ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Amid heavy security, local coal miners defended their jobs while environmentalist defended the waterways.
A public information session and hearing was held Tuesday evening at the James Carnes Center regarding a proposed slurry impoundment to be located in the Washington Township area of Belmont County. Nearly 300 people were on hand for the joint public information session and hearing held by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. All those in attendance were scanned by law enforcement officials before entering the hearing area.
The Ohio Valley Coal Company Powhatan No. 6 Mine has submitted applications to both the Ohio EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers for a proposed project involving the creation of new facilities for disposal of coarse and fine coal refuse at a location between S.R. 148 and Pleasant Ridge Road, approximately 1.5 miles west of Alledonia.
The company had previously requested a permit in May of 2004. In 2007, an amendment was attached to the application. But in 2008 the Ohio EPA issued a proposed denial for the permit. In October of the same year the Army Corps of Engineers denied the proposed project without prejudice opening the door for further applications.
Between that time and now, a taskforce was formed and studies were completed which have led to the public hearing phase of the process.
The current applications are under review to determine whether the project will comply with all state and federal water quality standards.
According to documentation distributed during the session, the nearly 13-acre coal impoundment, if approved, would result in discharges into Casey Run and its tributaries and adjacent wetlands in the Captina Creek Watershed. Information made available at the hearing also indicated the coal company proposes to construct a new slurry impoundment to receive slurry from the wash plants at both the company's Powhatan Nov. 6 mine and the American Energy Corporations' Century mine.
The proposed pond could impact nearly 30,000 feet of stream channels and approximately half an acre of small, moderate- and low-quality wetlands.
Discharges from the operation of the new impoundment would be collected and pumped to the existing No. 2 slurry impoundment in Perkins Run, and adjacent watershed immediately east of Casey Run which is a tributary to Captina Creek. An existing wastewater discharge permit would be used to regular the company's discharge from the older impoundment.
After a brief introduction and presentation, a question and answer period was held followed by the official public hearing.
Oral comments were numerous and ranged from support for the impoundment to opposition. Supporters noted the importance of the jobs at the mine to the county's economic well-being along with devastation to area families if the facility would close.
Former Belmont County Commissioner John Pollack spoke on the strain such action would cause.
"Everyone knows that job retention is the first step to economic development," he said. "Every county around this area should be defending the retention of these jobs. If this mine closes suicide rates will increasewelfare numbers will be out of sight, our courts will be clogged up with criminals."
Others, many of whom are coal miners, noted Captina Creek is among the best in the state.
"For years this coal company has been the banks of this creek," said one man. "It's ranked in the top three creeks in this state. How can you say it will be destroyed?"
Members of the Sierra Club of Ohio were on hand to voice their opposition to the proposed impoundment.
Believing such a structure would hinder the quality of the streams and the life it supports, one man encouraged leaders to "go green" and seek ways to produce "green jobs" in the area. "Coal won't always be here," he said. "It is not a renewable form of energy."
Nancy Kanfer contended the latest application was merely a "makeover" of the former declined paperwork and said a "giant slurry impoundment is a step in the wrong direction."
The environmentalists contend Captina Creek is one of the only areas in Ohio boasting a large and thriving community of the endangered hellbender salamander.
In its Spring 2008 publication "Watch" the Ohio Environmental Council notes a 2005 slurry line rupture which "covered everything it touched jet black" until the leak and spilled materials were contained.
Yet miners and those who operate the slurry pond stand firm in saying the impoundment would be safe.
In a prepared statement provided prior to the evening session, Rob Murray, vice president of Business Development and External Affairs for Murray Energy Corporation, noted the importance of the slurry impoundment.
"We have been working closely with the state and federal regulatory agencies for eight years to obtain a permit to build an environmentally safe slurry impoundment in the Casey Run area, and we have made much progress with Ohio EPA, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Corps of Engineers over the last 2 years," the release read. "The Powhatan No. 6 and Century mines, which combined account for 60 percent of the coal mined in Ohio and employ thousands of hard working families in the Ohio Valley area, must build this impoundment facility to assure the long term future of the mines. However, once again, the Obama administration, through its overreaching U.S. EPA, is impeding our ability to protect coal mining jobs and create new ones, and it is threatening to deny our employees their right to work and provide for their families."
John R. Forrelli, vice president of Engineering and Planning for Murray Energy, said the company has been located in that exact area for years with no damage to any existing endangered species.
The testimony continued late into the evening and representatives from both the Ohio EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers noted all oral comments provided during the meeting will be equally consider with any written comments.
Those written comments should be forwarded to the Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water, Attention: Permit Processing Unit, PO Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049 by the April 9 deadline. In addition, any written comment for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should be mailed to Pittsburgh District, 1000 Liberty Avenue, Suite 2200, Attention: Regulatory Branch, Pittsburgh, PA 1522 by the same deadline.
Sedgmer may be reached at ksedgmer@timesleaderonline.com
