Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
JOLLYTOWN - Residents concerned about the possible effects of mining on their homes and on their peaceful, rural way of life filled the small Gilmore Township building Wednesday to review plans for a permit revision to expand the Blacksville No. 2 Mine.
The informational meeting was held by the state Department of Environmental Protection on Consolidation Coal Co.'s application to add 3,852 acres to its existing underground mine permit.
The new acreage, which the company expects to begin mining in three or four years, is in Gilmore and Jackson townships and is northwest of the mine's existing 17,563-acre mine permit area.
DEP officials were on hand to answer residents' questions and to take public comments on the application.
Several residents in attendance said they didn't want to see mining destroy their properties. Others were concerned streams that will be undermined might be damaged beyond repair.
"I spent 38 years putting my property together," said George S. Six of Jollytown Road, who explained that over the years he had purchased and combined three farms into one.
"I worked at that for 38 years, and now they're going to come along and destroy it," he said. "And the worst part is they're going to take the water, guaranteed."
Six said he needs a good water supply for his cattle. He now has that with wells and natural springs. "When you don't have water on a piece of property, it might as well be out in the desert; it's worthless," he said.
William Plassio, DEP district mining manager, said the coal company is required by law to restore, or provide a permanent replacement for, any water supply damaged by mining.
If, for example, a property owner had free water from a spring that is subsequently damaged by mining and has to connect to a public system, the company would have to pay the resident's water bill in perpetuity, Plassio said.
The coal company also is required by law to restore homes and buildings to their pre-mining condition or compensate the owners for the damage, he said.
DEP information distributed at the meeting indicates 31 homes, nine mobile homes, 35 barns, 12 garages and 72 outbuildings are in the proposed permit area.
The company also is seeking a variance to perform stream restoration work, if needed, on three streams: Blockhouse Run, an unnamed tributary to Blockhouse Run and Roberts Run.
Several people in attendance questioned whether stream restoration has been successful.
Phil Coleman of the Center for Coal Field Justice said he knew instances where seeps and springs that feed small streams have not been restored.
Larger streams also are changed after mining and don't provide the same aquatic habitat as before, he said. "The streams come back but as ditches," he said, "not as streams."
DEP has failed to demonstrate that streams and wetlands are not being destroyed by mining, Coleman said.
Plassio said the coal company is required to restore streams to their pre-mining use.
Work that is expected to be necessary to repair stream damage will primarily address pooling in areas that do not subside between longwall panels.
Streams have been mined under in the past, and DEP has seen good results from restoration work, Plassio said. But, he added, he couldn't say all streams are fully restored to pre-mining condition.
Sometimes, Plassio added, it takes longer than expected for a stream to come back. The department also constantly monitors restoration efforts, he said.
Another resident who said she was worried about the mining is Joyce Huffine, who said she and her husband had purchased their 164-acre farm on Jollytown Road about 25 years ago.
"We bought our farm for our kids and our grandkids, to give them a place where they could hunt, fish, ride quads or spend the weekend," she said. That is how the property has been used.
Huffine said she was concerned about how the mining would affect her house, her water supply and two ponds. That a company could possibly jeopardize what she has, she said "is like tearing apart someone's dream."
Huffine said she intends to do what she can to prevent her property from being damaged by mining. "They're going to have a fight on their hands," she said.