CONSOL Energy unveiled a state-of-the-art water treatment plant near Mannington, West Virginia, reinforcing CONSOL’s support for coal mining in the region. The new facility is designed to treat a maximum flow of 3500 gallons per minute of mine water. The sources of the water are from underground mine areas on CONSOL Energy’s Blacksville #2, Loveridge and Robinson Run mining operations which is where the water is pretreated for the removal of metals prior to conveyance through around 34 miles of pipeline to the new West Virginia centralised treatment facility.
“Nicholas J Deluliis, President of CONSOL Energy said “This facility is significant to CONSOL Energy and West Virginia on many levels. First and foremost, it allows CONSOL Energy to sustain our investment in our longwall mining operation and the numerous family-sustaining jobs required to support those operations in northern West Virginia for the next twenty to thirty years. It also supports our transformation into a truly diversified energy company. When we launched the Water Division one year ago, we laid out our strategy of identifying synergies across our operations to streamline operations, convert liabilities into assets, and minimise our environmental footprint. The Northern West Virginia Advanced Water Treatment Facility is a testament to how rapidly technology has been developed to address energy industry needs and how CONSOL Energy has adapted so we can continue to deliver on our core values of safety, compliance and continuous improvement.
“This water treatment facility will allow CONSOL to continue its mining operations while helping to protect our state’s waterways and, in turn, keep West Virginians on the job,” Gov. Tomblin said at the dedication ceremony. Innovations like this plant, keep West Virginia on the forefront of meeting our nation’s energy needs while continuing to improve efforts to protect the environment.”
The design at the new facility is based on a Zero Liquid Waste (ZLW) treatment process, which is comprised of a raw water pretreatment system, a reverse osmosis membrane system, evaporation and crystallisation of reverse osmosis reject, and ancillary support systems. The residuals from the treatment process, including softening sludge and mixed salts, will be disposed of in an on-site landfill, ensuring no liquid or solid waste from the water treatment operations will leave CONSOL Energy’s property.
Completed in May 2013, the construction of the facility got underway in April 2011, generating 400 new construction jobs over the life of the project as well as 30 full-time permanent jobs required to operate and maintain the facility. CONSOL Energy has entered into an operating agreement with Veolia Water, a division of Veolia Environmental, a global leader in sustainable environmental services. The 10-year operating agreement is backed by a performance guarantee that ensures the future success of the facility.
