Chesapeake Energy agrees to settle W.Va. case
Posted:
Dec 19, 2013 5:47 PM EST Updated:
Dec 19, 2013 5:51 PM EST
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A Chesapeake Energy subsidiary has agreed to nearly $10 million in fines and restoration work to settle federal allegations over unauthorized discharges of fill material at more than two dozen natural gas extraction sites in West Virginia.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice announced the settlement Thursday.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake's subsidiary, Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, will pay a $3.2 million fine and spend $6.7 million on restoration work. It also agreed to implement a plan to follow water protection laws.
A Justice Department statement says the fine is one of the largest involving Clean Water Act provisions pertaining to the burial of streams and wetlands without permits.
The statement says the settlement resolves alleged violations at sites in Boone, Kanawha, Lewis, Marshall, Mingo, Preston, Upshur and Wetzel counties
http://www.wowktv.com/story/24266589/chesapeake-energy-agrees-to-settle-wva-case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice announced the settlement Thursday.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake's subsidiary, Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, will pay a $3.2 million fine and spend $6.7 million on restoration work. It also agreed to implement a plan to follow water protection laws.
A Justice Department statement says the fine is one of the largest involving Clean Water Act provisions pertaining to the burial of streams and wetlands without permits.
The statement says the settlement resolves alleged violations at sites in Boone, Kanawha, Lewis, Marshall, Mingo, Preston, Upshur and Wetzel counties
http://www.wowktv.com/story/24266589/chesapeake-energy-agrees-to-settle-wva-case
Frac sand mining company faces $200,000 in water, air penalties
Posted on December 17, 2013 by WisconsinWatch -
By Alison Dirr
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Frac sand mining company Preferred Sands of Wisconsin has been ordered to pay $200,000 for stormwater and air permit violations at its facility near Blair, a Trempealeau County city.
This is the first civil judgment brought against a frac sand mining company in Wisconsin, state Department of Justice spokeswoman Dana Brueck confirmed. The company will pay in installments, the final one due in 2017, according to documents released Monday
In May 2012, a plume of sediment-laden stormwater left the Preferred Sands site and flooded a creek and an adjacent wetland, according to a complaint filed by state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Assistant Attorney General Cynthia Hirsch.
Sediment also traveled over nearby properties, including through the first floor of a home and into a garage on another property. A road was left with a 6-inch-deep layer of sediment.
The company said in a statement that it acquired Winn Bay Sand in 2011, including the Blair plant. At that time, noncompliance concerns were identified. The statement said Preferred Sands disclosed the issues to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR determined that waste piles of sand had been too high and too steeply sloped, according to the complaint.
Page 1 of 3
- 1. Talvivaara needs more than 40M, Vapaavuori estimates
- (Business)
- Jan Vapaavuori (NCP), the Minister of Economic Affairs, has estimated in an interview with Hufvudstadsbladet that Talvivaara will need much more than the 40 million euro requested in its debt restructuring ...
- Created on 29 November 2013
- 2. Talvivaara edges closer to bankruptcy
- (Business)
- Mining company Talvivaara has edged closer to bankruptcy after its negotiations over a 40 million euro injection needed to cover the costs stemming from debt restructuring fell through late on Wednesday. ...
- Created on 21 November 2013
- 3. Role of ownership steering must be clarified, Pekkarinen stresses
- (Politics)
- ... Pekkarinen believes the Government should more readily communicate its wishes regarding state-owned companies, such as Talvivaara, to Solidium, the manager of the Government's holdings. “Solidium was not ...
- Created on 21 November 2013
- 4. Talvivaara's bioleaching process ineffective
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara's bioleaching process – the process of extracting metals from ores – is ineffective under natural conditions, views a group of experts in a report presented to the Finnish Association for Nature ...
- Created on 20 November 2013
- 5. Neste Oil plunges on US plans to reduce biofuel use
- (Business)
- ... in value. Finnair, for example, strengthened by over 3 per cent to 2.95 euro on news that the sympathy strikes scheduled for today have been averted. Mining company Talvivaara, in turn, sank to below 0.04 ...
- Created on 19 November 2013
- 6. Katainen: Talvivaara's future unpredictable
- (Domestic)
- Lack of private sector interest in Talvivaara is a worrying sign, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen (NCP) views, admitting that the future of the ailing mining company continues to hang in the balance. The ...
- Created on 18 November 2013
- 7. Talvivaara seeks debt restructuring
- (Business)
- Mining company Talvivaara announced on Friday morning that it will seek debt restructuring after negotiations over a bailout package proved unsuccessful. The application for restructuring is to be filed ...
