WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The operator of 31 mines in Appalachia and Indiana has agreed to pay penalties for failing to obtain permits for water impacts of its operations, officials say.
Triad Mining Inc. has agreed to pay the penalty and to restore affected waterways, for failing to obtain the required Clean Water Act permit for stream impacts caused by its surface mining operations in Indiana, the Department of Justice said in a release Monday.
Triad obtained the required Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act permits from the state of Indiana for its mining operations, but never obtained the required CWA permit for the site, even though its surface mining operation involved excavating coal seams directly below stream beds, the Justice Department said.
"With this settlement, Triad will achieve compliance with the nation's Clean Water Act and be held accountable for its unpermitted discharges into streams of the White River watershed," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.
Under the settlement, Triad must restore stream beds, create and maintain 66 acres of forested buffer areas and nine acres of forested wetland to protect the restored streams.
Triad will pay an $810,171 civil penalty.
