HUNTINGTON – Four nonprofit organizations allege two coal companies are harming the environment with pollutants.
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Sierra Club filed a complaint Jan. 24 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against Southeastern Land LLC and Fola Coal Co. LLC alleging violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or the Clean Water Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants are discharging pollutants into U.S. waters, including the Elk River and Gauley River, in violation of the Clean Water Act. They allege the defendants have been discharging pollutants since July 2016 from their surface mines.
The plaintiffs seek declaration that the defendants have violated the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, to enjoin the defendants, order the defendants to immediately comply with the effluent limitations, order the defendants to remedy and repair environmental contamination caused by their violations, court costs and any further relief the court grants. They are represented by J. Michael Becher and Joseph M. Lovett of Appalachian Mountain Advocates in Lewisburg.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:18-cv-00077