DEP Reacts to 10-day Notice on Calvin Run

Washington PA Observer Reporter
14 January 2011
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com

The state Department of Environmental Protection has now determined a mining permit revision is required by AMD Reclamation Inc. and Dana Mining Co. to drill boreholes into the Humphrey Mine at Calvin Run to pump the mine water to AMD's Steele Shaft treatment plant.

DEP made the new determination responding to a 10-day notice issued by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining that questioned why the project was allowed to proceed without a mining permit revision.

A consent order between DEP and Dana, included with the response, allows Dana to continue with the project, which involves pumping water from Humphrey in order to lower the mine pool level sufficiently for Dana's 4 West Mine to continue mining operations.

The consent order further requires the company to obtain a permit revision and imposes a penalty of $1,000 a month until it receives permit approval, a process expected to take about four months.

In its letter to OSM, DEP said it would allow the project to continue because Dana's mining operations are being adversely affected by rising water levels and existing boreholes into Humphrey at Watkins Run provide inadequate flow.

Dana is mining Sewickley seam coal above the Pittsburgh seam once mined by the closed Shannopin and Humphrey mines.

If the project were halted, Dana would be unable to meet its contractual commitments to supply coal to customers and would have to furlough workers, DEP said.

In addition, DEP said, Dana had proceeded with the Calvin Run project believing it had the required permit. "Dana Mining had understood, based on communications with the department, that no permits were needed from the department to develop and operate the Calvin Run site," the consent order states.

With that understanding, Dana applied for and received an earth disturbance permit for the work from the Greene County Conservation District.

"This shows the need for federal oversight by OSM," said Kurt Weist, an attorney for PennFuture, which had contacted OSM about work at the site.

DEP told the company a mining permit was unnecessary in spite of the fact permit revisions had been required for Watkins Run as well as earlier for the Calvin Run site, he said.

DEP issued a permit revision for Calvin Run in November 2009. It revoked the revision in February 2010 after PennFuture and Friends of Dunkard Creek filed an appeal questioning, among other things, DEP's failure to provide public notice of the permit revision application.

Weist said he can't understand how anyone at DEP could allow the company to proceed with the project without a legal opinion on the permit issue from DEP counsel.

PennFuture and Friends of Dunkard Creek opposed the permit revision saying the project would allow AMD to discharge additional polluted water high in total dissolved solids into Dunkard Creek.

Learning several weeks ago that work had started at Calvin Run, PennFuture and Friends of Dunkard Creek contacted state and federal regulatory agencies, which resulted in OSM's issuance of the 10-day notice.

DEP had decided a mining permit revision was not needed for Calvin Run based on a legal analysis and discussions between DEP's district office and Harrisburg office, said Bill Plassio, DEP district mining manager.

The company did obtain the earth disturbance permit. "We felt at that time it (the Calvin Run project) was covered under that type of approval," Plassio said. DEP viewed the operations as a water treatment plant rather than as a mining operation, he said.

Speaking of DEP's new determination that a mining permit revision is needed, Plassio said that following further analysis of the matter "we came to a different conclusion."

OSM is currently evaluating DEP's response to the 10-day notice, said Chris Holmes, OSM spokesman.

OSM has several options. If it agrees with DEP's evaluation there will be no further action, he said. If it disagrees with DEP's response the matter will continue through the 10-day notice procedure, he said.

A third option also is available. Under the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, OSM may "if eminent harm is determined to exist," waive further action under the 10-day notice and issue a cessation order halting the work, Holmes said.