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To: C Horn who wrote (58)	7/6/1999 11:50:00 AM
From: Tomato Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 68

Craig, you are on a tear today. You be da man! TMan

To: C Horn who wrote (58)	7/6/1999 2:12:00 PM
From: Tomato Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 68

Craig, I don't think this is the same Green River. I found this article and it seems to be in the wrong location. Let me know what you think. TMan ______________________________________________________________ LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Big Rivers Electric Corp. reached an agreement with Green River Coal Co. on Tuesday, clearing away the last major hurdle to gaining confirmation next week of a plan to reorganize its operations and emerge from the protection of the bankruptcy court. Green River Coal, which had claimed the utility, based in Henderson, Ky., owed it more than $120 million on a canceled coal contract, agreed in the end to a settlement that would pay off its creditors but which would give the coal company no money. The terms of the settlement announced late Tuesday by Big Rivers Coal call for the utility to pay $13.4 million to Green River Coal's creditors, including Andalex Resources and the United Mine Workers retiree health and pension funds. The coal company's claim involves a 20-year contract to supply more than 1 million tons of coal annually beginning in 1984 to the utility. The contract has been at the center of controversy that has seen allegations of mismanagement levied against Big Rivers and fraud against the coal company, its owners and Big Rivers' former general manager William L. Thorpe. Green River Coal used the contract to open a mine on reserves it owned near Madisonville, Ky., but it later closed that mine and began purchasing coal to fill the contract from Andalex. Green River Coal was able to buy the coal from Andalex for as much as $11 a ton cheaper than it was selling it to Big Rivers. Federal investigators charged Green River Coal owners Clyde Brown Jr. and the late Buddy Morris had paid more than $700,000 in bribes to Big Rivers' Thorpe for secret bid information to obtain the contract. A federal jury in 1995 convicted the company and Brown of mail fraud and commercial bribery. Both were fined and Brown in March 1996 was sentenced to 18 months in prison. A federal judge has since overturned those convictions. Thorpe was convicted at trial last year of mail and tax fraud and racketeering for allegedly taking the money and sentenced to nearly five years in prison. He is free on bond while his conviction is being appealed. As allegations about how the contract was obtained began to surface, Big Rivers began efforts in 1993 to cancel it. Green River Coal then sought the protection of the bankruptcy court at that time. While Big Rivers was not allowed to cancel the contract, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman did allow the utility to put the difference between what the coal company was paying Andalex and the contract price into an escrow account. Then after Big Rivers filed for bankruptcy reorganization in September, it was able to terminate the contract. Tuesday's agreement allows Big Rivers to use the approximately $6 million in the escrow account authorized by Judge Coffman to pay Green River Coal creditors. The agreement calls for $6.35 million of the total to be paid to some creditors at closing with the remaining $7.05 million to be paid interest-free over 12 years. Also as a part of the agreement, all claims and litigation between Big Rivers and Green River Coal are to be dismissed, and the coal company is to not object to the utility's proposed plan of reorganization. That reorganization, which calls for LG&E Energy Corp. of Louisville, Ky., to lease Big Rivers' generating plants for 25 years, is scheduled for a confirmation hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge J. Wendell Roberts on Monday. The remaining question mark to confirmation of the plan is PacifiCorp, a Portland, Ore., utility, which in late 1995 was selected by Big Rivers to lease the generating plants. PacifiCorp lost its agreement in March when it did not participate in an auction ordered by Judge Roberts. PacifiCorp filed a motion asking Roberts to remove himself from the case and sanction the examiner he had appointed. The West Coast utility also asked the district court to take control of the bankruptcy case. Roberts on Friday refused to remove himself from the case or to sanction the examiner.