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EPA SETTLES BLACKWATER COMPLAINT AGAINST CATENARY COAL CO. - Company to Pay $5,000 penalty, Spend $25,000 on Creek Cleanup

Release Date: 9/12/2000
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548

David Sternberg, 215-814-5548

ESKDALE, W.Va. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has settled a Clean Water Act complaint against Catenary Coal Company for unlawful discharges of blackwater, a mixture of fine coal dust and water. Catenary Coal Co. of Eskdale, Kanawha County, W.Va. will pay a penalty of $5,000 and spend $25,000 to clean up a portion of Seng Creek in Boone County, West Virginia.

EPA’s December 1999 complaint cited the company for violating its state-issued Clean Water Act discharge permit by discharging blackwater into tributaries of the Kanawha River. West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) investigated these discharges and later worked with EPA in the development of this case.

"We’re pleased to resolve these violations and improve the water quality of the creek,” said EPA Regional Administrator Bradley Campbell.

WVDEP issued a Clean Water Act discharge permit to Catenary which limits pollutants, including discharges of blackwater, into nearby waterways. The permit limits are designed to protect the quality and recreational uses of waterways. The permit prohibits the discharge of blackwater that causes visible floating, settled, or suspended solids or distinctly visible color in the water.

Catenary Coal Co. operates the Campbells Creek Complex, a coal processing complex in Eskdale , W.Va. According to EPA’s complaint, this facility violated its permit by discharging blackwater into the Pointlick Fork of Campbells Creek on January 8, February 23-24, and April 28, 1999. As part of the settlement, the company neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations.