Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/272815
By Dina Cappiello The Associated Press WASHINGTON » One of the nation's largest coal pro- ducers will pay a $27.5 mil- lion fine and spend $200 mil- lion to reduce illegal toxic discharges into hundreds of waterways across five Ap- palachian states, accord- ing to a proposed settlement Wednesday. The agreement includes the largest fine ever for vio - lations of water pollution per- mits, with many of the viola- tions reported by the com- pany to state environmental officials. The Associated Press obtained details about the settlement before it was filed Wednesday in federal court in West Virginia. The discharges occurred at mines and coal process - ing plants in Kentucky, Penn- sylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. "This is the largest one, pe- riod," Cynthia Giles, head of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency's enforcement office, told the AP. "It's the biggest case for permit vio- lations for numbers of viola- tions and size of the penalty, which reflects the serious- ness of violations." The government says that between 2006 and 2013, Al- pha Natural Resources Inc. and dozens of subsidiaries vi- olated water pollution limits in state-issued permits more than 6,000 times. They dis- charged heavy metals and other contaminants harm- ful to fish and other wildlife from nearly 800 outfall pipes directly into rivers, streams and tributaries, according to the government. There is no evidence that any of the vio - lations contaminated drink- ing water, EPA officials said. Monitoring records at- tached to the complaint show that in some cases, the re- leases exceeded permit lim- its by as much as 35 times. Under the agreement, the mine operators will install wastewater treatment sys - tems and take other mea- sures aimed at reducing dis- charges from 79 active coal mines and 25 coal-process- ing plants in those five states. Bristol, Va.-based Al- pha, the nation's third larg- est coal supplier, estimates those steps will cost about $200 million. Gene Kitts, Alpha's vice president for environmen - tal affairs, said the company, which has 700 state water permits and 5,000 different discharge points, is in com - pliance with the Clean Water Act 99.8 percent of the time. "That's a strong record of compliance," Kitts said in a statement. "But our goal is to do even better, and the con - sent decree provides an op- portunity to proactively focus on improving the less than 1 percent of the time that per- mits are exceeded." Half of the $27.5 the fine will go to the federal govern- ment; the other half will be di- vided among West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. But advocacy groups said state and federal authorities needed to do more to prevent the pollution from occurring in the first place. "Levying fines after the fact does nothing for the com - munities and waterways al- ready harmed," said Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Si- erra Club's coal campaign. Alpha's Kitts said states lack resources to keep tabs on the violations the compa - nies report and to follow up. "That system has not worked very well," Kitts said. "The states get the reports, the question is what happens at that point." Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, D-W.Va., said his share of the fine — $8.9 million — will be spent on stricter enforcement of the laws at the state level. "We still appreciate coal mining jobs and the invest - ments here in West Virginia, but they've got to be respon- sible," Tomblin said. The settlement comes nearly two months after the water supply for 300,000 peo - ple in and around Charleston, W. Va., was temporarily un- drinkable after the spill of a coal-cleaning chemical on the banks of the Elk River. Last month, a ruptured pipe underneath a coal ash impoundment at a Duke En - ergy power plant polluted the waters of the Dan River in North Carolina. State en- vironmental officials in that case have cited Duke for not obtaining the proper per- mits