Tag: Pollution

Ex-Freedom Industries Employees Plead Guilty to Pollution Charge

Two former employees at Freedom Industries have pleaded guilty to a pollution charge in last year's chemical spill into a river in West Virginia.Ex-plant…

Two former employees at Freedom Industries have pleaded guilty to a pollution charge in last year’s chemical spill into a river in West Virginia.

Ex-plant manager Michael Burdette and environmental consultant Robert Reynolds entered the pleas to negligent discharge of a pollutant Wednesday during separate hearings in federal court in Charleston. They each face up to a year in prison when they are sentenced June 24.

The January 2014 spill of a coal-cleaning agent into the Elk River contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents for days.

Ex-owners Charles Herzing and William Tis pleaded guilty Monday to causing an unlawful discharge into the river.

Ex-Freedom owner Dennis Farrell and former President Gary Southern face trial later this year in the spill. Southern also faces charges related to Freedom’s bankruptcy.

State Fines Logan for Wastewater Violations

State regulators have fined the city of Logan more than $81,000 for wastewater violations.The violations include a discharge of sewage from a manhole that…

State regulators have fined the city of Logan more than $81,000 for wastewater violations.

The violations include a discharge of sewage from a manhole that continued for four months.

Other violations include exceeding average monthly discharge limits for nitrogen and other pollutants in 2012, and failing to maintain and properly operate wastewater facilities.

The $81,755 fine is part of a consent order issued by the Department of Environmental Protection. The order also requires Logan to submit a plan outlining corrective actions the city will take to achieve compliance with its water pollution control permit.

Trans Energy Faces Criminal Charges for Pollution

Oil and gas company Trans Energy Inc. faces federal criminal charges for releasing natural gas drilling materials into streams.An information filed last…

Oil and gas company Trans Energy Inc. faces federal criminal charges for releasing natural gas drilling materials into streams.

An information filed last Friday in U.S. District Court in Wheeling alleges the St. Marys-based company lacked permits to dump into streams. The charges are misdemeanors.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $3 million civil settlement with Trans Energy to be split between state and federal governments. The company also agreed to restore portions of streams and wetlands damaged by its activity.

Federal officials say 15 West Virginia sites were polluted by the company’s unauthorized discharge of dredge or fill material.

Officials allege the company impounded streams and discharged sand, dirt, rocks and other materials into streams and wetlands.

The Charleston Gazette first reported the charges.

Court: Mountaintop Removal Mines Polluted Streams

  A federal judge has ruled that two Alpha Natural Resources mountaintop removal mines in southern West Virginia illegally polluted streams.

U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers in Huntington ruled Wednesday that the Elk Run Coal and Alex Energy mines harmed aquatic life in Laurel Creek and Robinson Fork.

Chambers wrote it’s a “canary in the coal mine” that aquatic life diminished, as only pollution-tolerant species survived. Penalties are undetermined.

Environmental groups say it’s the first federal court ruling acknowledging damage from high conductivity discharges.

High conductivity might signal presence of pollutants including chloride, phosphate and nitrate. Mountaintop mines fill valleys with their waste.

The 2012 lawsuit by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Sierra Club cites the Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.

U.S. Justices Will Not Hear Appeal of Monsanto Settlement

The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear an appeal of Monsanto Co.’s massive settlement with thousands of West Virginia residents.

In an order Monday, justices said they would not review the $93 million settlement reached in the lawsuit. The Charleston Gazette said that means thousands of Nitro-area residents are closer to receiving medical monitoring and having their property cleaned up.

 
In November, the West Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a January 2013 ruling approving the class-action settlement. The lawsuit alleged that the Nitro community was contaminated with dioxin from the former Monsanto chemical plant.
 
The plaintiffs said Monsanto polluted their community by burning waste from production of the defoliant Agent Orange.  
 
Under the settlement, thousands of Nitro-area residents will be eligible for the medical monitoring and property cleanups.

Petition Aims to Reduce Emissions in W.Va.

Eight Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to require nine upwind states to cut down air pollution emissions.

The petition is aimed at West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. It seeks a reduction in emissions carried by prevailing winds that contribute to the formation of ozone in the downwind states.

States filing the petition Monday are Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The petition seeks what it says are long-overdue commitments from the upwind states to protect the health of downwind residents and to level the playing field for businesses.

The EPA is required to approve or disapprove of the petition within 18 months.
 

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