Agreement in place to settle mine pollution case

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Government regulators, environmental groups and International Coal Group have reached a proposed agreement to resolve a dispute over Clean Water Act violations.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd still has to approve the deal that requires ICG to pay $575,000 in penalties.

Under the agreement, ICG would pay $335,000 to the PRIDE environmental initiative to help stop Kentucky residents from piping sewage directly into streams and $240,000 to the Department for Natural Resources to pay for a water study.

North Carolina-based Appalachian Voices, New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance and Kentucky Riverkeepers heralded the proposed settlement on Friday. The groups had alleged companies falsified water quality reports that were submitted to the state and said they found more than 2,700 violations that would have totaled tens of millions of dollars in fines.