for discharges into wa- terways. The settlement with Al- pha covers a different source of water pollution from coal — from mines and from the processing plants where the coal is prepared for shipping. Still, for the Obama ad - ministration, the settlement is likely to generate more crit- icism from the coal industry, their lobbyists and support- ers in Congress. They have said that this administration is going after coal with new regulations aimed at reduc - ing mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plant smokestacks, as well as the first-ever proposal to re - duce carbon from yet-to-be- built coal-fired power plants. eNvIrONmeNT Coal firm to pay record fine for water pollution Company also faces cleanup costs of $200 million Washington 36/27 New York 30/25 Miami 85/74 Atlanta 44/33 Detroit 27/17 Houston 60/37 Chicago 30/21 Minneapolis 32/28 Kansas City 45/32 El Paso 71/53 Denver 68/37 Billings 50/30 Los Angeles 72/55 San Francisco 63/49 Seattle 53/42 AIR QUALITY FORECAST What it means: 0-50: Good; 51-100: Moderate; 101-150: Unhealthy for sensitive people; 151+: Unhealthy for all. Source: Airnow.gov City Today's air quality City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W CALIFORNIA CITIES National and world forecast Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Summary National Extremes World Extremes North and South America Asia, Australia Europe Africa Carson City Hawthorne Reno Herlong Lovelock Sacramento Yuba City Napa Ukiah Chico Corning Lakeview Alturas Susanville Redding Red Bluff Laytonville Fort Bragg Point Arena Eureka Redway Mount Shasta Yreka Crescent City Ashland Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows. Shown are today's noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. ALMANAC Precipitation Temperatures ALLERGY REPORT Pollen levels Source: National Allergy Bureau TODAY'S UV INDEX (The higher the number, the faster skin damage will occur.) 11+: Extreme 8-10: Very high 6-7: High 3-5: Moderate 0-2: Low SUN SETTINGS, MOON PHASES Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Hours of sunlight River Levels Sacramento River Flood 7 a.m. 24-hr Stage yest. chg. Lake Levels Elevation Yesterday Storage (acre-feet) Percent Capacity Q: A: FRIDAY 70° 43° SATURDAY 73° 50° Clouds and sun Pa rtly sunn y SUNDAY 61° 47° Cooler with periods of rain MONDAY 72° 44° Pa rtly sunn y and wa rmer TODAY 66° 44° Rather cloudy with a couple of showers. Partly cloudy tonight. High ....................................................................... 63° Low ........................................................................ 53° Normal high ......................................................... 63° Normal low ........................................................... 43° Record high ............................................. 81° in 1953 Record low .............................................. 27° in 1945 Humidity noon today ........................................ 55% 24 hours through 2 p.m. yesterday ................. 0.09" Month to date ................................................... 1.08" Normal month to date ..................................... 0.71" Season to date .................................................. 9.41" Normal season to date .................................. 18.77" Red Bluff through 2 p.m. yesterday Chico .................................................... Not available Napa ................................................................... Good Red Bluff .............................................. Not available Redding ............................................... Not available Yuba City ............................................. Not available Allergy, dust and dander today: Beneficial Grass .................. Absent Mold ......................... Low Trees ...................... High Weeds ................ Absent 3 Highest at 11 a.m. Today 6:35 a.m. 6:06 p.m. 9:48 a.m. none Friday 6:34 a.m. 6:07 p.m. 10:31 a.m. 12:19 a.m. 11 hr., 31 min. Mar 8 First Mar 16 Full Last Mar 23 New Mar 30 at Bend Bridge 27 3.70 -8.20 at Hamilton City 148 132.60 +0.30 at Ord Ferry 114 101.70 +3.10 at Red Bluff Diversion Dam 253 239.50 -3.70 at Tehama Bridge 213 202.70 -3.10 Lake Shasta...................948.53 1,852,898 40.7% Lake Trinity .................2276.53 1,203,745 45.5% Weather Trivia ™ What is the record low temperature for the lower 48 states in March? -50 F at Snake River, Wyo., on March 17, 1906. Today Friday Anaheim 72/54/pc 76/54/s Bakersfield 74/48/pc 68/49/s Chula Vista 70/55/pc 70/54/pc Crescent City 55/44/r 56/42/pc Death Valley 84/63/pc 82/60/s Eureka 56/42/r 56/40/pc Fremont 65/48/sh 66/46/pc Fresno 71/51/sh 70/49/s Glendale 74/53/pc 79/53/s Huntington Beach 66/55/pc 67/55/pc Irvine 70/57/pc 70/55/pc Lake Tahoe 50/23/sh 51/21/s Long Beach 71/54/pc 71/53/s Los Angeles 72/55/pc 77/56/s Mammoth Mountain 55/28/c 53/26/s Modesto 70/48/sh 69/45/s Monterey 62/48/sh 64/45/pc Moreno Valley 74/50/pc 74/50/s Napa 64/46/sh 67/44/pc Needles 84/60/pc 82/58/s Oakland 64/48/sh 65/46/pc Oxnard 66/50/pc 74/50/s Redding 64/41/sh 70/42/pc Riverside 75/44/pc 77/44/s Sacramento 68/45/sh 70/42/pc San Bernardino 74/51/pc 78/51/s San Diego 66/57/pc 68/55/pc San Francisco 63/49/sh 66/47/pc San Jose 65/48/sh 66/46/pc San Luis Obispo 69/50/pc 77/48/pc Santa Ana 69/56/pc 74/56/pc Santa Barbara 69/48/pc 76/45/s Santa Clarita 74/49/pc 78/49/s Stockton 70/45/sh 69/42/s Ventura 67/50/pc 75/52/s Yosemite Valley 61/38/r 63/34/s Today Friday Albuquerque 67/46/pc 67/41/pc Atlanta 44/33/r 55/45/r Baltimore 33/26/c 42/30/c Boston 26/18/pc 39/30/pc Buffalo 27/18/pc 38/29/pc Chicago 30/21/pc 38/25/pc Cincinnati 43/29/pc 54/38/s Dallas 58/39/s 70/49/pc Denver 68/37/pc 47/25/r Detroit 27/17/pc 38/29/pc El Paso 71/53/s 77/52/c Fargo 35/13/c 17/-6/s Honolulu 81/68/c 79/68/sh Houston 60/37/pc 68/49/pc Indianapolis 39/28/pc 48/35/s Kansas City 45/32/pc 53/25/c Las Vegas 77/58/pc 75/54/s Louisville 49/33/pc 59/42/s Miami 85/74/t 83/60/pc Minneapolis 32/28/c 34/4/i New Orleans 61/47/c 63/48/s New York City 30/25/pc 42/34/c Oklahoma City 50/34/s 65/38/pc A dry and cool day is in store for the Northeast and much of the Midwest today as high pressure hovers just north of New England. Meanwhile, a storm in the South will cause heavy rain from the central Gulf Coast to northern Florida and the Carolina coast. Gusty to locally severe thunderstorms are forecast to impact the Florida Peninsula. There is a chance the rain will change to snow and ice over the interior South as the storm moves northward at night. Warmer air will push eastward across the Plains. Spotty snow is in the offing for the Upper Midwest. High ............................ 87° in Thermal, CA Low ............................. -31° in Babbitt, MN High ........... 109° in Roebourne, Australia Low ... -52° in Summit Station, Greenland Bogota 65/48/t 65/50/r Buenos Aires 79/57/s 79/59/s Caracas 87/73/s 87/73/s Ensenada 73/53/pc 73/58/pc Mexico City 75/46/pc 72/46/pc Montreal 18/7/s 32/28/pc Rio de Janeiro 84/73/t 82/72/t Tijuana 68/55/pc 70/52/pc Toronto 23/19/pc 36/25/c Vancouver 51/45/r 51/43/c Orlando 78/63/t 72/50/pc Philadelphia 31/25/c 44/34/c Phoenix 84/62/s 83/58/pc Pittsburgh 37/22/pc 48/33/s Portland, ME 25/9/s 37/24/pc Portland, OR 56/44/r 59/42/c St. Louis 46/32/pc 57/37/s Salt Lake City 61/37/sh 50/31/pc Seattle 53/42/r 57/41/c Tucson 81/57/s 80/55/pc Washington, DC 36/27/c 45/34/c Cairo 84/62/s 88/63/pc Casablanca 68/49/s 78/55/s Johannesburg 72/58/t 72/57/t Kinshasa 92/73/t 92/73/t Lagos 91/78/t 90/78/t Nairobi 84/61/pc 85/59/pc Tripoli 62/45/sh 61/46/r Baghdad 85/63/s 87/61/s Beijing 46/24/s 46/29/pc Hong Kong 69/63/c 69/63/c Jerusalem 74/54/s 78/62/pc Kabul 52/32/c 54/34/pc Manila 89/73/s 89/73/pc Melbourne 72/56/pc 71/57/s New Delhi 77/50/pc 77/52/pc Seoul 42/25/s 43/27/s Singapore 90/75/c 90/75/c Sydney 79/68/c 82/68/t Tehran 67/52/pc 67/51/s Tokyo 48/34/pc 48/36/c Amsterdam 52/41/pc 53/40/pc Athens 57/47/r 61/51/r Belgrade 54/41/sh 49/41/sh Berlin 51/33/pc 54/36/pc Budapest 54/37/pc 53/38/sh Dublin 54/45/r 47/37/pc London 54/43/pc 54/41/sh