Mine Permit Pending
Couple worries about impact on environment
Morgantown Dominion Post
25 June 2010
By David Beard
Patriot Mining Co.’s permit application for a 225-acre expansion
of its Cassville-area surface mine is still pending, the state
Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) spokeswoman said.
“A decision will be made when the company returns some requested
information and the application is deemed complete,” the DEP’s Kathy
Cosco wrote The Dominion Post in an e-mail.
Meanwhile, area resident Petra Wood reiterated her concerns about the
expansion of the New Hill West mine. She and her husband, John Wood,
had requested a public meeting on the application, which was held May
26 by the DEP’s Mining and Reclamation Office. More than 100 people
attended, Petra Wood said.
Wood said she has concerns about the mine’s impact on the environment
and the community. She said there are “massive amounts” of surface
mining in the area, and this application drew her attention.
Fly ash — a byproduct of coal combustion in power plants — is buried at
nonworking mines. According to Headwaters Resources, a company that
markets combustion byproducts, fly ash is rich in silica, alumina and
calcium. It’s valuable in the manufacturing of concrete.
But when it’s buried at mine sites, Wood said, she worries about the
potential for it to leach into waterways, where its metals and total
dissolved solids can cause pollution — endangering wildlife and sources
of drinking water.
It’s “a big environmental issue being ignored,” she said.
The Patriot Mining application, if approved, would be for five years,
so fly ash wouldn’t be an issue there yet. But at the meeting, Wood
said up to 10,000 tons per acre has already been dumped on 3,500 acres
of surface mines in the vicinity of three watersheds.
Wood said she is also concerned about the loss of forest.
At the meeting, both Woods also noted the problem of coal dust in the
air from blasting and coal trucks.
Petra Wood said 14 homes lie within 300 feet of the proposed expansion,
including hers which would sit at the mine’s border. Based on fire
department maps, she also said 85 homes would sit within 1,000 feet of
the primary blasting zone and another 413 would sit within .7 mile of
the secondary blast zone.
The noise and the potential damage to homes concerns her, she said.
“It affects hundreds of people,” she said. And it’s not just this mine.
Some families don’t put up with it, she said, they pack up and move
away.
At the very least, the couple said, they want the DEP to enforce its
rules on dust control and the amount of explosives Patriot uses for
blasting.
She said she would also like the DEP to restrict blasting to daylight
hours.
Furthermore, she would like the DEP “to evaluate the true cost” of
surface mining, factoring in everything, not just taxes, income and
jobs.
Federal Mine Safety & Health Administration data show 46 people
work at the Cassville mine. Patriot’s application, Wood said, shows 22
will work at the expansion site.
Weigh that, Wood said, against the hundreds of potentially affected
people in the area and the possible environmental damage.
Patriot Mining Co. (not the same as Patriot Coal, which operates in
southern West Virginia) is a subsidiary of International Coal Group.
International spokesman Ira Gamm said Patriot General Manager Vaugh
Miller was out of the office but would reply to a set of e-mailed
questions Monday.
Responding to questions about environmental issues, DEP’s Cosco said,
“All environmental concerns are analyzed in the review process.
Applicable environmental concerns (dust, water quality, property
issues, etc.) must have a plan that outlines how the proposed operation
will comply with the law and regulations.”
Cosco said the public comment period for the permit application has
concluded and no further comments will be accepted.