And this is the industry that some General Assembly members want to keep us hooked on?And this is the industry that some General Assembly members want to keep us hooked on?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The country's fourth-largest coal producer, Massey Energy Co., has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the government over allegations that over seven years it routinely polluted hundreds of streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with sediment-filled waste water and coal slurry.
Under the agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Massey Energy, headquartered in Richmond, Va., will pay $20 million in civil penalties and invest an additional $10 million in pollution control improvements at its 44 mines and coal facilities in the two states and in Virginia, the EPA and Justice Department were announcing on Thursday.
That $20 million civil penalty is the largest ever for violations of the Clean Water Act. It follows a record $1.5 million in fines by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration for safety violations involving the deaths of two miners in a January 2006 mine fire.
Why are we still a leader in mountaintop removal? Why are we a leader in giving our money to energy companies that pollute our air and water? Let's keep pushing the Clean Energy Future Act so we can make Virginia a leader instead in renewable energy, green jobs, and climate action.