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This article originally provided by The Columbus Dispatch
November 18, 2007
State decides it will protect stream after all
Initial EPA decision would have let company dump slurry into bed
The state has reversed plans to allow a mining company to pollute an eastern Ohio stream, giving hope to environmental groups that want the EPA to get serious about protecting waterways.
A year ago, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency declined to protect Casey Run in Belmont County from the Ohio Valley Coal Co.
Although the EPA didn't approve the company's proposal to dump coal slurry into the stream, the agency decided not to upgrade the quality status of Casey Run after Ohio Valley said the change would jeopardize its plans.
But the state said last week that Casey Run is part of a "very high-quality resource we believe must be protected under Ohio and federal law."
The EPA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources sent a letter to Ohio Valley telling the company to withdraw its permit request and seek alternatives.
In the letter, the two agencies said their concerns about Casey Run and its tributaries are "insurmountable." Ohio Valley wants to divert water from the 2-mile Casey Run and turn the streambed into a 1.85 billion gallon lagoon to hold slurry -- water and coal dust left over from washing newly mined coal.
Slurry spills have killed wildlife and damaged Ohio streams over the years. Ohio Valley Coal and a sister company, American Energy Corp., have spilled slurry in the past, according to environmental groups.
Bob Murray, an Ohio Valley vice president, said in an e-mail that the company won't withdraw its application.
"We are not exploring any alternatives to Casey Run for a future refuse impoundment because there are no other practical options."
Despite Murray's pronouncement, Trent Dougherty, staff attorney of the Ohio Environmental Council, called the EPA decision "a big win for the health of the streams and the entire community, and a good precedent for the state.
"The Ohio EPA is looking not to just rubber-stamp the destruction of streams and allow the status quo."
EPA officials said last week that they have been concerned about the waterway for two years and that they questioned whether they ever could approve the permit application. Natural Resources Director Sean Logan called Ohio Valley's plans "quite inadequate."
The company applied for a permit about two years ago. Last year, the EPA decided not to classify Casey Run as a higher-quality cold-water habitat -- status that would protect the waterway.
Ohio Valley and American Energy argue that denying the slurry project threatens the jobs of 1,000 miners and employees. The companies want to replace a slurry pit used since the 1970s.
In 2005, a broken American Energy Corp. slurry pipeline polluted 2,300 feet of nearby Captina Creek and killed thousands of fish. The company cleaned up and paid a $50,000 fine.
Other coal companies recycle slurry water or inject slurry into abandoned mines.
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