14 DAY TRIAL // Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. is about to embark on a long and rather tiring expedition inside its own pockets, and, for its sake, one can only hope that these pockets are as deep as the company presently needs them to be.
To put it in a nutshell, the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States has announced that the company, which happens to be one of the largest coal producers currently operating in this country, must pay an impressive $27.5 million (€20.02 million) fine for water pollution.
On its website, the Agency details that this fine is the largest of its kind that a company in the United States has until now been required to pay, and that Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. earned it with the help of thousands of permit violations.
Specifically, it would appear that, between the years 2006 and 2013, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. together with its subsidiaries – 66 of them, to be more precise – discharged excess amounts of pollutants into hundreds of rivers and streams.
The states affected by these over 6,000 permit violations were Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency further explains.
On several occasions, the companies managed to pollute the environment without actually violating any permit. Thus, they simply discharged pollutants without having a permit allowing them to do so.
“In total, EPA documented at least 6,289 violations of permit limits for pollutants that include iron, pH, total suspended solids, aluminum, manganese, selenium, and salinity,” the Agency says.
“These violations occurred at 794 different discharge points, or outfalls. Monitoring records also showed that multiple pollutants were discharged in amounts of more than twice the permitted limit on many occasions,” it adds.
Due to the fact that West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky were co-plaintiffs in this settlement, they are to receive $8,937,500 (€6,508,140), $4,125,000 (€3,003,760), and $687,500 (€500,626), respectively. The United States is to receive the remainder of said fine.
The Environmental Protection Agency explains that most of these violations were the direct result of the company's failure to operate existing treatment systems. Not installing adequate treatment systems, and not sticking to appropriate water handling and management plans are also to blame.
Hence, Alpha Natural Resource, Inc. and its subsidiaries must also spend $200 million (€145.63 million) on installing wastewater treatment systems and implementing water pollution reduction measures at nearly 80 active mines and 25 processing plants in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“EPA estimates that the upgrades and advanced treatment required by the settlement will reduce discharges of total dissolved solids by over 36 million pounds each year, and will cut metals and other pollutants by approximately nine million pounds per year,” the Agency says.
Commenting on Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. and its subsidiaries' being fined $27.5 million and asked to limit future toxic discharges, Robert G. Dreher with the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources division stated as follows:
“The unprecedented size of the civil penalty in this settlement sends a strong deterrent message to others in this industry that such egregious violations of the nation's Clean Water Act will not be tolerated.”
Furthermore, “Today’s agreement is good news for communities across Appalachia, who have too often been vulnerable to polluters who disregard the law. It holds Alpha accountable and will bring increased compliance and transparency among Alpha and its many subsidiaries.”