We’re just getting word about a major ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers in the case over selenium pollution from Patriot Coal operations in Southern West Virginia.
Ruling from the bench at a hearing this afternoon, Judge Chambers held Patriot’s Apogee Coal subsidiary in contempt of court for not meeting earlier deadlines to clean up selenium discharges from its Ruffner Mine in Logan County.
The judge ordered Patriot to install the FBR treatment system — which uses bugs that eat the selenium — within 2 1/2 years at Ruffner and also to install treatment within 2 years and 8 months at its Hobet 22 Mine along the Boone-Lincoln County line.
Judge Chambers also ordered the company to post within two weeks a $45 million letter of credit that would ensure the treatment systems are installed. The judge also plans to appoint a special master to oversee the situation.
See previous coverage of these cases here, here and here.
UPDATED:
Here’s a link to today’s Gazette print story about Judge Chambers’ selenium ruling.
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I look forward to reading details about this order, which according to some SEC filings that Ken linked to in an earlier post, could be a big deal for investors.
Meanwhile — bugs that eat selenium? What an idea!
We need more info on these bugs, too, don’t we, Coal Tattoo readers??
Wow … just, wow. And King Coal was screaming about conductivity. This has the potential to be much, much bigger in terms of an overall, long-term “problem” for the industry in WV, and frankly it is because the WV DEP has ignored it for so long and allowed it to go on unabated for so long.
Note to King Coal – this is what can happen when you do a successful beatdown of state regulators. Sooner or later, the feds will step in. And their hand can be a LOT heavier than the state’s could ever dream of being.
I would guess that the “bugs” that eat selenium are actually a bacteria (Thauera selenatis) that would help lock it up into a relatively safe or inert form.
Using the search term selenium biotreatment I came up with:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/sld/docs/plan_form_rpt/append_e.pdf