Many of our local Sierra Club activities are related to the mining and burning of coal. These activities often simply deal with general impacts and broad consequences, but coal mining was brought down to a very personal level by the April 5 disaster at the Upper Big Branch South Mine near Montcoal in southern West Virginia.

The Allegheny Group joins environmental groups throughout Appalachia to send wishes for  healing to everyone who is affected by this disaster. To express your thoughts with the family and friends of the miners, visit this website. To donate to the West Virginia Council of Churches’ Montcoal Mining Disaster Fund, visit their website.

If you haven’t yet submitted comments on Amerikohl’s revised application for the Curry Mine near Ohiopyle SP, please consider doing so. At the March 2 DEP public hearing the comment deadline was extended to Friday, April 16, 2010, after several people, including Senator Richard Kasunic, expressed concern over recent and significant revisions to the permit and a lack of time to prepare comments on the revisions.

For a sample letter, talking points and DEP’s mailing address, please visit here or contact Krissy Kasserman, the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, at yrk at mtwatershed dot com or call (724) 455-4200.

Controversy continues over the eco-disaster on Dunkard Creek in September. Without public comment, in November the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) amended a permit for a waste water treatment facility, allowing the discharge into Dunkard Creek of waste water from Consol Energy’s Humphrey No. 7 Mine.
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Just a few weeks following the September 1 ecological disaster on Dunkard Creek, the West Virginia DEP concluded that the cause was the growth of golden algae blooms in the watershed. That finding was confirmed by the US EPA at a public meeting on December 3 in Mount Morris, Greene County.

The EPA report also concludes that discharge from mines in the area contributed to the disaster, with the growth of golden algae being favored by high pH, temperature and salinity. How the golden algae was introduced in this watershed is uncertain, it normally being a problem in Southern states like Texas. (more…)

Before you go to see the documentary “Split Estate” at Pitt on December 2, you might want to read an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Headed “Seismic rumbles in the forests - The sheer size and number of Marcellus Shale drill sites and their truck traffic are altering Pa. land use”, the author is reporting from Renovo in the heart of Pennsylvania’s north-central forestland.
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On Friday, November 6, the US Senate quietly confirmed the nomination of Joseph Pizarchik to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Environmentalists throughout Appalachia strongly opposed the nomination of this former head of surface mining enforcement in Pennsylvania. Those concerned about the impacts of mountain top removal only hope that Director Pizarchik will demonstrate greater regard for the environment than he did for Pennsylvania.

Thanks are due to all those who contacted our Senators in an effort to strike down this nomination.

Environmentalists are becoming ever more concerned about the ability of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adequately control the disposal of the waste water from Marcellus Shale drilling operations.

On behalf of Clean Water Action, on November 2, the national environmental law firm Earthjustice appealed an agreement between the DEP and Shallenberg Construction of Connellsville. Also active in the appeal was the Environmental Law Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh. The appeal asks the Environmental Hearing Board to take a second look at the DEP’s approval of a plant to treat 500,000 gallons per day of Marcellus drilling waste water before dumping it into the Monongahela River near Masontown. Without allowing public review, the DEP approved this operation despite the absence of any testing of untreated fluids for most of the dangerous chemicals common in gas wastes, including known carcinogens such as benzene.

A few days earlier, the DEP revoked three permits for drilling sites in northern Pennsylvania after the Chesapeake Bay Foundation challenged the DEP’s issuance of the permits for containing technical flaws. CBF lawyer Matt Royer has accused the DEP of creating a “fast-track, rubber-stamp permit review process.”

The pressure on the DEP to fast-track the permitting of Marcellus waste water disposal is enormous. As a DEP spokesperson told Reuters, the Department issued 1,500 permits for Marcellus Shale drilling from Jan. 1 to Oct. 23 this year, up from 476 for all of 2008 and 93 for the four years from 2003 to 2007.

The October 15 Pittsburgh public hearing concerning mountain top removal took place with far more decorum than earlier meetings in the Appalachian coalfield. Held by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the issue was the proposal to suspend the NWP21 permitting process for the disposal of mining waste in valleys, and to use permits for each proposed mining site instead.

