In another challenge to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s failure to protect the purity of the state’s waterways, the Southern Environmental Law Center today petitioned for a hearing on the permit issued last month for a 3,255-acre coal mine in Blount County.

The proposed mine would have more than 60 pollution discharge points into the main stem or feeder streams of the Locust Fork, a tributary of the Black Warrior River that is already on ADEM’s list of the worst polluted streams in the state, mainly due to sediment.

The petition was filed on behalf of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper and The Friends of the Locust Fork River.

The law center already represents the Black Warrior Riverkeeper in an ongoing legal challenge of ADEM’s actions in permitting the Shepherd Bend coal mine in Walker County. In both cases, the agency has ignored federal and state laws and its own regulations, according to a press release..

“Ultimately, the problem goes beyond these projects, and lands squarely on the shoulders of ADEM which is consistently failing to protect water quality throughout the state,” SELC Senior Attorney Gil Rogers said. “The Rosa and Shepherd Bend coal mines are exhibit A.”

The Rosa coal mine permit is deficient in numerous ways. The mine would discharge pollution into a segment of Locust Fork which is listed by ADEM as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act. Alabama law prohibits causing or contributing to the pollution of an impaired water body. The agency acknowledged the impaired status of the Locust Fork in their permit rationale, but issued the permit anyway.

“ADEM needs to quit rubber-stamping these pollution permits and get serious about its role as the environmental regulator of coal mine operations,” Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said. “Our waterways are much too precious to be so utterly neglected and exploited.”

Also, in an identical violation as in the Shepherd Bend permit, ADEM issued the Rosa mine permit without first receiving a pollution abatement and prevention plan from the company, MCoal, detailing how pollution would be kept out of nearby waters, as its own rules require. Rather, following ADEM’s practice of many years, MCoal said it would submit the plan to the Alabama Surface Mining Commission.

However, the commission has no authority over water pollution, Rogers said, and assessing a mining permit for compliance with water quality standards without a pollution abatement plan is meaningless.

In addition, the permit’s limits for heavy metals, sediment and other pollutants are virtually identical to the ones in the Shepherd Bend permit, despite the fact that the Rosa mine site would be almost twice the size, have twice the number of discharge points, and would be located in a stressed watershed. Further, the permit grants a sweeping exemption from all pollution limits when it rains, even though such limits are designed precisely to protect streams and rivers from storm runoff.

“ADEM has been asleep at the switch for far too long on these coal mine permits, and the Black Warrior watershed has suffered as a result,” Rogers said. “We will continue to take legal action to ensure that mining operations have as little impact on water quality as possible,”

“This is one of the Locust Fork’s most scenic sections and locals want to keep the river safe after having seen it take 30 years to recover from past strip mining,” said Sam Howell, president of The Friends of the Locust Fork River.

The Black Warrior River watershed stretches over 6,000 square miles entirely within the state of Alabama. The river and its tributaries are a major source of drinking water for many cities, including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.

The Locust Fork is one of Alabama’s longest remaining free-flowing rivers. It is a great place to swim, canoe and kayak, fish, photograph, watch wildlife, and is home to a number of rare fish, mussels, snails, turtles and salamanders.

The Warrior Coal Basin lies underneath the majority of the Black Warrior River watershed. This basin is the southernmost coal deposit in Appalachia and the largest coal basin in Alabama, with 94 active mines in the Black Warrior watershed. As a result, the Black Warrior River continues to suffer from impaired water quality due to heavy metals, acids, and sediment that run off from active and abandoned coal mines.

The Southern Environmental Law Center is the only regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of 40 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a non-profit advocacy organization whose mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. The Alabama Environmental Council’s 2007 Conservation Organization of the Year, and the American Canoe Association’s 2008 Green Paddle Award winner, we are a proud grassroots member of Waterkeeper Alliance.

The Friends of the Locust Fork River is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the integrity of the Locust Fork River in its natural free-flowing state, and to that end, the lifestyle of the community which surrounds it.

Lee Isaacs paddles with ease over the shoals of the Locust Fork River Saturday along with the Friends of the Locust Fork environmental group on section 6 of the river from Highway 13 to the Blaylock Bridge. I posted a few photos on Facebook at this link.

