EPA fines Usibelli $60K

WASILLA — Usibelli Coal Mine Inc., the company proposing an open-pit coal mine near Palmer, has been ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pay a $60,000 fine for 21 violations of the Clean Water Act at its open-pit mine in Healy over the last three years.

Between April 2007 and July 2010, the Alaska-based company had 11 unpermitted discharges into the Nenana River, Hoseanna Creek, Sanderson Creek and Francis Creek, and an additional 10 violations of discharge permit limits, according to the EPA.

“Many of these discharges could have been minimized or avoided,” said Edward Kowalski, director of EPA’s Regional Office of Compliance and Enforcement. “By simply using and maintaining best management practices, we believe this penalty could have been avoided. Mining responsibly means making water quality protection a top priority.”

According to the consent agreement and final court order issued by the EPA Jan. 19, Usibelli discharged storm water or mine drainage into surface waters when berms of settling ponds or other containment structures were overwhelmed or breached during intense storm events in the Healy area.

There were also two instances where storm water or mine drainage was accidentally pumped into ditches that lead to receiving waters, instead of into settling ponds. One of those accidental discharges in April 2007 amounted to 8,400 gallons of water being pumped from the lower yard to a culvert that took it into Hoseanna Creek.

The storm water and mine drainage discharged from Usibelli’s facility contained pollutants, including suspended solids such as sediment and dissolved metals like iron, according to court documents and EPA officials.

The news comes as no surprise to a coalition of Sutton and Chickaloon residents fighting Usibelli’s proposed Wishbone Hill operation near their homes.

“This simply confirms what we already knew about this company,” said Kirby Spangler, vice president of the Castle Mountain Coalition. “This is just another outrageous example of Usibelli Coal Company’s disrespect for the environment and the community. Despite the myths that Usibelli is somehow different, the record shows that they behave just like any other coal company.”

Spangler said Usibelli has an extensive record of repeat violations with the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

He said that between August 2009 and January 2010, MSHA fined the company a total of $183,281 for six violations involving the loading and hauling of its coal products and the dust produced as a result. Additionally, between May 2000 and March 2010, MSHA cited Usibelli with 267 less serious violations totally $75,152 in fines, he said.

“Maybe this will kind of wake people up a little bit to the fact that we need more protection,” Spangler said, stressing that the situation in Sutton is different from that in Healy simply because there are more than 100 homes and businesses less than a mile from the Wishbone Hill project. The Healy mine is five miles from the nearest home.

But Fred Wallis, Usibelli’s vice president in Healy, said Monday that Kowalski of the EPA was speaking too broadly and was not in Healy to properly assess the situation. He said it wasn’t as bad as the EPA is making it out to be and it was the company itself that reported the discharges in the first place.

“It was a very high rain event that caused the majority of these breaches,” Wallis said. “And you have to remember that it’s just rain water. There weren’t any chemicals or additives to pollute the water. It was probably cleaner than what was already in the creeks. It’s just dirty water running into dirty water.”

Wallis said that because much of the water in the creeks and Nenana River is full of glacial silt, the additional discharges didn’t cause negative effects.

He said the iron level in the waters was only “slightly elevated” because of the mine discharges, but it wasn’t anything to worry about.

“You really shouldn’t be fined for something you’re turning yourself in for, but that’s the way the law is written,” Wallis said, adding that the Healy violations are totally unrelated to any future operations at Wishbone Hill.

Wallis added that any citations or fines coming from MSHA in the past do not reflect the company’s efforts to be good neighbors.

“The company strives very hard and has a very good safety and environmental achievement record,” Wallis said. “We all live here, too. We’ve been in Healy for 25 years now and have second and third generations working at the mine.”

Usibelli has 30 days from Jan. 19 to pay the $60,000 fine, according to EPA officials.

Eva DeMarie, EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit compliance officer, said Usibelli has applied to the state for a permit to expand the Healy mine and she predicts the company will have to jump through a few more hoops to gain permission.

“I think the permit is going to be a bit more stringent,” DeMarie said.

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.