A subsidiary of Petrohawk Energy Corp.has been fined $350,000 and ordered to pay an additional $150,000 in restitution for damaging the habitat of an endangered species in Arkansas. The latter amount will be paid to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for use in watershed restoration projects in the area, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The damage was caused in three forks of the Little Red River, home to the critically endangered speckled pocketbook mussel (Lampsilis streckeri). It is unknown exactly how many of the freshwater mussels were affected by the damage to their habitat.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the upper Little Red River in the Ozark Mountains is the only habitat of the rare bivalve.
Petrohawk subsidiary Hawk Field Services, LLC, pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Endangered Species Act on April 8. Sentencing took place on September 14.
Source: Scientific American
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