Mountaintop Mining Settlements In Ky., Tenn.

"These successful legal actions against Appolo and TECO are part of a larger effort to stop illegal mining throughout Appalachia," said Aaron Isherwood, a staff attorney with the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Isherwood said the U.S. needs a more open federal permitting process to stop future illegal mining.

The Obama administration announced last month it is taking steps to reverse a last-minute rule enacted under former President Bush that allows mountaintop mining waste to be dumped near streams.

In the Kentucky case, TECO agreed to pay $250,000 to the nonprofit Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation for stream restoration in the Levisa Ford watershed. TECO had acknowledged the dumping last year, calling it an "isolated incident." The environmental groups agreed to drop their federal lawsuit as part of the settlement.

Two Tennessee groups, Save Our Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee Clean Water Network along with the Sierra Club, notified Appolo in June of their intention to file a federal suit over dumping at its Jellico Mine site in Claiborne County, near the Kentucky border. No suit was filed.

Appolo agreed to pay $120,000 to the Tennessee Parks and Greenway Foundation. As part of the agreement signed Monday, Appolo admitted no liability for the incident.