UPDATE 9/1/10 @ 12:40 p.m.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Patriot Coal Corp. must install equipment to clean up selenium pollution at two mines in southern West Virginia over the next 2½ years.

A federal judge will appoint someone to make sure it gets done.

U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers issued a contempt order Tuesday against Patriot subsidiary Apogee Coal and said he'll appoint a special master to oversee his directions for the Ruffer and Hobet 21 mines.

President Richard Whiting says Patriot is disappointed in the ruling because the company has been leading the way to find solutions to selenium pollution.

He says the equipment to be installed has potential but has never been used commercially. It will cost the St. Louis-based company $50 million to install and $3 million a year to operate.

In a recent filing with federal regulators, the St. Louis-based coal operator revealed it received the subpoena in April for information about gas-detecting equipment at Fairview's Federal No. 2 mine.

The filing says investigators wanted to know what kind of equipment had been used since July 2008. They also demanded the results of tests done on that equipment.

Patriot spokeswoman Janine Orf says she can't comment on the 6-month-old investigation except to say the company is cooperating with investigators.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration also declined comment.