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Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc. will face possible fines of up to $800,000 to be levied by EPA and ADEQ.

Flagstaff, AZ - America’s only long-distance coal slurry line has been spilling tons of toxic coal slurry in increasing amounts along its 273 mile route across Arizona, the Sierra Club announced today. Documents obtained by the Sierra Club from the Arizona Department of Environmental (ADEQ) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that the Black Mesa Pipeline has had 15 unauthorized discharges of coal slurry in the last two years; 8 of which were in the last 9 months.

One spill, for example, released an estimated 500 tons of toxic coal slurry into Willow Creek, a tributary of the Big Sandy River in Northwestern Arizona. On January 19, 2002, BMPI reported to ADEQ that the pipeline had burst and spilled 500 tons of toxic coal slurry in a stretch of Willow Creek stretching over a ˝ mile. The Willow Creek Spill ran for 1-2 hours before it was shut down leaving sludge 8 inches deep in some areas. Black Mesa Pipeline failed to report the spill, as required by a recent consent decree, to ADEQ in a timely manner.

The Sierra Club reported that ADEQ and EPA will soon announce civil fines of $100,000 to $800,000. According to documents, criminal charges might be brought against Fred Remington, President of Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc. (BMPI) for knowingly withholding information on the spill on Willow Creek and other areas.

Black Mesa Pipeline Inc. (BMPI) and Peabody Coal Company operate the 273-mile coal slurry line that transports Peabody coal 273 miles from Black Mesa to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada. The Black Mesa slurry line has been under continued pressure by the Sierra Club and other organizations like Black Mesa Trust, Black Mesa Water Coalition and the National Resources Defense Council for the pipeline’s depletion of pristine drinking water below Black Mesa for the past 30 years. Peabody Coal Company and Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc. have shared the operations of the slurry line on the Black Mesa Mine on the Navajo and Hopi reservations that uses 1.3 Billion gallons of Ice-age water deposited in the Navajo Aquifer below Black Mesa.

"This pipeline is a relic of the past and these fines are just a band-aid. The pipeline should be shut down immediately to protect not only the N-Aquifer, but also the lands surrounding the slurry line", said Sierra Club's Southwest Representative Andy Bessler. "Black Mesa Pipeline must be held accountable since they have been spilling toxic coal slurry in remote places like Willow Creek. We expect environmental justice will be served to Black Mesa Pipeline for their careless pollution and to Peabody for their careless waste of pristine drinking water."

After EPA and ADEQ sued BMPI and settled out of court in 2001 for $140,000 in fines through a consent decree made in early July 2001, there have been, according to ADEQ documents, “eight unauthorized releases of coal slurry from the Black Mesa Pipeline.” Part of the consent decree calls for BMPI to clean up spills in a timely manner.

But on Monday, August 5th, 2002, Jeff Greyeyes of the Black Mesa Water Coalition and Cara Vahling of the Sierra Club investigated the Willow Creek Spill. Photos, taken by Jeff Greyeyes, shows wet slurry still sits in a wash above Willow Creek despite the promised clean up by BMPI. “I was disgusted at the magnitude of the spill,” said Jeff Greyeyes. “It is obvious that BMPI is having problems with the slurry line.”

According to ADEQ staff, 95% of the Willow Creek Spill is cleaned up. But Cara Vahling found otherwise. “BMPI is scrambling to clean this up, but we saw with our own eyes that they are not doing a good job.”

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are in the process of building a case for prosecution against BMPI. Robert Casey a representative from ADEQ told the Sierra Club that, "this will not be just a slap on the wrist." Sierra Club estimates BMPI could be fined between $100,000 and $800,000. The decision is expected in the next couple weeks.

For more information Cara Vahling and Andy Bessler can be contacted by phone: 928-774-6103.