Corbett's DEP lets Consol Energy off hook for $58 million repair to damaged state park dam

[Divernan]

Previously (under a Democratic administration) Consol Energy was determined, by it's long-wall mining, 350 feet below the surface, and within 1000 feet of a dam, to have caused earth movements resulting in destabilizing land in the park, causing cracks in the dam, such that the lake had to be drained. Estimated cost to Consol to repair damage - $58 million.

Predictably, the destabilized land continues to shift, and likely will do so until repairs stabilize the area. But NOW, under Corbett's DEP, Consol is being let off the hook, with the ridiculous argument that repairs can't be attempted because the land continues to shift, i.e., is not stable.

Consol (with no independent engineering documentation) jumps on this continued shifting as letting Consol off the hook completely, since the shifting continued after Consol finished mining the area. This whole situation highlights the point that no one knows how much impact deep mining/drilling has on the various levels of the earth's crust, or water tables, or release of methane, etc.

And no one knows how long the impact of drilling will take to evidence itself, either at the site of the wells themselves, or on nearby neighboring properties. It is for this reason that many banks will not issue mortgages on properties which have wells on them, or adjoining properties.

But the energy companies can simply bribe elected officials to accept industry-defined "safe" standards, where the profit-driven corporations pick numbers out of their corporate asses, pardon my crude description.

Methinks that if Consol were subjected to daily fines until it stabilizes and repairs the situation, Consol would very quickly be motivated to do so. Of course the fines would have to be very hefty to compete with the $58 million Consol saves by doing nothing.

The link is to a thorough, 2 page article - worth a read to see how slick Consol is.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11109/1140279-455.stm


"Cracks were discovered in the dam in April 2005, when Consol was operating 1,850 feet away from the dam and 350 feet below the surface. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources drained the 62-acre lake for safety reasons in July 2005. At the time the lake was drained, Consol's mining machines were operating 1,000 feet away and moving toward the dam.

In January 2008, the DCNR, which manages the state's parks and investigated the cracks in the dam, filed a civil lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleging the company lied about the risks of mining under the state park and caused the damage.

In February 2010, the Department of Environmental Resources said its investigation had determined that subsidence caused the failure of the dam, which was built across the Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek in 1960. The dam created Duke Lake, the centerpiece of the park and a popular fishing, boating and swimming impoundment until the dam failed."

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Our new Republican controlled DEP is going to destroy PA.

I am already disgusted, and it has only just begun. How do we get PA residents to see the problems we have?

[drm604]

2. Kick

:kick: