Conservation groups sue over abandoned Alabama mine
Conservation groups are suing the Birmingham-based Drummond Co. over an abandoned coal mine. The federal lawsuit contends the old Maxine Mine is discharging polluted, acidic water into the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. The complaint filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Public Justice. The groups say mine waste has filled in what was once a tributary of the stream. The suit asks a judge to make the company clean up the waste and restore the polluted streams. Drummond hasn’t responded to an email seeking comment. The groups say hundreds of abandoned mine are located in the Black Warrior basin, and the Maxine site is one of the worst. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
John Merrill announces ‘civic engagement and environmental conservation’ events
Robert C. Hatch High School (RHHS) and Francis Marion High School (FMHS), two schools in Alabama’s Black Belt region, will be taking part in the annual Teach for America/Americorps Week with events aimed at “civic engagement and environmental conservation.” According to a press release from the office of Secretary of State John Merrill, “Teach For America-Alabama has become an important partner in the local effort to ensure that every child has access to an excellent and equitable education.” The organization recruits college graduates to teach in rural and urban schools for at least two years to ensure that “all children have an equal chance in life.” Merrill will be the guest speaker in two classrooms at an event March 9 at FMHS and will discuss his role as Secretary of State, lessons learned from his own educational and professional career and the importance of voting and community service. That same day, Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke will address students at RHHS to discuss water pollution and conservation efforts aimed at the Black Warrior River in Perry County. The Riverkeepers are a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the river, which is entirely contained in Alabama.
Conservation advocates file lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers over Black Warrior River mine
Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers‘ approval of a permit for a new mine on the Black Warrior River. Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Defenders of Wildlife filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Birmingham federal court. It accuses the Corps of Engineers of failing to fully weigh the effect on endangered wildlife and water quality by the filling of streams and wetlands. It also says the agency failed to consider the cumulative effect of the multiple mines located along the Warrior River. The river twists through coal-rich areas of the state According to the lawsuit, the Corps of Engineers granted the permit last year to Global Met Coal Corp. for Black Creek Mine. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
