Apr 1, 2013 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County Planning Commission granted preliminary approval Monday to Consol Energy for construction of a new portal in Morris Township as part of its Bailey Mine expansion project.

The company proposes building the portal off Patterson Creek Road. The portal will be needed as the mine expands east of the area it previously has mined.

The portal project will include construction of a main building 36,822 square feet in size that will house locker and shower rooms, offices and a small warehouse, said Brian Rabbitt, company engineer.

The plans also call for auxiliary buildings and structures including a ventilation fan, elevator for entering and exiting the mine, generator building, guard shack, sewage pump station, water tanks, rock dust silos and helicopter landing pad.

Sewage from the portal will be pumped to a site near Nineveh, where the company plans to build a treatment plant that will serve not only the portal but also the residences in Nineveh, Rabbitt said.

The company plans to drill wells to provide potable water though it also is investigating constructing a water line to connect to the nearest Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority line.

Excavation has already started at the site under the company’s approved mining permit. Rabbitt said Consol also recently upgraded a bridge and has plans to upgrade Patterson Creek Road to accommodate traffic to and from the portal.

Consol is now constructing a shaft at the site and hopes to begin construction of the portal next month, Rabbitt said. It would like to have the facility in service in June of next year.

To receive final approval, the company, among other things, must receive approval of a stormwater management plan, submit road upgrade plans and receive permit approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In other business, the commission granted conditional final approval to Sheetz Inc. to construct a new store at the site of its existing store and service station at the Paisley Intersection in Cumberland Township.

The company still must receive a highway entry permit from the state Department of Transportation. The plans have been submitted to PennDOT and comments have been received. The company has responded to those comments and awaits PennDOT’s approval.

Sheetz plans to build a store almost twice the size of the existing store that will feature an inside dining room, drive-through window, a full menu and an area for beer sales.

The company earlier purchased the property north of its existing site on Route 88 for the expansion. Company officials said they did not yet know when work will begin.