Tuesday is deadline for public comment on mine discharge permit
The deadline is Tuesday for public comment on a state permit that would allow wastewater from a proposed 2,300-acre coal mine in Westmoreland County to be discharged into a tributary of the Youghiogheny River. Johnstown-based LCT Energy has proposed the Rustic Ridge II coal mine for Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships, near Clay Pike and…
The deadline is Tuesday for public comment on a state permit that would allow wastewater from a proposed 2,300-acre coal mine in Westmoreland County to be discharged into a tributary of the Youghiogheny River.
Johnstown-based LCT Energy has proposed the Rustic Ridge II coal mine for Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships, near Clay Pike and Keyser roads, which would produce about 850,000 tons of metallurgical coal per year. The permit would allow mine drainage and coal laden surface runoff to flow from an onsite treatment plant that is designed to handle 2.81 million gallons per day.
The discharge would flow into Jacobs Creek, a tributary of the Youghiogheny River.
June 30 is the deadline for comments on the state water discharge permit that’s needed for the mine, which can be emailed to lorjenkins@pa.gov with the subject line of #PA0236641.
LCT Energy’s application for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit is under review by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The mine would produce metallurgical rather than thermal coal, which is baked into coke and used to make steel. U.S. Steel operates the biggest coking operation in the U.S. in Clairton, Allegheny County.
LCT Energy has proposed a conventional room-and-pillar mine, which was expected to last at least 14 years. The company operates the 2,844.9-acre Rustic Ridge I coal mine in Donegal and Saltlick townships, which opened in 2018. Last year, the mine received permission from the state to expand by 51% to 4,296.9 acres, including northward under part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
In its permit application, LCT Energy identified 116 wells and springs within 1,000 feet of the proposed mine, but the Melcroft-based Mountain Watershed Association said that was an undercount. The nonprofit has also criticized the company’s proposal to bury 1,774 linear feet of streams and more than a half acre of wetlands as part of the mine operation, which they allege threatens waterways with drainage that’s toxic to aquatic life.