CHARLESTON, W.V. (AP) - More than a dozen companies have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling more than half a million dollars to settle alleged environmental violations.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is seeking public comment on each proposed settlement.
The Charleston Daily Mail reports that Caiman Energy would pay the largest civil penalty, $223,948, to settle the DEP's allegations that contractors violated water quality laws in February 2011 while laying a pipeline in Wetzel County.
Ox Paperboard agreed to pay a $104,850 civil penalty to settle alleged water pollution violations at its facility in Jefferson County.
Other companies' proposed settlements include penalties ranging from $37,780 to $2,010.
None of the companies admitted any wrongdoing in the proposed settlements.
The settlements are available online at www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Settlements,Ordersouttopublicnotice.aspx.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
