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PA WEST VIRGINIA MINE OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY
Release Date: 03/06/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1998
WEST VIRGINIA MINE OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY
On Feb. 18, Wayne H. Fortney, Jr., of Morgantown, W.Va., a principal owner and president of Valley Mining Co. Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Clarksburg to two counts of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA). Mr. Fortney admitted that he negligently violated the conditions of his CWA discharge permit by allowing acid mine drainage to be discharged into Maple Run in Monongalia County, W.Va., between Oct. 8, 1991 and Sept. 25, 1992. He also admitted to violating his permit by discharging acidic water from a collecting pond at the Valley Mining Project site on March 23, 1992. When sentenced, Fortney faces a maximum of up two years in prison and maximum fines of up to $200,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection.
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