Arizona
Daily Sun
17 October 2004
A company
operating a 273-mile-long pipeline transporting coal
slurry from Kayenta to Laughlin, Nev., again faces hefty
fines for spilling 2,300 wet tons of slurry.
The latest fine
of $27,500 is the amount stipulated in a consent decree
between the state and the pipeline company reached in
2001 to pay for previous spills. The company paid
$128,000 the first time to cover clean-up costs and
later paid another $229,250 in penalties.
"Although
Black Mesa has made progress improving the operations of
its pipeline, we continue to be concerned about Black
Mesa's inability to prevent discharges from the
pipeline," said Steve Owens, director of the
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
The latest
spill happened Aug. 21 and the company has until Oct. 31
to pay the new fine.
Each year the
pipeline uses a billion gallons of water to move
powdered coal from mines on Black Mesa to the Mohave
Power Plant in Laughlin.
The company
reported the discharge to the ADEQ as required by the
consent decree.
Black Mesa
Pipeline, Inc. is a subsidiary of Northern Border
Partners, of Nebraska.
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