Patriot Coal Corporation, a bankrupt mining company based out of St. Louis, Missouri, agreed to stop mountaintop removal mining today. The company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but hopes to emerge as a viable business
Mountaintop removal mining is an environmentally impactful form of strip coal mining. Companies blow chunks of rocks of the tops of mountains, exposing multiple coal veins below the surface of the rock. The rocks are then essentially thrown in the nearby rivers and streams. Recent studies have been looking into the effects of selenium, a naturally occuring element that is released into rivers as a result of this kind of mining, and its effects on both organisms in the rivers effected and humans.
Once held accountable for their actions, companies like Patriot Coal Corp. often can’t pay for the environmental damage that has been done. Companies are often left reading Chapter 11, so to speak, after studies have shown the catastrophic effect of a firm’s business practices. Stories like this one show the fact that being environmentally responsible is both a morally sound and profitable way of doing business.
Now that Patriot Coal has agreed to phasing out its mountaintop removal mining, it is able to postpone $27 million in expenses through 2014 and beyond. The company also agreed to a cap on the amount of coal it is allowed to produce in exchange for additional time to install selenium treatment plants. The company must sell its mountaintop machines, but only to buyers who will not use them in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, or Tennessee.
Make no mistake, the company has a long road ahead to return to profitability, but the company will now be an example of how negative impact on the environment by companies is expensive. Becoming environmentally responsible makes both moral and economic sense.