Clean Water Act discharge permit · NPDES AL0078972
SPARKS BRANCH MINE, Townley, AL: NPDES AL0078972 discharge permit, effluent exceedances, inspections, penalties
- Administratively continuedPermit status
- MinorDischarger class
- 12Pollutants under a numeric limit
- 4Pollutants with an effluent exceedance
SPARKS BRANCH MINE, held by Quality Coal Co., Inc., holds NPDES permit AL0078972. EPA’s file records it issued September 28, 2007 and expiring September 30, 2012. The status and dates are as EPA’s permit file stood when Velarion loaded it (October 14, 2026); EPA’s free Detailed Facility Report on ECHO carries the permit’s current standing.
Identity
| Facility as filed | SPARKS BRANCH MINE |
|---|---|
| Permittee as filed | Quality Coal Co., Inc. |
| NPDES ID | AL0078972 |
| Permit status | Administratively continued (past its expiration date and still in force until reissued) |
| Permit type | Individual permit |
| Discharger class | Minor discharger |
| Facility type | Not a publicly owned treatment works |
| Issued | September 28, 2007 |
| Expiration date | September 30, 2012 |
| Address | Townley, AL 35587 |
| Subwatershed | Lower Lost Creek (HUC 031601090405) |
| NAICS | 212111 – Bituminous Coal and Lignite Surface Mining |
| SIC | 1221 – Bituminous Coal And Lignite - Surface |
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES permit file (ECHO download) and EPA’s NAICS/SIC and component files, the same download.
Effluent limits and exceedances
- 15Pollutants on file
- 12Under a numeric limit
- 15With a violation of any kind
- 4With an effluent exceedance
An effluent exceedance is a discharge monitoring report value over the permit’s numeric limit (EPA’s violation code E90). A violation of any kind also counts a report not filed. Each row is EPA’s own count for that pollutant.
| Pollutant or measure | Limits | Violations, any kind | Effluent exceedances | Latest exceedance | Largest exceedance, as filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron, total [as Fe] | 25 | 366 | 6 | January 31, 2023 | 271% over the limit |
| Solids, total suspended | 20 | 267 | 5 | July 31, 2021 | 41% over the limit |
| Manganese, total [as Mn] | 18 | 230 | 4 | October 31, 2022 | 228% over the limit |
| pH | 32 | 712 | 2 | January 31, 2023 | |
| Flow, in conduit or thru treatment plant | 18 | 520 | 0 | ||
| Specific conductance | 14 | 520 | 0 | ||
| Sulfate [as S] | 14 | 520 | 0 | ||
| Silver, dissolved [as Ag] | 0 | 166 | 0 | ||
| Solids, settleable | 7 | 155 | 0 | ||
| Solids, total dissolved [TDS] | 14 | 72 | 0 | ||
| Toxicity [acute], Ceriodaphnia dubia | 7 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Toxicity [acute], Pimephales promelas [Fathead Minnow] | 7 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Toxicity [chronic], Ceriodaphnia dubia | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Toxicity [chronic], Pimephales promelas [Fathead Minnow] | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Silver total recoverable | 14 | 10 | 0 |
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES limits and effluent violations files (ECHO download); up to 60 rows shown, most exceedances first.
Inspections, violations and enforcement
- 0Single-event violations
EPA’s single-event violation file, as loaded, holds no violation for NPDES AL0078972.
Velarion’s copy of EPA’s ICIS-NPDES files does not include the inspections, formal enforcement actions and informal enforcement actions files, so this page shows none of them. EPA’s free Detailed Facility Report on ECHO lists this permit’s inspections, enforcement actions and penalties.
Cited to the EPA ICIS-NPDES violation, inspection and enforcement files (ECHO download); up to 50 rows of each shown, newest first.
Watch this permit
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EPA publishes a free Detailed Facility Report for every permit on ECHO: its compliance status quarter by quarter, its inspections, and its enforcement actions and penalties. EPA also sends free notices of new inspections and enforcement actions through ECHO Notify; enter NPDES ID AL0078972 there.
Nearby on the register
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- Every permit record in Townley, A to Z
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- Every permit record in Alabama, A to Z
Figures from EPA’s ICIS-NPDES download, loaded October 14, 2026.