Coalition To Sue Mining Company In Latest Revelation of a Pattern of Violations
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Contacts: Donna Lisenby, Appalachian Voices, 704-277-6055, donna@appvoices.org
Suzanne Struglinski, NRDC, 202-289-2387, sstruglinski@nrdc.org
Suzanne Tallichet, KFTC, 606-776-7970, suetallichet@windstream.net
Pat Banks, Kentucky Riverkeeper, 859-622-3065, kyriverkeeper@eku.edu
Heath Fradkoff, Goodman Media for Waterkeeper Alliance, 212-576-2700, hfradkoff@goodmanmedia.com
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EASTERN KENTUCKY (August 23, 2011)— Newly discovered information suggests that coal company Nally and Hamilton has filed even more false – and potentially fraudulent – water pollution monitoring data with state agencies than previously believed, according to a coalition of clean water advocates. As a result, residents of Kentucky do not know how badly polluted their water is.
Based on a review of state water monitoring reports, the coalition identified more than 5,000 additional violations of the Clean Water Act on top of the 12,000 violations previously discovered in March. Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Kentucky Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance today sent Nally and Hamilton a 60-day notice of intent to sue the company over these additional Clean Water Act violations with potential penalties of more than $180 million.
“The undeniable pattern of coal companies blatantly disregarding the law in Kentucky is nothing new to our coalfield citizens,” said Suzanne Tallichet with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. “Their ongoing pollution of the rivers and streams that our citizens rely on for drinking water is precisely why more and more health studies link mountaintop removal coal mining to a whole host of human health impacts from cancer to birth defects in babies.”
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