A settlement between five coal companies and Boone County families who say their well water has been contaminated by coal slurry is before a judge.

The agreement awaiting a circuit judge's approval calls for the companies to contribute $45,000 to a fund to provide drinking water to people in the Seth-Prenter area.

The families alleged that the companies pumped waste into empty mines, then continued mining activities nearby. They say a network of underground cracks created a pathway to pollute the aquifer.

Coal slurry is a byproduct of washing coal so it burns cleaner.

State environmental officials have said they can't find a link between the bad wells and the injection site.

According to the terms of the agreement, the coal companies state that the payment to the water fund does not constitute any form of admission and is inadmissible in court.