Judge dismisses suit over river damage

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December 23, 2009

BY TED POTTS The Tribune-Democrat Wed Dec 23, 2009, 11:37 PM EST

The attorney for PennEnvironment said Wednesday he is unsure what – if anything – the environmental group will do now that a lawsuit it filed in 2007 concerning pollution of the Conemaugh River has been dismissed.

U.S. Magistrate Amy Reynolds Hay of Pittsburgh ruled Tuesday that PennEnvironment couldn’t prove that excessive discharge levels from Reliant Energy’s Conemaugh Generating Station near New Florence caused damage to the river.

Reliant acknowledged the discharges were excessive but maintained it could not be proven they damaged the Conemaugh’s waters.

“We are currently researching if we will be going further,” said Josh Kratka of the National Environmental Law Center in Boston.

Kratka noted that Hay rejected Reliant’s contention that the state had already taken action in the matter.

But her ruling did not say that any damage to the Conemaugh was the result of discharges from Conemaugh Generating Station, Kratka said.

In the suit, PennEnvironment – which was later joined by the Sierra Club – said the alleged discharge violations could hurt efforts to clean the river, which has suffered from acid mine drainage and industrial pollution.

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Judge dismisses suit over river damage

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