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Consol making new repairs to Morris creek
Staff writer
sbeveridge@observer-reporter.com
PROSPERITY – Morris Township residents are concerned about losing their water wells as a coal company taps into local sources to restore a subsidence-damaged creek.
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“Are they affecting the water table? We want to know,” resident Jon Carter said at the meeting at Morris Township Fire Hall.
Consol Energy of Cecil Township began taking steps to restore a flow of water in the stream after a section of it dried up about three weeks ago when it was undermined by Enlow Fork Mine, company spokesman Joe Cerenzia said.
The company is drilling wells in Morris to pump water into the creek as per DEP mining regulations, Cerenzia said.
He said Consol will monitor the water table and cease drilling if problems arise at wells serving houses in the area.
The company is mining the sixth of its final longwall panel under the stream. It had similar problems while removing coal from a different panel a year ago.
Area residents have been asking many questions about their water supplies after the problems were discovered at the stream, which feeds into Enlow Fork, Carter said.
“We need not to get hearsay,” he said. “We need to know who to call.”
Joel Koricich, a supervisor at the DEP district office in California, said mining must be planned and conducted to prevent problems along streams with well-defined banks and a water flow all year.
To date, 97 miles of streams in Washington and Greene counties have been undermined by longwall operations, Koricich said. Six of those that encountered problems are in various stages of being repaired while four others are still being monitored, he said.
The mining industry has been improving the technology it uses to repair the streams they damage, DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys said.
“We understand it better,” Humphreys said. “There is less tolerance for poor environmental measures.”
Coalfield residents with questions about subsidence are urged to call the district mining office at 724-769-1100.
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environmental damage by the coal industry : 11/19/2009
Make no mistake the "Coal Industry" has one proirity MONEY period. They can care less about the environmental destruction they cause. Our government is bought by the industry and do little to curtail the environmental damage. We the people are now left to live with the environmental damage and the coal people run with the money!
King Coal: America's Most Accepted Terrorist : 11/24/2009
The arrogance and greed of the coal industry combined with the malfeasance of our public officials and apathy within our communities is literally killing our children and destroying our natural resources. The coal industry must be held responsible for ALL of its illegal activities and ALL of the damages it propagates in its sole pursuit of profit. Attitudes and laws must change NOW before it is too late. Unfortunately, for many, "too late" is already here. Act now to prevent any further destruction by King Coal!.
