Mining company to apply to blast near state park
A Butler surface mining company plans to resubmit an application to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to blast near Ohiopyle State Park, prompting a second public hearing that will most likely shed more light on the controversy surrounding the Curry Mine project. Despite opposition from numerous conservation and recreation groups, the vice president of Amerikohl Mining Inc. stressed the public needs to know what goes into the surface mining process instead of seeing it as a necessary evil.
David Maxwell said Amerikohl’s plan to blast coal within 300 feet of the Youghiogheny Bike Trail is no different from other operations it has conducted for the last 30 years at various sites across Pennsylvania.
Hikers and bikers using the trail have said they are not only concerned about the possible noise and visual disturbance, but also the fact that the trail is part of the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md. Environmentalists have questioned the possible impact of mining discharge into nearby streams, including the Johnson Run and Morgan Run watersheds.
According to Maxwell, there are no structures located within a mile of the proposed operation and that those using the trail wouldn’t be able to see or most likely hear the blasting.
“It would be nice if after (these groups) that oppose any project to have the opportunity to go back when we’re done and basically say the issues that you raised are the same issues that we’re concerned about and mining was done environmentally,” said Maxwell.
Amerikohl’s proposal includes mining on 280 acres of a 588-acre parcel near a northern boundary of the park.
Maxwell said the site would be located five miles from the main waterfall where Amerikohl completed a separate blasting project earlier this year near Cucumber Run, just two miles from the same area, with no protest.
“We’re the largest surface mining company in Pennsylvania and with some of our mining we’ve actually fixed old problems, (such as) made bad water good and backfilled 5,000 acres to the state at no cost to the taxpayers,” said Maxwell.
John Stilley, owner and founder of Amerikohl, said his company does a lot for the environment, having reclaimed more than 500 separate mine sites in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia since it was founded in 1978.
The Mountain Watershed Association, Friends of Ohiopyle and the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited in addition to residents and others provided input during a public hearing in April at the Dunbar Township Municipal building but have since requested a second forum.
During the initial hearing, Liz Tavares, president of Friends of Ohiopyle, said those providing testimony were directed to a small room with a DEP official where they were asked to speak into a tape recorder, making the hearing more private than public.
Maxwell, who was at the hearing, agreed the venue was poor. “It was a small atmosphere, small rooms and people were standing outside,” said Maxwell.
However Maxwell noted the procedure for such hearings is at the discretion of the DEP and not Amerikohl.
Tom Rathbun, DEP spokesman, said another hearing would be scheduled if Amerikohl reapplied since the initial document didn’t provide proof of its right to access to the mine site using Camp Carmel Road.
“We make a decision based on the actual science and information presented,” said Rathbun.
Under state guidelines, Rathbun said the DEP is not permitted to accept or reject an application based solely on the popularity of a subject although the hearing is part of the permit process, which can take up to a year to issue.
Stilley, meanwhile, said the process also entails meeting at least 26 environmental, safety, geological and hydrological aspects that impact the public, utilities and roads and generally cost Amerikohl on average between $50,000 and $150,000.
Maxwell said Amerikohl determines which property is best suited for extracting coal through the use of a book that contains information gathered by United States Geological and the Pennsylvania Geological Survey officials, along with maps obtained from the county courthouses where the operation is being conducted.
The toughest part, said Maxwell, is finding coal that hasn’t already been mined.
Once the coal is located, Maxwell said Amerikohl officials arrange to meet with the property owner or owners and negotiate a lease agreement.
While it does happen on rare occasion, Maxwell said some property owners have agreed to sell the land.
Once the DEP issues the permit, Amerikohl is responsible for constructing erosion and sedimentation control facilities at the site to collect any water before gathering top soil, sub soil and base, which Stilley said is stored separately for redistribution and post mining.
Maxwell said a mobile drill is also used to test the site for coal left from previous mines and, if so, whether or not it’s marketable.
Maxwell said the coal then undergoes rock strata testing to see if it would cause acid mine drainage or if it’s alkaline, which become the deciding factors on mining it.
From there, Maxwell said Amerikhol contacts its engineer, Earthtech of Uniontown, to begin the permit process through the DEP.
“The (DEP) is very thorough, they do some property research and take our overburden analysis (layers of material on top of the coal seam) to determine whether we need to add any lime into the site or whether we have to redistribute lime that’s on the site just so we can ensure ourselves that we have alkaline with no metals or discharge when we’re done mining,” said Maxwell.
“It’s very rare that they deny (Amerikohl) a permit because we basically do all of our homework upfront just to make sure that the site can be mined environmentally,” he said.
Once the DEP issues a permit, Maxwell said, Amerikohl is responsible for posting bond to cover the project that generally ranges between $200,000 and $500,000 that it recoups in three stages beginning with 60 percent upon completion and 25 percent after meeting the re-vegetation requirements two seasons later.
Then, said Maxwell, it takes another 5 years before the DEP issues the remaining 15 percent of the bond while it continues to monitor and inspect the water, streams or private water supplies during that time.
Maxwell said it’s in Amerikohl’s best interest to make sure all of the sites are mined so there are no long-term problems such as treatment or re-vegetation issues.
“It might sound odd but we are an environmentally conscious company,” said Maxwell.