ALABAMA – The Alabama Surface Mining Commission says pollution entering two creeks in Tuscaloosa County is not enough to warrant shutting down a nearby coal mine.
“There are definitely situations that call for immediate cessations of operations,” ASMC Executive Director Kathy Love said in an email to AL.com. “This situation, however, did not warrant the punitive severity of an immediate cessation order.”
The commission, charged with regulating mining operations in Alabama, issued a notice of violations to Warrior Met Coal on May 7, after inspections determined a waste pond at the company’s Mine No. 7 was responsible for discolored, inky black water that has been observed since late April in Texas and Davis Creeks, which flow into the Black Warrior River.
Environmental group Black Warrior Riverkeeper called on the state commission to force the mine to stop discharging until they can fix a leaking waste pond that is sending fine particles of coal waste into the creeks.
However, the state’s mining regulators say that is not necessary. Love said the pollution was the result of a maintenance issue at the mine, releasing coal fines –tiny, dust-like particles of coal and other material — into the creek.
“Shutting down mine operations would not have prevented continuation or stopped occurrence of the coal fines leak,” Love said.
Love said Warrior could still face penalties from the ASMC as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management over the pollution in the creeks, but that state mining rules require operators be given time to fix the violations before penalties are assessed.
In this case, the mine was required to begin dredging out the leaking waste pond and perform other smaller fixes within three days, which it did. Now the mine must install a fabric liner and rock rubble in the leaking pond within 30 days of the notice of violations – May 7 – and conduct daily water monitoring of the creeks for 90 days.
“Then, depending on the type of violation and abatement actions, fines can, and usually are, subsequently assessed by the State,” Love said. “These fines are in addition to any penalties also assessed by ADEM.”
Nelson Brooke at Black Warrior Riverkeeper said the actions have not been fast enough to protect the waterways.
“The agencies responsible should have already swiftly shut this thing down,” Brooke said Tuesday.
Brooke said water samples he took on May 12 and sent to a private lab showed not only extremely high levels of dissolved solids, but also high conductivity, and the presence of heavy metals like iron, manganese, lead, and zinc. He said the samples also showed levels of e Coli bacteria that exceed Alabama’s water quality standards.
The mine discharges into an unnamed tributary to Texas Creek, which flows into Davis Creek in Tuscaloosa County before entering the Black Warrior River near Holt Lake.
Love said the mining commission sent inspectors to the site almost every day since the pollution was reported in late April.
While the mining commission regulates mining activity, ADEM is responsible for administering the federal Clean Water Act in Alabama. Mines and other industrial operations must apply for permits with ADEM to discharge pollutants into state waterways. The permit holder, in this case Warrior Met Coal, can face fines or in the extreme revocation of their permit for releasing excess pollution into the rivers.
ADEM collected water samples of the creeks on April 27 that showed the mine had exceeded its permit limits on total suspended solids in the creek.
The deadline for Warrior Met Coal to meet the mining commission’s requirements on making changes at the mine, including adding a fabric liner to catch coal fines, is June 15.
Warrior Met Coal was formed in 2016 during the bankruptcy of Walter Energy to repay creditors of the former mining company.
The company released a statement last week saying: “We are continuing to work with ASMC on a plan to ensure the continued water quality of sampling locations and immediate downstream areas in our communities. Warrior Met Coal remains committed to high standards for water quality, as reflected by the company’s track record of a 99.8% water quality compliance rate and positive record of reclamation and release of previously used lands.
Warrior Met Coal is also dealing with a labor strike as about 1,100 union workers walked out last month to protest the company’s labor practices.
