A WIN FOR CITIZENS RIGHTS! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/29/14 Media Contact Gary Fritz 812-664-1425 INDIANA COAL MINE LOSES SUIT AGAINST FORMER MINER The Squaw Creek Coal Company, operated by ALCOA and located in Warrick County, Indiana, has lost a recent legal action against Bil Musgrave, a former miner. Squaw Creek Coal Company (SCCC) filed the action after Musgrave exercised his citizen rights, speaking out against environmental harm and pollution that was ongoing at the surface mine. SCCC/ALCOA sought reimbursement for legal fees of $327,500 in retaliation for Musgrave’s challenge of a reclamation bond release that was held due to the potential pollution of surface and subsurface water. Musgrave was originally successful in the bond release case. Later it was overturned by a higher court on a technicality, determining that it was the IDEM’s responsibility to identify environmental concerns, instead of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. In a 30-page opinion written by Administrative Law Judge Sandra Jensen, of the Natural Resources Commission in Indiana, SCCC/Alcoa was criticized for claiming that Musgrave had filed actions regarding the pollution in “bad faith for the purpose of harassing or embarrassing the permitee (SCCC).” Jensen wrote that SCCC had not proved that Musgrave had acted in bad faith when filing this case or other actions. Judge Jensen wrote in her ruling: “In fact, evidence of the potentially hazardous characteristics of the waste disposed of by Alcoa exists within numerous environmental assessments commissioned by Alcoa that were entered into evidence in the Underlying Proceeding”. From 1965 until at least 1980, ALCOA dumped millions of gallons of hazardous and carcinogenic waste into unlined pits at the surface mine. The miners were never made aware of the contents of the waste until years after the mine shut down. Former miners noticed early and unusual deaths among their co-workers and took their concerns to the local media and state agencies. Gary Fritz, Vice President of the Alliance for a Clean Rural Environment (“ACRE”), an organization started to help citizens protect their community against pollution, stated “Both the Sierra Club and the Hoosier Environmental Council wrote amicus briefs in support of Musgrave’s defense. Bil did what was right. He fought against two huge corporations to attempt to bring justice for our community. ” Through the legal discovery process and multiple lawsuits over several years, many exhibits including Alcoa’s own internal documents, were critical of ALCOA and their handling of the waste disposal. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) required Alcoa to do further testing at the mine and determined that several areas had to have environmental notices and environmental restrictive covenants placed on portions of the mine ground to ensure the ground is never disturbed. IDEM also found several areas where the waste had resurfaced and had to be remediated by ALCOA. “This decision reaffirms that citizens’ actions and participation in the surface mining laws are crucial and are protected by Indiana and Federal statutes regarding surface mining and reclamation laws,” Fritz says. “We can’t be silenced for taking a stand against something that is dangerous to our community’s well-being.” ###
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 22:53:39 +0000