Court Accepting Comments on Cabinet's Proposed Settlement with ICG and Frasure Creek

After Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians For the Commonwealth, Kentucky Riverkeepers, and Waterkeeper Alliances sent notices of intent to sue ICG and Frasure Creek for numerous instances of false Clean Water Act reporting, the Kentucky Energy and Environment began its own investigation of the companies’ reports for the past two and a half years.  The Cabinet found that both companies had been turning in false Clean Water Act monitoring reports or not bothering to turn in any reports at all.  The Cabinet also found a complete lack of competence or process at the companies’ water testing labs. 
The number of violations by the state’s own reports is staggering.  By its own count, the Cabinet found 1245 violations at 64 of ICG’s mines and 1520 violations at 39 Frasure Creek mines.  The complete failure of the Cabinet to even notice that for two and a half years, many of these mines were not even bothering to turn in Clean Water Act monitoring reports is particularly shocking. 
The Cabinet is attempting to quickly settle with the coal companies under two proposed Consent Judgments filed with the Franklin Circuit Court.  Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd has ordered that the Cabinet allow the public 30 days to comment on the judgments. 
Directions for commenting on the proposed judgments are found at the Cabinet’s website:  http://eec.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx.
The Cabinet posted the two proposed consent judments, but did not post the Complaints or Notices of Violation on which they are based.  Those are found here:
Frasure_Creek_complaint_and_Consent_Judgment
Frasure_Creek_Mining_Exhibits
ICG_Complaint_and_Consent_Judgment
ICG_Exhibits