Copyright 1999 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
March 26, 1999, Friday, ILLINOIS FIVE STAR
LIFT EDITION
SECTION: METRO, Pg. C3
LENGTH: 358 words
HEADLINE:
PEABODY DENIES CLOSED COAL MINE HAS HARMED WATER SUPPLY;
BUT COMPANY OFFERS
TO PAY TO MOVE 5 WELLS IN ILLINOIS
BYLINE: Robert
Goodrich; Of The Post-Dispatch
BODY:
Peabody Coal Co. denied Thursday that its former Eagle No. 2 mine
near Shawneetown, Ill., has harmed the region's water supply, as charged in a
suit filed by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan.
But Peabody offered to
pay for moving five nearby wells and to take other reclamation measures,
including installation of a cap over the mine's refuse disposal areas.
Ryan's suit filed Wednesday charges that contaminants in 12.7 million
tons of coal mine waste in six refuse areas have leached into
groundwater, threatening drinking water wells operated by the Saline Valley
Conservancy District. The suit says contaminants include chloride, manganese,
sulfate and iron. It asks for an injunction prohibiting further violations and
fines up to $ 50,000 for each violation and $ 10,000 for each day they continue.
The mine closed in 1993.
Although the water is not dangerous, officials
say the supply is under long-term threat unless action is taken.
"We've
gotten out ahead of the curve on a potentially serious problem caused by Peabody
Coal Co., and we intend to resolve it in a way that won't cost our customers or
Illinois taxpayers," said Robert Wilson, president of the conservancy district's
board of trustees.
Ryan acknowledged that Peabody had offered to help
the conservancy district maintain safe drinking water but said the suit was
necessary to ensure long-term remedial action. The district provides water for
30,000 customers in Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson and Williamson
counties in southeastern Illinois.
Peabody's manager of closed mines,
Kenny Allen, said Thursday that the company had recent data showing the well
closest to Eagle No. 2 was within safety limits for sulfates.
"Despite
our belief that we are in current compliance, we have made offers to assure that
water quality standards are not exceeded in the future due to our activities,"
Allen said.
He added, "We have been at the forefront of efforts to
preserve and protect land and water quality in Illinois, and we will continue to
advance a proposal that keeps drinking water safe and ensures real solutions to
the controversy."
LOAD-DATE: March 26, 1999
