FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1996                          (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


   SOUTHERN OHIO COAL COMPANY TO RESTORE OHIO RIVER TRIBUTARIES
             DEVASTATED BY DISCHARGES OF MINE WASTES

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Southern Ohio Coal Company will
spend almost $2 million to improve the ecological quality of the
Leading Creek watershed in Southeastern Ohio, and also will
restore two streams that were damaged by the company's release of
approximately one billion gallons of untreated or partially
treated acidic mine wastes in 1993.  The discharge of acid mine
drainage killed virtually all fish life along a 15 mile stretch
of Leading Creek and caused additional damage to Raccoon Creek,
both tributaries of the Ohio River.
     Under the terms of the consent decree with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice,
and the U.S. Department of the Interior, which was filed
simultaneously with a civil lawsuit by the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Department of Justice in Federal
District Court in the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern
Division, the Southern Ohio Coal Company also will pay $200,000
in Clean Water Act civil penalties for the discharges of acid 
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mine drainage, a wastewater containing iron sulfates, nickel, 
zinc, and other metals, which occurred when the company released
the wastewater from a flooded coal mine located in Meigs County,
Ohio.
     "In settling this case, the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Department of Justice have followed a basic principle --
polluters should be required to pay for and correct the
environmental damage they cause," said Steve Herman, the
Environmental Protection Agency's Assistant Administrator for
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  "This comprehensive
settlement will ensure that these waters will again be valuable
ecological and recreational resources for the citizens of
Southeastern Ohio."
     "The settlement demonstrates the Administration's commitment
to making sure polluters restore natural resources so they can be
enjoyed for future generations.  It also carries out the public's
view that clean water remains an important national goal," said
Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
     The agreement was developed in cooperation with the U.S.
Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and Office of
Surface Mining and Reclamation, and the Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency.  The Southern Ohio Coal Company will restore
the affected streams to their pre-discharge condition.  The
restoration plan for Leading Creek and Raccoon Creek was
developed in coordination with Ohio's Environmental Protection 

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Agency and Department of Natural Resources.  A series of 
"ecological endpoints," -- numerical indicators of the health of
the flora and fauna of the impacted water bodies -- will be used
to measure the progress made in meeting ecological goals.
     In addition, as compensation for the lost use of this
resource during its recovery and to further enhance restoration
efforts, the Southern Ohio Coal Company also has agreed to
complete the Leading Creek Watershed Improvement Plan.  The
company will undertake an assessment of the entire watershed,
produce a study with recommendations on improving it to a better
than pre-discharge condition, and provide $1.9 million to
implement the recommendations, which will be conducted by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
     Under the terms of the settlement, in addition to the Clean
Water Act penalty, the Southern Ohio Coal Company will also pay a
$100,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Office of Surface Mining for
violation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamations Act, as
well as reimburse the Environmental Protection Agency $230,000
and the Office of Surface Mining $10,200 for their original
assessments of damages related to the 1993 discharges.  The
company also will pay $100,000 to the State of West Virginia for
acts to benefit fauna projects in the Ohio River, which may
affect the Leading Creek system.
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96-034