Conservationists and the Water Board worry Birmingham's water supply, will be polluted, if a new strip mine is finalized.

An environmental law firm has filed a lawsuit against Alabama's Department of Environmental Management over the permit.

Director of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Nelson Brooke, says the

Brooke said the potential for pollution is high.

"What's pretty typical from some of these large strip coal mines after heavy rainfall you get a lot of runoff. So muddy water in the form of total suspended solids and also with that comes heavy metals such as iron, aluminum and manganese," said Nelson Brooke.

The Southern Environmental Law Firm filed a civil lawsuit against ADEM in Montgomery Circuit Court on behalf of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper.

They argue ADEM failed to require a pollution abatement and prevention plan before granting the permit. They also contend that the agency broke their own rules by not holding a public hearing. "They knew that if they issued the permit, that it would create a big splash, and so they chose to just go ahead and issue it quietly," said Nelson Brooke.

Jerome Hand, a spokesperson for ADEM, said the agency placed a classified ad placed in the Birmingham News and took public comments for 30 days before considering the permit was considered.

He said it was not typical for ADEM to notify third parties that they had issued a permit to another party and that the Shepherd Bend mine proposal met all the requirements of the Clean Water Act.

The Birmingham Water Works Board thinks the strip mine would have a negative impact on water quality, according to spokeswoman Binnie Myles. Myles said the BWWB presented additional information to ADEM the earlier part of December.