Eastern US producer Patriot Coal has settled a lawsuit with several environmental groups over selenium discharges from the company's West Virginia coal mining activities for $7.5 million.

The company said in a Wednesday announcement after the close of markets that it entered into a consent decree with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club to resolve claims under the US Clean Water Act relating to Patriot's mining activities in West Virginia.

"The settlement requires that the coal mining company and its subsidiaries treat selenium pollution at 43 outlets, including outlets previously thought to be untreatable," the environmental groups said in a joint Wednesday statement.

"In a 2010 order resolving a separate action brought by the groups against Patriot, a federal judge ordered the company to treat selenium at four outlets," the groups said. "The company has estimated the cost of treatment at just those four outlets to be nearly $100 million."

Patriot representatives were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The consent decree, which has been filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, is subject to a public comment period and must be approved by the court before it becomes effective, Patriot said.

"Selenium is an issue that many companies involved in coal mining must confront. Today's settlement by Patriot represents a strategic response to this challenging issue. We are pleased that this settlement provides a comprehensive framework for Patriot to address selenium across our properties going forward," Patriot President and CEO Richard M. Whiting said in the company's Wednesday statement.

"We believe the consent decree serves the interests of both the public and our stockholders," he said.

Patriot will pay the $7.5 million in civil penalties, to be allocated between the federal government and the West Virginia Land Trust for land preservation projects within the Kanawha River and Guyandotte River watersheds.

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that is present in coal and oil seams that can be exposed during the surface mining process.

Recently, Alpha Natural Resources and the same environmental groups settled a similar lawsuit in the same court involving selenium discharges from Appalachian coal operations owned by the former Massey Energy into streams and rivers. Alpha bought Massey in June.

The settlement calls for Alpha to pay $4.05 million to a West Virginia environmental program and $405,000 in fines. In addition, Alpha will have to spend $50 million to build selenium treatment facilities.