Mine settles 1 violation, gets 1 more |
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Published
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Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:17
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The owners of the Bull Mountain coal mine have paid $12,500 to settle charges the mine violated its operating permit, even as a new violation was announced Thursday, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality said.The settled violation was issued last September over Bull Mountain Coal Mining Inc.'s failure to complete and use a water well as required for mine operations.DEQ enforcement specialist Bill Harbrecht said the mine instead had improperly tapped into a shallow aquifer, which threatened to deplete a water source also used by the mine's neighbors.Mine manager John DeMichiei said the penalty was excessive, particularly given that Bull Mountain was attempting to address the situation when the violation was issued.'We were disappointed,' he said. 'Part of the allegation was water usage at the mine was affecting shallow well levels. But our internal review ... suggested we were not affecting that at all.'The settlement, paid March 16, came after Bull Mountain appealed the DEQ's original $37,381 penalty in the case.Meanwhile, another violation was issued March 14 over the company's storage of waste material on the mine site, Harbrecht said. Harbrecht said the mine was permitted to have up to 200,000 cubic yards of material in the waste pile, but instead had 237,000 cubic yards of material.No penalty has been assessed yet in that case. DeMichiei said he disagreed with that a violation took place, but declined to discuss the matter further because negotiations with the DEQ are ongoing.The mine was idled last month as its owners try to sell the operation.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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