Cease-and-desist order for mining company argued in court
A Fayette County judge on Wednesday heard arguments on whether an injunction to halt operations should be issued against a mining company that has been stripping coal in Dunbar Township without the required permits from the county.
Attorneys for Fayette County and Neiswonger Construction appeared before President Judge Gerald R. Solomon, although the case will be heard by Judge John F. Wagner Jr.
Sheryl Heid, solicitor for the county Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development, argued that the Strattanville company hasn’t obtained the necessary permits from the county and shouldn’t be allowed to continue to operate.
“We are asking for an injunction that they no longer mine until and if a special exception is obtained,” Heid said.
Nathaniel Parker, attorney for Neiswonger, said the operation is the first the Clarion County company has undertaken in Fayette County and the company was unaware that zoning issues are handled countywide.
Parker said there shouldn’t be an injunction because there is no irreparable harm and because the company has been taking steps to comply with the zoning ordinance by seeking to obtain a special exception.
“There was only one enforcement notice. We’ve complied,” Parker said, adding that it isn’t the fault of the company that the hearings keep getting continued to future dates.
Three hearings before the county Zoning Hearing Board have been held for the special exception, and testimony is again scheduled for Oct. 12.
The company began mining on property owned by Dunbar Township Supervisor John Tabaj after certified letters sent to both the township and county zoning office were sent asking if any requirements must be met before mining could commence. Although the company received notification that both letters were received, nothing was sent from either the county or township informing the company that they must obtain a special exception before mining.
Although Parker said the company has been working in good faith because they are attempting to obtain a special exception and have been diligently trying to get one, Heid said it isn’t the responsibility of the county to notify a company of what they must do to be compliant.
The company was issued an enforcement notice in March and applied for the special exception at that time. The issue came to a head after the company received a blasting permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection and began blasting in July.
That permit has since been revoked, but mining has continued. The county issued a cease-and-desist order in July and is seeking enforcement of that order.
The site is near the historic Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, and church members have expressed concerns that blasting may damage the church or its cemetery, which dates to the Revolutionary War.
At the conclusion of the arguments before Solomon, he said he would forward them to Wagner.