The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Sierra Club, Coal River Mountain Watch and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy are
giving the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia 60 days notice. They
intend to sue Massey Energy for civil penalties.
The groups say the company is
violating the Clean Water Act.
Two years ago, Massey agreed
to a $20 million settlement because of Clean Water Act and surface mine permit
violations at coal mines in West Virginia and Kentucky.
But members of the groups say
the settlement isn’t enough.
Judy Bonds with Coal River Mountain Watch says the
company is creating unsafe living conditions for several communities in West Virginia.
She says independent testing reveals unsafe water conditions around Massey’s
operations and they plan to show the proof in court.
“Massey thinks that they can
get by with polluting and poisoning people’s water,” Bonds said.
“So we think this has gone
outside the law for far too long so what we’re hoping is this lawsuit will
bring them into compliance.”
In a release, Massey Energy says it complies with
the law 99% of the time. The company is still reviewing the
allegation
but says it's “another attempt by out of state extremists to attack the coal
industry which works hard to provide domestic energy and domestic jobs.”
Massey Energy's spokesman did not
immediately return a request for further comment.