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Company seeks permit to mine coal, limestone
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
A company operating a sandstone mine off Holbert Stretch Road in Dunkard Township has applied for a state permit to complete additional mining at the same site.
Fayette Coal and Coke Inc. of Connellsville earlier received a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection to operate a surface mine at the site to mine sandstone.
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Fayette Coal and Coke will remove the limestone as well as the remaining coal from a shallow underground mine that is beneath the site, Kovalchuk said.
The work will mitigate the hazard created by an open mine, which people could still enter, and will address a problem caused by the drainage of mine water, he said.
The permit area includes 46.8 acres and is on property owned by Robert Holbert.
The company also asks for a land use change to allow it to reclaim a forest area as a pastureland and variances to reclaim the site to a less steep contour and to conduct support activity within 100 feet of two unnamed streams.
The company has been mining limestone at the site for several months.
At a public meeting on the original permit held by DEP in November, about 20 residents were in attendance. Several expressed concerns about noise and dust that might be generated by the mining operation and about possible effects of blasting in the area.
Kovalchuk said the sandstone mine has operated without problem.
The new application currently is being reviewed by DEP.
Comments regarding the new permit can be submitted to DEP, Bureau of District Mining Operations, Armbrust Professional Center, 8205 Route 819, Greensburg, PA 15601.
It will take about six months for DEP to review the application before making a determination on issuing a permit, Kovalchuk said.
