Environmentalists Suing Mining Operations

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Ohio Valley Environmental Council are suing Elk Run Coal Co. and Alex Energy claiming they have contaminated headwater streams with sulfate and other dissolved solids from mining operations in Boone and Nicholas counties. The case in U.S. District Court in Charleston says runoff affects the Laurel Creek and Twentymile Creek watersheds in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, while Elk Run's White Castle No. 1 is polluting Mudlick and Stolling Forks, and Alex's Robinson North Surface Mine is polluting Robinson Fork. The groups argue state and federal regulators have failed to address the problem.