W.Va. officials avoid saying whether coal slurry in underground mines threatens drinking water

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was ordered in 2006 to find out if coal slurry is a threat to drinking water when it is pumped into abandoned underground mines for disposal. Now, 13 months after the deadline for that report, it appears that the agency still cannot answer the question.

"The DEP cannot say precisely what's in that waste, how much is injected annually, or whether and where it migrates," reports Vicki Smith of The Associated Press. "Nor is it under any pressure to do so: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't studied the practice in a decade and said in 2002 its existing rules were adequate to protect groundwater." This ambivalence continues despite law suits from several West Virginia communities which claim to have tests showing heir water is contaminated with toxins including arsenic, lead and manganese.

"Slurry is created when coal is washed with water and chemicals to separate clay, rock and other impurities that keep the carbon from burning efficiently," adds Smith. "Underground injection is one of the ways companies can legally dispose of it. It can also be stored in massive impoundments or dried and buried in earthen cells." (Read more)