Lawsuit filed over mine waste dumped in Ky. valley

Kenneth Taylor, a member of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, said he lives near Fishtrap Lake.

"If I filled in or altered the creek in front of my house, or built sediment ponds in it, I believe the state and Army Corps would put the law to me," Taylor said in a statement. "I don't see why a coal company should be treated any differently."

The suit said the environmental groups sent a notice of the violations to the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June. The groups sued after 60 days went by without a reply from the EPA or the Army Corps.

It asks a judge to issue civil penalties and order mitigation to clean up the site.