One hearing will be held June 5 at the Frankfurt Convention Center from 7 to 11 p.m.; and two will be held June 7 at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center—the first from noon to 4 p.m. and the second from 7 to 11 p.m. Since 2009, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s Division of Water (KDOW) has authorized discharges from approximately 2,500 existing and new coal mining and processing projects under the CWA.
For the 36 individual permits that are the subject of the hearings, the EPA has been working with KDOW to collect and evaluate data on toxic metals, cyanide, phenols, specific conductance, and current biological health of the waters that receive discharges from the mines in an effort to work through the issues identified in the objections.
Persons interested in attending a hearing are encouraged (but not required) to pre-register at www.epa.gov/region4/kycoalminehearings.
