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MINING COMPANY AND SUPERINTENDENT PLEAD TO WATER VIOLATION

Release Date: 07/21/2000
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2000

MINING COMPANY AND SUPERINTENDENT PLEAD TO WATER VIOLATION

Gatliff Coal Co., of Neviadale, Ky., and Glennis Darrell Lawson, a mine superintendent for Gatliff, both pleaded guilty on July 13, to violating the Clean Water Act. The plea agreement calls for Gatliff to pay $180,000 in restitution for environmental projects and a $17,000 fine. In addition, Gatliff will revise its environmental compliance plan and retrain all of its employees in the areas of environmental awareness and safety. Lawson will pay a $3,000 fine. The charges arose from a November 1997 release of acidic water from a pit at the Gatliff facility in Campbell County. Lawson directed employees to pump water from the pit without first testing it for pH to see if it was acidic. The water was acidic and had a pH of approximately 4.0 and it also had low levels of dissolved oxygen. This resulted in a fish kill in White Oak Creek. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Tennessee Valley Authority-Office of Inspector General and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.

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