CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Department of Environmental of Protection has reached another agreement with Alpha Natural Resources to guarantee the reclamation of former mining sites across the Mountain State.
The DEP, Alpha and Contura Energy, the company that purchased most of Alpha’s assets out of bankruptcy, announced the $15 million deal in separate news releases Tuesday evening.
The settlement was reached after the DEP filed a lawsuit against Alpha concerning a $100 million error in the company’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
Under the new settlement, the DEP agrees to drop the lawsuit while Alpha agrees to put its headquarters building, located at Julian in Boone County, up as collateral to secure the reclamation projects. Contura will guarantee Alpha’s obligations up to $4.5 million and post a $4 million letter of credit.
State DEP Secretary Randy Huffman praised the agreement in a released statement.
“Once again, DEP’s bankruptcy strategy has helped to ensure that our state’s interests are protected,” Huffman said. “The settlement provides the state with significant additional bonding and other security to ensure that reclamation will be done. It also helps to ensure that Alpha will remain a viable operating company with sufficient resources to perform required land reclamation and water treatment.”
New Alpha CEO David Stetson said the company was committed to finding a solution to fulfill its obligations.
“Alpha believes that approval of the settlement, along with executing a 2017 mining plan that takes advantage of the stronger market for our coal, while maintaining a continued focus on realizing significant cost savings, will keep Alpha sustainable in the long run,” Stetson said.
The proposed settlement still must be approved by bankruptcy court.