CHARLESTON, W.Va. - CONSOL Energy Inc. will pay more than $400,000 in fines for water pollution violations under a settlement proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The deal cites about 270 violations of permit limits at six CONSOL subsidiaries across the West Virginia.

CONSOL's Consolidation Coal Co. subsidiary will pay the largest amount, more than $252,000 in a deal that cites 115 violations of water pollution permit limits.

The CONSOL deal is the third such agreement that DEP has worked out privately to resolve water discharge violations.

Previously, DEP reached settlements with Alpha Natural Resources and International Coal Group. In all, the three deals involve more than $1.5 million in civil penalties.

The deals are part of a movement by DEP and the coal industry to resolve water pollution violations never previously cited by DEP, and avoid federal government enforcement actions or citizen group lawsuits.

Industry officials have said that they began approaching DEP to negotiate settlements after Massey Energy paid a record $20 million to settle a water pollution lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA sued Massey over thousands of violations that DEP never cited because state officials for roughly five years did not review water pollution monitoring reports that coal companies submit every month.

In settling with coal companies, DEP officials are only seeking fines for water pollution violations since July 2006. They cited the agency's "improved ability" since that date to "evaluate data regarding compliance with permitted effluent limits."

DEP's deal with Pittsburgh-based CONSOL is actually six separate agreements, one with each of the subsidiaries involved.

DEP announced two of those agreements late last week through its e-mail public notice service, and agency spokeswoman Kathy Cosco disclosed the others after the Gazette asked for copies of the CONSOL deals.

Mike Zeto, DEP's chief inspector for environmental enforcement, has declined to post copies of the coal industry agreements on the agency's Internet site. The public notices say to contact Zeto's office at 926-0470 for more information.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 348-1702.

The deal cites about 270 violations of permit limits at six CONSOL subsidiaries across the West Virginia.

CONSOL's Consolidation Coal Co. subsidiary will pay the largest amount, more than $252,000 in a deal that cites 115 violations of water pollution permit limits.

The CONSOL deal is the third such agreement that DEP has worked out privately to resolve water discharge violations.

Previously, DEP reached settlements with Alpha Natural Resources and International Coal Group. In all, the three deals involve more than $1.5 million in civil penalties.

The deals are part of a movement by DEP and the coal industry to resolve water pollution violations never previously cited by DEP, and avoid federal government enforcement actions or citizen group lawsuits.

Industry officials have said that they began approaching DEP to negotiate settlements after Massey Energy paid a record $20 million to settle a water pollution lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA sued Massey over thousands of violations that DEP never cited because state officials for roughly five years did not review water pollution monitoring reports that coal companies submit every month.

In settling with coal companies, DEP officials are only seeking fines for water pollution violations since July 2006. They cited the agency's "improved ability" since that date to "evaluate data regarding compliance with permitted effluent limits."

DEP's deal with Pittsburgh-based CONSOL is actually six separate agreements, one with each of the subsidiaries involved.

DEP announced two of those agreements late last week through its e-mail public notice service, and agency spokeswoman Kathy Cosco disclosed the others after the Gazette asked for copies of the CONSOL deals.

Mike Zeto, DEP's chief inspector for environmental enforcement, has declined to post copies of the coal industry agreements on the agency's Internet site. The public notices say to contact Zeto's office at 926-0470 for more information.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 348-1702.