- Created on 15 November 2013
- 8. Finnair slips on strike fears
- (Business)
- ... Outotec – alongside most major companies – fell by 2.5 per cent to 7.58 euro. Mining company Talvivaara, in turn, remained near previous days' levels, at 0.075 euro, despite the uncertainty surrounding ...
- Created on 14 November 2013
- 9. Talvivaara's losses mount
- (Business)
- The losses of the cash-strapped mining company Talvivaara exceeded revenue in the third quarter, plunging nearly 39 million euro into the red. In its earnings call, Talvivaara revealed that it is in advanced ...
- Created on 07 November 2013
- 10. ELY Centre rejects calls for Talvivaara halt
- (Domestic)
- The Kainuu Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) has rejected the demands for a halt to operations at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo, submitted by for example the Finnish ...
- Created on 04 November 2013
- 11. Government waits for mining company’s proposals
- (Business)
- The problems with mining company Talvivaara continue. On Thursday, the company announced its severe financial difficulties due to problems in its production and the decreased price of nickel. “We are ...
- Created on 31 October 2013
- 12. Several suspected of environmental crimes at Talvivaara mine
- (Domestic)
- The case is to be referred for consideration of charges in mid-November at the earliest. WOES keep on piling up for cash-strapped Talvivaara, with the police revealing in mid-October that several of ...
- Created on 31 October 2013
- 13. Daily: Ministry mulling Talvivaara bailout
- (Domestic)
- Plans to bail out the partially state-owned mining company Talvivaara are afoot at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Helsingin Sanomat reports. One of the measures on the table, the daily writes, ...
- Created on 30 October 2013
- 14. Talvivaara has until year-end to empty waste water pools
- (Domestic)
- Mining company Talvivaara has until year-end to empty the gypsum sediment ponds at its mine in Sotkamo, the Vaasa Administrative Court prescribes in an interlocutory decision delivered on Tuesday. The ...
- Created on 23 October 2013
- 15. Talvivaara nosedives on Helsinki Stock Exchange
- (Business)
- Talvivaara nosedived by over 20 per cent to 0.08 euro on the Helsinki Stock Exchange on Thursday, after the mining company revealed that it needs another cash injection. In contrast, Nokia recovered from ...
- Created on 11 October 2013
- 16. Talvivaara fires 60
- (Business)
- Talvivaara will lay off roughly 60 employees as part of its effort to generate annual savings of approximately 5 million euro, the mining company announced on Wednesday. The new retrenchments also include ...
- Created on 22 August 2013
- 17. Talvivaara calls on ministry to drive out activists
- (Domestic)
- Mining company Talvivaara has called on the Ministry of the Interior to help drive out activists from its mining site near Sotkamo, MTV3 and Yle reported on Tuesday evening. Talvivaara believes the site ...
- Created on 14 August 2013
- 18. Rautaruukki rises on quarterly performance
- (Domestic)
- ... steel manufacturer Outokumpu and mining company Talvivaara increased in value, by 5.8 per cent by 3.9 per cent respectively, on Thursday. HT-STT ...
- Created on 09 August 2013
- 19. Nokia creeps up after unveiling big-screen Lumia
- (Domestic)
- ... Similarly, mining company Talvivaara nosedived by over 12.5 per cent following its decision to withdraw its production targets. In contrast, Incap, a contract-manufacturer of electromechanical products, ...
- Created on 23 July 2013
- 20. Talvivaara withdraws output forecast
- (Business)
- Mining company Talvivaara has withdrawn its output forecast for the year after only producing 4,500 tonnes of nickel and 7,600 tonnes of zinc between January and June due to the lingering water management ...
- Created on 22 July 2013
Page 2 of 3
- 21. Talvivaara's tumbles costly for state
- (Domestic)
- The tumbles of Talvivaara on the Helsinki Stock Exchange have seen the value of the state's investment portfolio diminish by over one hundred million euro, Helsingin Sanomat reports. After plummeting to ...
- Created on 05 July 2013
- 22. Talvivaara share tumbles
- (Domestic)
- The share of Talvivaara slipped by over ten per cent to an all-time low of 0.13 euro yesterday on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, after the mining company said it was mulling over cutting as many as 250 jobs ...
- Created on 03 July 2013
- 23. Talvivaara mulls over extensive job cuts
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara is mulling over the lay-offs or temporary lay-offs of as many as 250 employees in order to respond to the weak price development of its main product, nickel, the mining company announced on ...
