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This article originally provided by
Portfolio
Media
Hobet Mining LLC will pay $4 million to settle claims by the
state of West Virginia that the company violated the Clean Water Act
by discharging selenium and other pollutants into the state's water
supply.
The settlement requires the company to install and test a new
selenium treatment process called Zero Valent Iron by June 2009.
Hobet must also spearhead restoration projects and furnish 32,500
sandstone boulders to rebuild the habitat of the Little Coal River.
Additionally, the company must reduce the selenium levels in the
water from 35 parts per billion now to an average of 8.2 parts per
billion by April 2010. The state's Department of Environmental
Protection, which filed the lawsuit, said there is currently no
proven method of removing selenium from the water.
“We believe the pressure to comply that is inherent to the looming
deadline of 2010 will speed up the research and ultimately result in
the identification of a workable solution,” DEP Cabinet Secretary
Randy Huffman said.
The DEP sued Hobet in the Circuit Court of Boone County, W. Va., in
May 2007, alleging that for three years the company had failed to
monitor the discharges from its coal mines into the Mud River in the
southern part of the state.
In 2003, the DEP issued Hobet two permits from the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, allowing the company to
release pollutants but requiring it to monitor and report the
presence of these pollutants in the water.
By failing to monitor the pollutants, the suit alleges, Hobet has
violated both the state'sWater Pollution Control Act and the
national Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
A representative from Hobet could not be reached immediately Monday
for a comment.
Hobet's pollution in West Virginia waters also spurred a federal
suit, filed in February by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition,
which charges Hobet with a “calculated failure to enforce the Clean
Water Act.”
Policy Analyst Margaret Janes of the Appalachian Center for the
Economy and the Environment, which is collaborating with the
coalition in its suit, said the settlement should have mandated
cleanup through reverse osmosis rather than the Zero Valent Iron
process. Reverse osmosis has been proven to be effective at removing
selenium, she said, adding that she believes the company has been
given too much time to clean up its act.
“To me, the settlement agreement is another delay tactic,” she said.
“When you're confronted with spending a lot of money to clean up
discharge, delay is going to be a good thing from the company's
standpoint.”
High levels of selenium can cause selenosis, an ailment that leads
to stomach problems, hair loss, fatigue and mild nerve damage. A
2003 environmental impact study identified the mineral as a problem
in West Virginia's coal fields, spawning litigation from
environmental groups against mountaintop coal mining practices.
In addition to selenium, Hobet is accused of discharging include
iron and manganese into the Mud River.
Representing Hobet in this matter is Jackson & Kelly PLLC.
The case is Lisa A. McClung, Director, Division of Water and Waste
Management, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection v.
Hobet Mining LLC, case number 07-C-3, in the Circuit Court of Boone
County, W. Va.
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