Black Warrior Riverkeeper has filed a lawsuit against PB Services, LLC, accusing the company of violating the federal Clean Water Act at its Bessie Mine and Locust Fork Red Rock facilities in Jefferson County, Alabama. The lawsuit alleges that PB Services exceeded discharge permit limits for pollutants such as cadmium, manganese, selenium, thallium, total suspended solids, and toxicity. Additionally, the nonprofit claims the company failed to perform required sampling of its discharges and continued to discharge pollution without a valid permit after its previous permit expired in March 2023.
Nelson Brooke, staff Riverkeeper at Black Warrior Riverkeeper, stated, “Locust Fork Red Rock is selling waste red rock from the former Bessie coal mine and foundry waste from US Pipe, both of which are loaded with heavy metals.” Brooke added that wastewater discharged into an unnamed tributary of the Locust Fork since 2020 has consistently violated Clean Water Act permit limitations for multiple heavy metals. “Our goal is to encourage PB Services toward permit compliance so they will properly treat their wastewater and stop polluting the Locust Fork,” Brooke said…