Possible violations found at Washington County coal refuse site
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Citizen complaints sometimes do lead to action.
Under citizen pressure, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining has found a series of potential violations at the Champion Processing site in Washington County -- the largest coal-waste disposal site east of the Mississippi River.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has primacy in regulating the 600-acre site in Robinson Township that contains about 38 million tons of coal waste.
But the OSM decided to intercede and visit the site in December, then conduct its own site inspections in August, after ruling that DEP responses to citizens concerned about potential environmental problems were "arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion."
"It isn't unusual for OSM to use the 'arbitrary and capricious' language in a response, as that's what's required in the statute," said OSM spokesman Chris Holmes. "It's our way of letting the state know we have an issue with their response to a 'Ten Day Notice,' and the point of the [notice] is to resolve the issue."
A 10-day notice serves to order the DEP to address potential violations and respond to the OSM within 10 days, with extensions sometimes granted. It is DEP's responsibility to file actual notices of violation.
The scenario that began two years ago involved extended correspondence between attorneys for environmental and citizen groups and the DEP and OSM, leading to many fits and starts.
In a series of exchanges throughout 2010, attorneys from the Environmental Integrity Project and Vermont Law School's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic requested DEP inspections that turned up potential violations. But when the DEP failed to file notices of violation against Champion Processing Inc., then refused to do follow-up inspections, the environmental attorneys appealed to the OSM to force action.
First Published October 2, 2011 12:00 am
