Patriot Coal Reaches Mine Site Clean-Up Deal with West Virginia

Patriot Coal and West Virginia environmental regulators have reached an agreement in which the company will set aside more than $50 million to cover cleanup costs at its former mine sites in the state.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the agreement announced Oct. 6 is subject to approval from a federal bankruptcy court in Richmond, Virginia.

DEP Secretary Randy Huffman says without the deal, Patriot could have walked away from its reclamation obligations and left that work to the state.

Patriot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 12. Patriot’s agreement with the DEP resolves the agency’s objection to the bankruptcy plan.

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