Working in coalition with national and state-wide environmental and social justice groups, we are once again seeking justice for clean water in Appalachia.

At 2pm today, Appalachian Voices and partners announced an intent to sue yet another coal company in Kentucky for violations of the Clean Water Act - this time with a single outfit wracking up more than 12,000 violations.

The company named in this newest suit is Nally & Hamilton, a mining operation based in Bardstown, KY and is one of the largest mining companies in eastern Kentucky.

Nally & Hamilton is not known for being a good neighbor to local residents. In one instance, ex-coal miner Elmer Lloyd’s fish pond in Cumberland, Ky was completely destroyed by toxins, sediment, and mud flowing from a Nally & Hamilton owned strip mine above his home.

The notice against Nally and Hamilton alleges that the company may have filed false, potentially fraudulent, water monitoring reports with the state over the past three years, including cutting and pasting previous data in later reports in lieu of submitting actual data for each month. The suit also claims that the company repeatedly omitted legally-required data from its reports.

Appalachian Voices and its partners previously sued two other coal companies late last year in a legal case that has had as many twists and tangles as an errant patch of kudzu. That case currently has a court date set of June 14.

Appalachian Voices and partners, including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Riverkeeper, the Waterkeeper Alliance, teamed up with lawyers from Natural Resources Defense Council on this case.

Nally & Hamilton and the state government have 60 days to respond to the allegations.

• Read the full Press Release & Notice of Intent to Sue
• Visit our Kentucky water page for an overview of our legal battles for clean water in Kentucky
• Donate to our Water Watch program and help us defend Appalachia’s waterway

Attention Boonies!

Come out this Monday night to support strong new regulations on coal tar based asphalt sealants, the source of the Hodges Creek fish kill last summer.

The Boone Town Council will be having a public hearing on Monday, February 7th at 7:00pm at the Boone Town Council Chambers (next to the police station on 321 and in front of K-mart). We need everyone to come out and speak in favor of a newly proposed ban on coal tar based asphalt sealants, in the town of Boone. If you don’t want to speak that’s ok too, just come out to show your support.

Here is the proposed new rule.

Help keep this from ever happening again: