A federal judge has ruled that two Alpha Natural Resources mountaintop
removal mines in southern West
Virginia
U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers in Huntington ruled that the Elk Run Coal and Alex
Energy mines harmed aquatic life in Laurel
Creek
Chambers wrote it's a "canary in
the coal mine" that aquatic life diminished, as only pollution-tolerant
species survived. Penalties are undetermined.
Environmental groups say it's the first
federal court ruling acknowledging damage from high conductivity discharges.
High conductivity might signal presence of pollutants including chloride,
phosphate and nitrate. Mountaintop mines fill valleys with their waste.
The 2012 lawsuit by the Ohio Valley
Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Sierra Club
cites the Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.
