Sarah Martik, Center for Coalfield Justice, (724) 229-3550x1, smartik@coalfieldjustice.org
Emily Pomilio, Sierra Club, (480) 286-0401, Emily.pomilio@sierraclub.org
Greensboro, PA-- A public hearing was held today at the request of The Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ) and the Sierra Club to allow residents to express their concerns about a drafted water pollution permit for the Contura Cumberland Mine submitted to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In the updated version of the permit, DEP would allow pollutants such as selenium, sulfate and total dissolved solids (TDS) which includes heavy metals, to be dumped into the Monongahela River at harmful levels.
“This part of the Monongahela River has so much water pollution from active and abandoned mines and the DEP, along with our elected officials, are failing to protect our river by not taking a cumulative review of all the pollution sources in that section,” Chris Paluti, Center for Coalfield Justice member and resident of Waynesburg said. “The Monongahela River is critical to our communities in Greene County as a drinking water source and for outdoor recreation.”
About 210,000 people from communities up and down the Monongahela River rely on its water for drinking and household uses. The water quality in the Monongahela River has been recovering after many decades of industrial and mining pollution, due to numerous local cleanup efforts. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed the river from its “impaired” list for sulfates. However, if the levels of sulfate pollution allowed in the draft permit are actually dumped in the river, it will be dangerously close to landing back on the impaired list.
“Despite abundant scientific information showing the negative effects on waterways from coal-mine drainage, the DEP did not conduct an analysis of the potential harm for the toxins discharged from the Contura Cumberland facility into the Monongahela River,” Sarah Martik, Campaign Coordinator with the Center for Coalfield Justice said. “The current permit allows discharge levels above the federal protections which are toxic to aquatic life.”
The groups are also filing enforcement actions against several other mines in the southern and central Appalachian region based on water pollution permit violations for similar pollutants.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.