Posts Tagged ‘Kentucky Litigation’
Citizens Object to State of Kentucky’s Backroom Deal With Coal Company
Resources Citizens’ Objection Letter Agreed Order Click for full-sized image Appalachian Voices * Kentuckians For The Commonwealth * Kentucky Riverkeeper * Waterkeeper Alliance Contact: • Eric Chance, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, eric@appvoices.org • Ted Withrow, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 606-782-0998, tfwithrow@windstream.net • Pat Banks, Kentucky Riverkeeper, 859-200-7442, kyriverkeeper@eku.edu • Peter Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance, 828-582-0422, pharrison@waterkeeper.org Frankfort,…
Read MoreBringing Polluters to Justice — One Court Case at a Time
By Eric Chance and Erin Savage On Oct 1., Appalachian Voices and a coalition of citizens’ groups reached a historic settlement in a Kentucky case involving some of the most far-reaching and astonishing violations of the Clean Water Act in its 40-year history. The agreement between the citizens’ groups, International Coal Group, Inc., and the…
Read MoreKentucky Governor Under Suit for Pro-Coal Corruption
Former Mine Permits director Ron Mills claims he was fired for failing to sign illegal coal mining permits. Mills was a political appointee of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, whose official website states: As governor, Beshear has helped restore public trust by creating a culture of integrity in state government that has included rooting out cronyism…
Read MoreLandmark Settlement Proposed in Kentucky Water Pollution Case
Appalachian Voices, along with a coalition of citizens’ groups, has reached a historic agreement with International Coal Group, Inc. (ICG), and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet over years of false reporting and water pollution violations in Eastern Kentucky and a failure by the state to enforce the Clean Water Act. We are very glad…
Read MoreCourt Update on Frasure Creek and ICG Clean Water Act Cases
A status conference was held today regarding the Clean Water Act enforcement lawsuits against Kentucky coal mining companies, Frasure Creek and International Coal Group (ICG). The conference was ordered by Judge Phillip Shepherd, of the Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, to update the court on progress made toward settlement in both cases. Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians…
Read MoreOfficial EPA Comments on 36 Ky Permits
Appalachian Voices submitted official comments following the EPA’s public hearing on June 2nd and 4th. Our comments affirm the EPA’s objections to 36 water pollutant discharge permits for surface mines in Kentucky. The 36 draft permits were issued by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA must ensure state…
Read MoreKY Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Citizens and Water
Yesterday the Kentucky State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Appalachian Voices and our partners KFTC, Waterkeeper and the Kentucky Riverkeeper. The ruling upheld lower court rulings allowing us to intervene in a lawsuit between Frasure Creek Mining and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. That case was brought about in October 2010 when we…
Read MoreNally & Hamilton Case Continues in State Court
Yesterday Appalachian Voices along with our partners Kentucky Riverkeeper, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, and Waterkeeper Alliance challenged the recent settlement between Nally & Hamilton and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet in state court. Click here to see the press release with more information on this newest development. Click here to see the how the…
Read MoreGroups Challenge Public’s Exclusion From Secret Negotiations
An agreement negotiated in secret between the Beshear administration and a major polluter in eastern Kentucky does little to protect the public or prevent future violations, claimed several groups representing Kentucky citizens who use water polluted by the company’s coal mining operations.
The citizens’ groups filed a petition in Franklin Circuit Court on Thursday asking that the agreement between Nally & Hamilton Enterprises and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet be vacated on the grounds that there is “no factual evidence in the record, much less substantial evidence, [that] supports a finding that the Agreed Order is a fair resolution of Nally’s thousands of [Clean Water Act] violations, or that it will be an effective deterrent of future violations.”
Read MoreKentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet cuts deal with Nally and Hamilton for Water Pollution Violations
Last week the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet entered a settlement with Nally and Hamilton Enterprises to resolve tens of thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act. The pending agreed order, originally submitted in September, was signed by the Cabinet Secretary Len Peters, now making it official. Nally and Hamilton is one of the…
Read More