Mine No 7 Settlement

Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Warrior Met Coal Settle Pollution Case at Mine No. 7

For Immediate Release:
July 30, 2024

Contact:
Nelson Brooke, Riverkeeper: (205) 458-0095, [email protected]
Eva Dillard, Staff Attorney (205) 458-0095, [email protected]

Birmingham, AL — Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Warrior Met Coal (WMC) have lodged a proposed Consent Decree in federal court which, if approved by the Court after a 45-day comment period by the U.S. Department of Justice, requires WMC to fix its leaking coal slurry impoundment and stop discharging polluted wastewater without a permit at Mine No. 7 near Brookwood in Tuscaloosa County. WMC is a metallurgical coal mining company which purchased several coal mines, including this underground mine, out of Walter Energy’s 2015 bankruptcy.

The unpermitted discharges from Mine No. 7’s approximately 160-acre Slurry Impoundment No. 14 flow into an unnamed tributary that eventually feeds into Texas Creek, a tributary of Davis Creek, which flows into the Black Warrior River at Holt Lake. Black Warrior Riverkeeper filed the lawsuit in 2022 over the coal mine’s unpermitted discharges, which fail to comply with the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

The discharges flow from a leaky part of the mine’s Slurry Impoundment No. 14, which combines and holds wastewater from all aspects of underground mining and coal preparation. The settlement calls for WMC to implement an action plan approved by the federal Mining Safety and Health Administration, which includes the installation of a liner to fix the leaky dam holding back millions of gallons of coal slurry at Impoundment No. 14. WMC will conduct detailed sampling after the action plan is complete to help evaluate the success of the liner in stopping the discharges.

WMC has also agreed to enroll in Alabama’s Dam Safety Program, which will add another layer of inspections and requirements for the maintenance and care of Slurry Impoundment No. 14. Finally, WMC will pay $250,000.00 to the Freshwater Land Trust for the establishment of a supplemental environmental project (SEP) in the Black Warrior’s Davis Creek subwatershed and reimburse Black Warrior Riverkeeper for $28,000 in costs and attorneys’ fees.

“Texas Creek and Davis Creek are streams regularly enjoyed by locals and wildlife,” said Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper. “Getting Warrior Met Coal’s unpermitted wastewater under control is vital to the protection of these beautiful creeks.”

Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Staff Attorney, Eva Dillard, added, “We are very pleased that WMC is willing to fix the problem and to establish a SEP that will give back to the Davis Creek area.”

For a copy of the proposed Consent Decree, click here.

For an interactive map of Mine No. 7 by Nelson Brooke, click here.

For Nelson Brooke’s picture of unpermitted wastewater seeps from Mine No. 7’s Slurry Impoundment No. 14 creating a cloudy pond before flowing downstream into a tributary in the Texas Creek watershed, click here.

For Nelson Brooke’s picture of multiple unpermitted wastewater seeps from Mine No. 7’s Slurry Impoundment No. 14 joining together before flowing offsite into a creek, click here.

###

Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. The nonprofit organization promotes clean water for the sake of public health, recreation, and wildlife habitat throughout the Black Warrior River watershed.

Unpermitted wastewater seeps from Mine No. 7’s Slurry Impoundment No. 14 create a cloudy pond before flowing downstream into a tributary in the Texas Creek watershed. Photo by Nelson Brooke.