Meeting on Bailey Mine permit held
RYERSON STATION – Rick Lohr’s farm near Ryerson was undermined about 10 years ago and so Lohr is concerned what will happen to a second farm he owns that is above where new mining is planned over the next few years.
“Ten years ago this August, they mined under it,” Lohr said. “I lost every bit of water I had. I lost water to the house and to all the springs up there.”
Lohr said he only learned his springs were dry one morning when he went to look for his cattle and they were gone.
“I found them about two miles away, they were just looking for water,” he said.
Lohr was one of about 25 people who attended an informal meeting Thursday at Ryerson Station State Park on a permit application by Consol Energy to include an additional 2,102 acres in its Bailey Mine mining permit.
The informal meeting was held because the area to be mined is part of “environmental justice area” with a number of low-income residents for which the company is required to conduct additional outreach.
Lohr said his son now lives on the farm undermined by Bailey 10 years ago. He said he attended the meeting Thursday because his second farm on Long Run, which he now calls home, is in the area being permitted.
Dealing with the coal company has not always been easy, Lohr said. However, he said, he does get along well with the current company representative who is his contact.
Since being undermined, the coal company compensated him for damage to his house and replaced the water supply to the house with new wells.
It is still trying to restore water to his pasture and drilled a well, but now must bring electricity to the site, he said. The company continues to provide free water for his cattle.
The new mining permit application was filed by Consol in December and calls for mining a block of coal roughly southwest of Ryerson park.
The permit is for development mining, which will be done in preparation for longwall mining. The company hopes to receive a permit and begin development mining by the end of the year. It does not intend to begin longwall mining in the area until 2019.
Officials from Consol and the state Department of Environmental Protection’s district mining office were on hand to discuss the permit and answer questions.
Jacqueline Duke of Consol told the audience she and other Consol representatives were present to explain what will happen when the company begins mining and how it will address any impacts to their property.
Joel Koricich, DEP district mine manager, also discussed the process and answered questions. Koricich said the agency generally sees little impact to water supplies or surface structures during development mining, which employs the room and pillar mining method.
“With longwall mining, absolutely, you do see impacts,” he said.
Before the company can longwall mine the proposed permit area, however, it will have to seek an additional permit from DEP.
If requested, Koricich said, DEP will hold informal public conferences both on the permit for development mining and later on the permit for longwall mining.
In response to questions, Koricich said the coal company is required by law to repair any damage caused to a person’s home resulting from mining. It also is required to replace or restore water supplies impacted by mining.
Consol will conduct pre-mining surveys of a property to determine later if there are any mining impacts, he said.
He urged residents to carefully review the pre-mine surveys and to point out any deficiencies to the company. Residents can also on their own pay to have an independent company conduct surveys in case there is later a disagreement regarding damage.
John Black, who also lives on Long Run and is in the permit area, said he came to the meeting to get answers about what might happen to his home and to his water supply. “Are we going to lose our water, are we going to get sulfur” in it, he asked.
Black said he found out his property would be undermined by a letter he had received from the company. “I didn’t like it,” he said, “but what can you do about it?”