- Created on 02 July 2013
- 24. Court revokes Talvivaara's drainage permit
- (Domestic)
- The Administrative Court of Vaasa has revoked the permit granted to Talvivaara in February by the Kainuu ELY Centre which allowed the mining company to discharge waste waters to the environment. In its ...
- Created on 28 June 2013
- 25. Authorities urge Talvivaara to enhance water purification
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara must enhance its water storage and purification capacities in order to cope with its waste water issues, as the mining company's new environmental permit no longer allows emergency discharge ...
- Created on 31 May 2013
- 26. Activists urge police to look into Talvivaara's water issues
- (Domestic)
- Citizens' movement Stop Talvivaara urges the police to look into the persisting waste water issues at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo to determine whether the mining company is guilty of continued environmental ...
- Created on 27 May 2013
- 27. Talvivaara resumes drainage
- (Domestic)
- Mining company Talvivaara has resumed the discharge of waste waters from its mine in Sotkamo into nearby waterways, Kainuu ELY Centre says. The discharge was halted yesterday after abnormal iron concentrations ...
- Created on 22 May 2013
- 28. Talvivaara looks into high iron levels
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara has launched a probe into the abnormal iron levels in waste water discharged from its mine in Sotkamo which stained the River Lumijoki yesterday afternoon, forcing the mining company to halt ...
- Created on 22 May 2013
- 29. Ministry launches mine stress tests
- (Domestic)
- ... leak at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo. “Hereby, mines can tell about their operations to authorities in more detail while learning more about risk management,” views Pekka Suomela, an executive officer ...
- Created on 20 May 2013
- 30. Talvivaara to reach drainage quota today
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara has notified the Kainuu ELY Centre of additional discharge of waste waters at its mine in Sotkamo due to rising water levels in the Kortelampi protective dam which are threatening dam safety. ...
- Created on 16 May 2013
- 31. Talvivaara re-starts ore production
- (Business)
- Talvivaara resumed ore production at its mine in Sotkamo on Monday, after a stoppage of several months necessitated by heavy rains and prolonged by two waste water leaks. Last month, the mining company ...
- Created on 14 May 2013
- 32. Impacts of Talvivaara's waste water leaks remain limited
- (Domestic)
- The environmental impacts of the recent waste water leaks at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo remain limited to the mine's near surroundings, where heightened sodium and sulphate concentrations have been measured. ...
- Created on 08 May 2013
- 33. Varma slashes stake in Talvivaara
- (Business)
- Mutual pension insurer Varma has slashed its stake in Talvivaara from 8.71 to 7.11 per cent by selling over 30 million shares, the mining company's most recent shareholder register indicates. Varma is ...
- Created on 02 May 2013
- 34. ELY Centre rejects Talvivaara's request to raise drainage quota
- (Domestic)
- Talvivaara's plea to sanction the discharge of an additional 620,000 cubic metres of waste waters into the environment has been rejected by the Kainuu ELY Centre on environmental grounds. However, the ...
- Created on 26 April 2013
- 35. Ville Niinistö: Finland should have a critical economic-political council
- (From the Finnish press)
- ... said. Minister Heidi Hautala, in charge of the state’s corporate governance, admitted that Talvivaara is especially difficult for the Greens. She justified the state’s part in mining by the fact that ...
- Created on 25 April 2013
- 36. Administrative court rejects Talvivaara's appeal
- (Domestic)
- The Vaasa Administrative Court has rejected Talvivaara's appeal against its interim decision to restrict the drainage of waste waters south from the company's mine in Sotkamo. According to the court, the ...
- Created on 22 April 2013
- 37. Hautala mulls over Solidium's corporate governance
- (Politics)
- ... purview. “The disaster at Talvivaara is one example of the problem,” Hautala said. Solidium is an independent investment firm responsible for the management of the state's investments in a number of listed ...
- Created on 17 April 2013
- 38. MPs hasten Talvivaara compensations
- (Politics)
- Several members of the Finnish parliament have urged the government to hasten compensation payments to the people affected by the leak of waste waters at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo. The MPs believe the ...
- Created on 15 April 2013
- 39. Ilmarinen ditches shares in Talvivaara
- (Business)
- Mutual pension insurance company Ilmarinen has sold its shares and cancelled its share subscriptions in Talvivaara, because the ailing mining company no longer meets Ilmarinen's investment criteria. “The ...
- Created on 12 April 2013
- 40. Excess waters pester Talvivaara
- (Domestic)
- Although the most recent leakage of waste waters at Talvivaara's mine in Sotkamo proved lower than feared, it nonetheless highlighted the mining company's constant struggles with water management. On Wednesday, ...
- Created on 11 April 2013