A subsidiary of LG&E and KU had plans to discharge 4.5 million gallons of wastewater from an old coal loading site outside Sebree, Kentucky, into the Green River starting this week.
The company, FCD LLC, did not have a permit for the release.
Instead, FCD was given “off-permit authorization” from the commonwealth's Division of Water, via a controversial program some legal experts say has consistently enabled violations of the Clean Water Act across the state, The Courier Journal previously reported.
Then, at 10 p.m. on Friday — just before the discharge was planned to begin Monday — the company learned its authorization had been revoked by the state.
“Upon further review of the anticipated volume and nature of the discharge,” the Division of Water determined the one-time, off-permit authorization “is not applicable to the proposed point source,” instead requiring the company to apply for a permit under the Clean Water Act, according to a notice sent to FCD.
Just a few hours before the company learned of the reversal, a coalition of environmental groups had notified FCD and state officials that the groups intended to bring a civil lawsuit against the company for violations of the Clean Water Act if the discharge came to pass.
Read the rest at the Courier-Journal.
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