Madrid 64/43/s 63/39/s Moscow 36/25/pc 32/23/c Paris 53/36/s 57/38/pc Rome 55/42/pc 61/44/s Stockholm 43/36/pc 45/36/c Vienna 52/39/c 52/39/c Zurich 48/28/pc 53/32/pc 58/32 66/37 62/33 59/33 64/32 68/45 67/45 64/46 62/39 66/45 66/45 48/32 53/29 54/32 64/41 66/44 58/37 57/47 59/47 56/42 60/41 50/33 56/33 55/44 55/32 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2014 2 Bud's BBQ 22825 Antelope Blvd. Red Bluff We seat 40 people inside M-F 11am-6pm Sat. 11am-3pm Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 CATER COMPANY MEETINGS BBQ PORK ★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-1657 Furniture Depot MON.-FRI. 9:00-6:00 SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 UP TO 50% OFF ALL FLOOR MODELS TEHAMA COUNTY REAL ESTATE TEAM • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.redbluffcoldwellbanker.com See All Tehama County Listings at C & C PROPERTIES An Independently owned and operated Member of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates. 741 Main Street, Suite #2 Red Bluff, CA 96080 1-800-287-2187 (530) 527-2187 Let Our Knowledgeable And Professional Staff Assist You With All Your Real Estate Needs Today ! RESIDENTIAL ~ 3 Bd, 2 Ba Home w/ 3 Car Garage in Highland Bluffs....................................$255,000 ~ 2 Bd, 2 Ba In The Grove!................................................................................$154,950 ~ 1.8 Acres. 3 Bd. 2 Ba Home w/ Brick Patio & Newer Roof ............................. $118,500 ~ 3 Bd. 2 Ba. Home w/ Lots Of Storage on Almost an Acre .............................. $169,900 ~ Home on 1+ Acre in Oak Knoll. In Ground Fenced Pool................................$189,000 ~ Newer 4 Bd. 2 Ba. 2,200 Sq. Ft. Home. 3 Car Garage ................................. $249,000 ~ Highland Bluffs Home With Bonus Room And Full Length Deck...................$299,900 ~ Country Village Home On Huge Lot With Pool & Spa....................................$234,900 COMMERCIAL ~ 1,866 Sq. Ft. High Traffic Area. Lots of Parking ............................................. $149,000 ~ 11,730 Sq. Ft. Kitchen & Classrooms............................................................$235,000 ~ Great Location & 15,300 Sq. Ft......................................................................$595,000 ~ Owner May Carry. Office & Shop. 3,280 Sq. Ft..............................................$149,000 ~ Great Exposure! 1,600 Sq. Ft. Corner Property ............................................. $299,900 ~ Parking & Storage. Downtown Red Bluff. 2,440 Sq. Ft .................................. $190,000 MANUFACTURED ~ Senior Park Along Sacramento River. 3 Bd, 2 Ba ............................................ $49,500 ~ Covered Porch, Office, Spacious Kitchen. 2 Bd. 2 Ba. 1,685 Sq. Ft................$91,500 LOTS & LAND ~ REDUCED! Gently Sloping Lot in Scenic Heights............................................$24,900 ~ Mountain Building Lot. _ + Acre........................................................................$55,000 ~ No Space Rent! Lot ready for Mfg. Home ........................................................ $19,500 ~ 10 + Useable Acres in Corning.........................................................................$98,000 ~ Hwy 99 Frontage. 2+ Acres..............................................................................$45,000 ~ Almost 5 Acre Lot w/ Mtn Views on Old Mission Rd.........................................$35,000 ~ 1.78 Ac. Level Building Parcel.........................................................................$22,000 ~ Vina Acreage ! Level 20 Acres........................................................................$130,000 ~ 11+ Acres in Gated Community. Ponds & Trails...............................................$75,000 ~ Bend Area Lot. 4+ Acres...................................................................................$95,000 530-366-3166 545 Adobe Rd. Red Bluff www.redbluffdodge.com | WEATHER | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM ThURSDAY, MARCh 6, 2014 8 B