Clean Water Act Story Archives - Page 2 of 5 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Groups Petition EPA To Regulate Coal Dust From Trains

The Sierra Club and other organizations submitted a petition for rulemaking this week to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmental and public health groups want to require railroads to prevent coal dust from escaping from trains.

The Sierra Club and other organizations submitted a petition for rulemaking this week to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

They want the EPA to regulate the coal dust that comes off trains. Coal-hauling railroads, including Norfolk Southern and CSX, would be required to seek permits under the Clean Water Act.

The landmark law has never been applied to transporting coal by rail. Railroads have been transporting coal in open-top cars for more than a century. Some treat coal loads with chemical compounds to prevent dust from blowing off.

Coal dust and particles can contaminate drinking water and aquatic life, the groups say.

They also say the dust can pollute the air, increasing the risk of asthma, bronchitis and heart disease.

In 2019, the Association of American Railroads, the industry’s principal lobbying group, anticipating potential regulatory action, filed a petition with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to exempt coal dust from trains from the Clean Water Act.

The following year, the agency declined to grant the exemption.

Shutdown Would Curb EPA’s Reviews, Inspections And Enforcement

Should Congress fail to keep the federal government open this weekend, most of the 14,000 employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be furloughed.

Public health, safety and the environment are at risk from a government shutdown, according to a statement from the White House.

Should Congress fail to keep the federal government open this weekend, most of the 14,000 employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be furloughed.

EPA inspections of chemical facilities, hazardous waste sites and drinking water systems would cease.

The agency would be unable to review permits under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act or enforce compliance with those laws.

It would have to slow or stop cleanup activities at Superfund sites, some of the most polluted places in the country.

The EPA would also halt environmental reviews of infrastructure projects. Its emergency response and disaster assistance functions would also be curtailed.

New Cumberland Manufacturer To Pay Millions In Environmental Violations

A manufacturer in Hancock County will have to pay close to $2 million for environmental violations.

Messer, LLC, an industrial gas manufacturing facility located in New Cumberland, West Virginia, will pay a $1.9 million civil penalty for violations of its Clean Water Act permit and the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act.

According to court documents, Messer exceeded permit limits when it discharged pollutants into the Ohio River on at least 186 occasions since February 2016.

The company’s EPA permit imposed limits for the discharge of specific pollutants, including copper, aluminum, iron, residual chlorine and phenolics.

In addition to the civil penalty, Messer, LLC must take steps to prevent future violations including the construction of a new treatment system at its New Cumberland facility, implementation of a response plan in the instance of future violations, mandatory internal inspections, and quarterly reporting requirements to federal and state agencies.

A consent decree was entered by the United States District Court on Sept. 11, 2023. Messer, LLC did not admit any liability to the United States or the State of West Virginia arising out of the transactions or occurrences alleged in the complaint.

Justice-Owned Bluestone Coke Sued Over Water Pollution In Alabama

The complaint alleges that Bluestone is in violation of the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a stream that exceed levels allowed by its permit.

Environmental and community groups have sued a company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice in federal court in Birmingham, Alabama.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper and a local group called GASP filed the complaint against Bluestone Coke in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

The complaint alleges that Bluestone is in violation of the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a stream that exceed levels allowed by its permit.

It also alleges that Bluestone has been discharging pollutants not allowed by its permit such as barium, strontium, E.coli, semi-volatile organic compounds and volatile organic compounds.

It further alleges that the company deposited coal, coke, slag and sediment into a tributary of Five Mile Creek, an unpermitted fill into Waters of the United States.

The Bluestone Coke plant in North Birmingham is currently not in operation.

In December, Bluestone reached a consent decree with the Jefferson County, Alabama, Department of Health to pay a $925,000 penalty, the largest in the agency’s history.

In May, Black Warrior Riverkeeper reported that Bluestone had failed to pay $283,000 of the penalty and would owe an additional $1,000 for every day the payment was late.

Bluestone Coke is one of the numerous companies listed on Justice’s annual financial disclosure to the West Virginia Ethics Commission.

Justice, who is not named in the complaint, is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2024.

Justice faces other lawsuits, including one brought by the U.S. Justice Department over unpaid fines and penalties.

Justice Company Could Face Clean Water Act Lawsuit

Bluestone Coke is one of the numerous companies owned by the family of Justice, who’s running for the U.S. Senate.

An environmental group has threatened to sue a company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice over water pollution violations.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has told Bluestone Coke it will bring a lawsuit in federal court under the Clean Water Act unless the company cleans up pollution from its plant in North Birmingham, Alabama.

Bluestone Coke is one of the numerous companies owned by the family of Justice, who’s running for the U.S. Senate.

The plant is not currently in operation. Late last year, Bluestone Coke agreed to a $925,000 settlement with the local health department over air pollution from the plant.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the company still owes $283,000 to the health department.

The U.S. Justice Department recently took action against the Justice companies for failing to pay more than $5 million in federal civil penalties.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Messer Agrees To Pay EPA $1.9 Million Over Water Pollution Violations

The EPA and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection found that the company exceeded its discharge permits for copper, aluminum, iron and residual chlorine at its facility in New Cumberland.

A Northern Panhandle industrial and medical gas manufacturer has agreed to pay a civil penalty for water pollution violations.

Under a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Messer LLC has agreed to pay a $1.9 million penalty for violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

Messer is required to construct a new water treatment system to eliminate those violations and monitor stormwater to ensure future compliance.

The public has 30 days to comment on the consent decree prior to approval from the federal district court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

The EPA and the state DEP, as co-plaintiffs in the consent decree, will split the penalty.