Meanwhile, I’m too tired and sun burned to write a Sunday column, so here’s one from the archives: Secret Vistas: A River Runs Through It.

The property, currently owned by the Birmingham Water Works Board, has been for sale since the beginning of April. This opportunity arose after the BWWB chose to discontinue longstanding plans for a dam on the river (to create a water supply reservoir). Now that this project is no longer going to occur, the threat to the Locust Fork’s free-flow is no longer, and the time is right to protect this property, according to the group’s press release.

A conservation purchase by Forever Wild could help this gateway to the Locust Fork become a resource for current and future generations.

The Locust Fork is one of Alabama’s longest remaining free-flowing rivers. It is a great place to swim, canoe and kayak, fish, photograph, watch wildlife, and more. The river is also home to a number of rare aquatic species such as fish, mussels, snails, turtles, and salamanders.

Protection of this property would provide watershed protection that is vital for both water quality and wildlife habitat. A Forever Wild acquisition will provide much needed public access for the many recreational users that visit the Locust Fork each year.

To read the nomination and view its attachments, click here.

For information, click here.

U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler approved the settlement requiring Metro Recycling to cease illegal discharges of pollutants, obtain a pollution permit mandated by the Clean Water Act, and pay $7,500 for a Supplemental Environmental Project in the Locust Fork watershed.

The money will fund aquatic surveys in the Locust Fork watershed which will be used to determine future conservation goals within the watershed, according to a joint press release issued by the groups this week.

The parties chose the Freshwater Land Trust, an Alabama non-profit land conservation organization, to receive Metro Recycling’s payment and enable the aquatic surveys.

Metro Recycling owns and operates a used-tire landfill, which was found during Riverkeeper patrols to be discharging pollutants into an unnamed tributary of Whites Creek, a tributary of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. Laboratory results from Riverkeeper’s water samples showed the pollutants illegally discharged by Metro Recycling included: Benzene (a known carcinogen), Chloromethane (possible carcinogen), 1,2-Dichloroethane (probable carcinogen), Ethylbenzene, Toluene, Vinyl Chloride (known carcinogen), and Xylenes, o,m,p.

Metro Recycling violated the Clean Water Act and Alabama law by discharging pollutants without a proper permit, according to Nelson Brooke, Riverkeeper and Executive Director of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper.

“As Riverkeeper of this large watershed, help from committed locals who serve as my eyes, nose, and ears is crucial,” Brooke said in an e-mail interview. “We would not have known about this problem without concerned locals reporting it to us. Working in concert with locals we are an important voice for citizens when our state and federal agencies fail to adequately enforce environmental laws. Under our watch, polluters will be held accountable.”

The settlement money will help the environmental groups better understand the river’s aquatic biodiversity and act as better stewards in future conservation efforts.

“The Friends of the Locust Fork River is glad to be part of an opportunity to update the aquatic survey of the mid-70s through the Supplemental Environmental Settlement portion of the suit with Metro Tire Landfill,” according to Sam Howell, president of the group. “The study will indicate the current health of the Locust Fork River and give FLFR and Black Warrior Riverkeeper information on how to be better stewards of this river’s watershed. I am pleased The Freshwater Land Trust accepted the request to be the facilitator of the $7500.00 to begin the renewed aquatic study. I know the results will make the river and the communities surrounding it a better place to live.”

The Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River is a remarkable free-flowing river. Flowing for 159 miles out of Etowah, Marshall, and Blount counties into Jefferson County, the river is an outstanding resource for locals and visitors alike.

Click here for the settlement agreement.

Click here for the original lawsuit.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries.

Friends of the Locust Fork is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the integrity of the Locust Fork River in its natural free-flowing state, and to that end, the lifestyle of the community which surrounds it.

Freshwater Land Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the acquisition and stewardship of lands that enhance water quality and preserve open space.

The Locust Fork News-Journal is an independent online news organization inspired in part by the Locust Fork River. To understand why, read these signature stories about it.

Secret Vistas: A River Runs Through It

The Future of Democracy and the Web Press