Black Warrior Riverkeeper Sues Warrior Met Coal For Illegal Discharges

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Black Warrior Riverkeeper announced Wednesday that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Warrior Met Coal alleging the metallurgical coal producer has been discharging polluted wastewater from its Mine No. 7 at locations without a permit.

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The waterways advocacy group claims the unpermitted discharges from Mine No. 7’s Slurry Impoundment No. 14 flow into an unnamed tributary that eventually feeds into Texas Creek.

The aforementioned creek is a tributary of Davis Creek, which flows into the Black Warrior River at Holt Lake in Tuscaloosa County.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper says this constitutes a failure to comply with the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

“Texas Creek and Davis Creek are beautiful streams regularly enjoyed by locals and wildlife,” Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said. “Unpermitted coal mine wastewater is not welcome in these creeks, so we honor the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act of 1972 by holding Warrior Met Coal accountable through the Act’s citizen lawsuit provisions.”

Black Warrior Riverkeeper is demanding Warrior Met Coal be ordered to halt any and all unpermitted discharges, in addition to taking appropriate measures to stop its violations of applicable environmental laws.

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