Black Warrior River Keeper: Approved Consent Decree Requires Cleanup of Drummond’s Maxine Mine Site

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A big victory for environmental groups pushing to get an old, abandoned mine site cleaned up near the Black Warrior River.

A federal judge in Birmingham granted a consent decree requiring Drummond Company to clean up its abandoned Maxine Mine site located near the Locust Fork just northwest of Birmingham.

For years, The Black Warrior Riverkeeper and other environmental groups have been asking the courts to force Drummond to stop discharging toxic metals, acidic water and other pollutants into the lower locust fork. Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke says this consent decree is long overdue and he’s hoping Drummond will do its part to clean up.

“It’s a win in that this site has been bleeding into the river for numerous decades and its one of the worst that I’ve seen flooded with nasty toxic metals and other pollutants. We’re excited for the win and excited to this site start to get cleaned up,” Brooke said.

The Locust Fork is a popular recreation spot in the state. Brooke says the clean-up could take a while.

We reached out to Drummond for a comment and still waiting to hear back. The consent decree says Drummond must comply with pollution limits among other things or receive big fines.

You can read more about the situation and see the consent decree here:

https://blackwarriorriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022_PressRelease_MaxineVictory_Aug11.pdf

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