Granta Nakayama of the EPA. But to an extent, Massey got off easy -- the maximum penalty for its offenses could have been as high as $2.4 billion.

source: Associated Press
see also, in Grist: Court justice frolicked with Massey exec while fraud case was pending

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Comments: (2 comments)

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Maximum Penalties Never Assessed

I was involved in a Clean Water Act lawsuit once. Unfortunately, the attorney with the most experience in this law said that courts NEVER assess the maximum penalty, or even close to it. The courts have sometimes been good at reigning in administrations and businesses, but don't delude yourselves into thinking we have an honest court system, either. The vast majority of judges are old, white, and very friendly to business interests.

by Wolverine at 6:39 PM on 18 Jan 2008

too little too late

this is exactly why we cannot continue to use wilderness for expanding our power supplies! the government ridiculously UNDER charges toxic mining, oil-drilling, and power plants for land use (including so-called "renewable" energy plants), then after allowing them to socialize all their costs and privatize all their profits, lets them GROSSLY pollute, then doesn't make them pay any penalties.

BLM and other public lands need to be preserved as open spaces without development, period. the need to "stimulate" investment in mining and power has looooong since passed. utilities need to use only previously developed land for renewable power, starting with our roofs, and stop getting a cheapie deal which costs us, the inhabitants of the planet, way too much, while only benefiting Big Power.

the greenest energy is that which you needn't ever produce.

by stopgreenpath at 12:27 PM on 19 Jan 2008

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