Historic Clean Water Act Settlement in KY

Following a five-year legal battle, Appalachian Voices and our partners finalized a historic settlement with Frasure Creek Mining and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet in December. The settlement resolves years of Clean Water Act violations numbering in the thousands at the company’s surface coal mines in eastern Kentucky. The violations include duplicated water pollution monitoring reports, failure to report pollution, and exceedences of pollution permit limits.

The settlement includes a $6 million fine – the highest ever entered by Kentucky against a coal company for environmental violations. In the settlement, Frasure Creek admits to the violations and agrees to immediately pay $500,000. If the company defaults on payment, it will be liable for the full $6 million fine. In addition, if Frasure Creek, which is currently not mining in the state, or its owners want to resume mining, they must pay $2.75 million before a permit application will be processed.

“This settlement should send a strong signal to the new administration that citizens can and will hold the state accountable for vigorously enforcing laws against polluters to ensure the health of our waters and communities,” said Erin Savage, our Central Appalachian Campaign Coordinator.

The settlement came as the newly elected Bevin administration took office, setting a critical benchmark for new Secretary of Energy and Environment Charles Snavely, who was vice president at International Coal Group when Appalachian Voices and partners discovered similar Clean Water Act violations at that company.