Post by yihunt on Mar 23, 2010 8:55:42 GMT -4
Rep. Bill DeWeese says Consol should reach into its deep pockets, restore damaged dam at Duke Lake
If Consol Energy can pay $3.5 billion to expand its natural gas holdings as reported last week, I believe the company can afford to shell out $58 million to repair the dam to restore Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park.
The state Department of Environmental Protection recently ruled that longwall mining at Consol’s Bailey Mine was responsible for ground movement that damaged the dam and necessitated draining the 62-acre lake in 2005.
As a result of the DEP finding, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is seeking $58 million in damages from Consol. Although the company has the right to appeal that finding – which could further delay remediation efforts for many years – Consol should accept responsibility and pay to repair the dam.
Any corporation that can afford a $3.5 billion acquisition to further its own profitability should not hem and haw when it comes to paying 1/70th of that sum to be a good corporate citizen. It is high time for Consol to accept responsibility for what happened at the Duke Lake dam, and to show that it is interested in more than making a handsome profit from Greene County’s natural resources.
Consol’s recently announced multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire the Appalachian region natural gas business of Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. shows that Consol has plenty of financial wherewithal to repair the dam, if it so chooses.
Those of us who treasure Ryerson Park know it hasn’t been the same since Duke Lake was drained. I call upon Consol to remedy this unhappy situation, which has gone five years without resolution. It is time for this obviously deep-pocketed energy conglomerate to end everyone’s frustration by admitting responsibility and restoring Duke Lake to its former splendor.
If Consol Energy can pay $3.5 billion to expand its natural gas holdings as reported last week, I believe the company can afford to shell out $58 million to repair the dam to restore Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park.
The state Department of Environmental Protection recently ruled that longwall mining at Consol’s Bailey Mine was responsible for ground movement that damaged the dam and necessitated draining the 62-acre lake in 2005.
As a result of the DEP finding, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is seeking $58 million in damages from Consol. Although the company has the right to appeal that finding – which could further delay remediation efforts for many years – Consol should accept responsibility and pay to repair the dam.
Any corporation that can afford a $3.5 billion acquisition to further its own profitability should not hem and haw when it comes to paying 1/70th of that sum to be a good corporate citizen. It is high time for Consol to accept responsibility for what happened at the Duke Lake dam, and to show that it is interested in more than making a handsome profit from Greene County’s natural resources.
Consol’s recently announced multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire the Appalachian region natural gas business of Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. shows that Consol has plenty of financial wherewithal to repair the dam, if it so chooses.
Those of us who treasure Ryerson Park know it hasn’t been the same since Duke Lake was drained. I call upon Consol to remedy this unhappy situation, which has gone five years without resolution. It is time for this obviously deep-pocketed energy conglomerate to end everyone’s frustration by admitting responsibility and restoring Duke Lake to its former splendor.