West Virginia coal operators have started seeking water pollution settlements with the state Department of Environmental Protection to avoid federal enforcement actions or citizen lawsuits, officials said Thursday.

DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer this week proposed the first such settlement, a $750,000 deal with nearly a dozen subsidiaries of Alpha Natural Resources.

The settlement - technically separate deals with each Alpha subsidiary - would resolve 300 Clean Water Act violations involving excess discharges of aluminum, solids, iron and other pollutants from strip mines, underground operations and preparation plants, according to the settlement documents.

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he wouldn't be surprised to see more such deals coming soon.

A $20 million fine Massey Energy paid to settle a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act suit stunned industry officials, Raney said. Companies are also concerned about new citizen suits such as those filed by the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment over selenium violations at several state mines.

"There's a good bit of concern about all of that," Raney said Thursday.

The DEP reached the deal with Alpha Natural Resources after roughly six months of private negotiations with company officials and lawyers.

Randy Huffman, director of the DEP's mining division, refused to say if agency officials are negotiating similar deals with other coal companies.

The 11 Alpha Natural Resources settlements are now subject to 30-day public comment periods that run through various dates in early- and mid-April, according to notices issued earlier this week.

The DEP's deal with Alpha companies also comes as the agency tries to get back on track to review company water pollution reports - something the agency revealed after the Massey suit that it hadn't done for roughly five years.

The proposed settlements state that each Alpha subsidiary "voluntarily conducted an internal self-evaluation" of its water pollution permit compliance.

West Virginia coal operators have started seeking water pollution settlements with the state Department of Environmental Protection to avoid federal enforcement actions or citizen lawsuits, officials said Thursday.

DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer this week proposed the first such settlement, a $750,000 deal with nearly a dozen subsidiaries of Alpha Natural Resources.

The settlement - technically separate deals with each Alpha subsidiary - would resolve 300 Clean Water Act violations involving excess discharges of aluminum, solids, iron and other pollutants from strip mines, underground operations and preparation plants, according to the settlement documents.

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he wouldn't be surprised to see more such deals coming soon.

A $20 million fine Massey Energy paid to settle a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act suit stunned industry officials, Raney said. Companies are also concerned about new citizen suits such as those filed by the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment over selenium violations at several state mines.

"There's a good bit of concern about all of that," Raney said Thursday.

The DEP reached the deal with Alpha Natural Resources after roughly six months of private negotiations with company officials and lawyers.

Randy Huffman, director of the DEP's mining division, refused to say if agency officials are negotiating similar deals with other coal companies.

The 11 Alpha Natural Resources settlements are now subject to 30-day public comment periods that run through various dates in early- and mid-April, according to notices issued earlier this week.

The DEP's deal with Alpha companies also comes as the agency tries to get back on track to review company water pollution reports - something the agency revealed after the Massey suit that it hadn't done for roughly five years.

The proposed settlements state that each Alpha subsidiary "voluntarily conducted an internal self-evaluation" of its water pollution permit compliance.

Company officials, the settlements say, "voluntarily approached the WVDEP and sought the WVDEP's direct involvement in its effort to affirmatively address non-compliance issues that have not been addressed by the WVDEP in the past for the permits."

Then the DEP reviewed company discharge reports, starting with those covering July 2006 based on the DEP's "improved ability to evaluate data regarding compliance with permitted effluent limits," the settlement documents state.

In setting penalty amounts, the DEP "considered historic problems associated with the division's [discharge monitoring report] data management and enforcement system," the documents state.

The settlements require Alpha to within 90 days submit plans to show how they will "achieve compliance with permit limits for which compliance cannot be immediately achieved."

Company officials also agreed to pay automatic penalties starting at $1,000 per day and running up to $5,000 per day for future violations.

Alpha officials declined to be interviewed, but issued a prepared statement about the deal with the DEP.

"Our philosophy of 'running right' means accepting no less than 100 percent compliance with all federal and state regulations," said Randy McMillion, vice president of operations for Alpha.

The DEP settlement documents do not detail the date or type of the specific violations being resolved.

Mike Zeto, the DEP's chief environmental enforcement inspector, said the agency is not required to outline those details in the settlement agreements.

"Sometimes that information is in there, and sometimes it's not spelled out exactly what were the violations and what dates and so on," Zeto said.

To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702.