After the raucous mob scenes from the hearings in Pikeville, KY and Charleston, WV earlier in the week, the Corps were fully prepared to maintain law and order at the Pittsburgh hearing, with 25 security people displaying their presence at the Convention Center downtown. More than 300 people peacefully filled the hearing room, with well over half the audience wearing green t-shirts proclaiming COAL = JOBS + ENERGY. After Pittsburgh District commander Col. Mike Krall opened with an explanation of the proposed permitting change, about forty people testified. Among speakers in favor of suspending the NWP21 permitting process were six Sierra Club members from Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Other local environmental organizations represented at the hearing were the Center for Coalfield Justice, Citizens Coal Council, and Mountain Watershed Association.
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In a major step, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is prepared to veto the issuance of a permit for what would be the largest mountain top removal (MTR) mine in West Virginia’s history. Proposed by the national’s largest coal company, Arch Coal of St Louis, the 2,300 acre Spruce Fork No. 1 Mine site is in Logan County, WV, in an area already pockmarked with MTR activity. This proposed mine has long been a primary target of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.

This is the first time that the EPA has proposed to veto a mining permit already issued by the Corps of Engineers since the 1972 Clean Water Act gave the EPA authority to do so. Going beyond the recent decision to simply review 79 permits already issued by the Corps, this latest action clearly indicates the Obama administration’s willingness to challenge the coal industry and properly protect the communities of Appalachia from irreversible environmental damage.

Dunkard Creek starts in West Virginia, and moves back and forth into Greene County before flowing into the Monongahela downriver from Point Marion. The creek is a popular fishing spot, and at high water time is a treat for kayakers. (See meandering ‘red’ creek in map below.)

Sometime in early September a huge amount of highly acidic waste water was discharged into the Dunkard Creek, causing a major eco-disaster that reportedly killed 161 aquatic species. In an extensive newspaper article Don Hopey describes this ecological calamity. Not only is life in the creek wiped out, but the sources of drinking water downstream are put at risk.

As Hopey indicates, the location and nature of the  contamination is not known,  but there are a number of possibilities; discharge from the Consol mine near the creek, or dumping of fracturing water from Marcellus gas drilling activity. A third possible source of the contamination is  an underground pool of waste water associated with drilling and/or mining, a toxic pool that could have erupted to the surface.

ACTION: Concerned citizens are urged to contact Mr. Larry Merrill in the EPA Region 3 office in Philadelphia (merrill dot larry at epa.gov or 215-814-5452) and demand that all mining and drilling operations in the Dunkard Creek watershed be suspended until the source of this ecological disaster is clearly identified and remedial action is taken.

NOTE: If this were a leak from a nuclear power plant, the plant would be shut down immediately in order to identify the source of the leak and fix the problem.

The oil and gas industry has pressed hard on state agencies to make natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale easier. Gas well drilling has spread from southwest to northeast Pennsylvania. Hydrofracking technology, which uses large quantities of water, has improved the yield from gas producing formations. Major environmental concerns associated with these operations include the withdrawal of freshwater from streams to fracture the shale, erosion from land disturbed by access roads and drilling areas, and the disposal of brines and wastewater associated with the drilling process without treatment. The slowdown in drilling generally has not affected gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale.

The DEP has announced several measures to make obtaining permits easier for the gas drilling industry. It has revoked the authority of conservation districts to review erosion and sedimentation plans and permits and has centralized the permitting process in its Bureau of Oil and Gas Management. The DEP has allowed drillers to use a revised general permit for stormwater control rather than to submit an individual permit application. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has filed challenges to these new permits in the Environmental Hearing Board. In July, the Sierra Club filed comments on permits for water withdrawals and wastewater treatment. (more…)

Back in June, citizens packed the hearing called by the Fayette County Zoning Board to consider the re-zoning of a 500-acre site near Ohiopyle State Park. Seeking the re-zoning was the mining company Amerikohl, who planned to operate the Curry surface mine on this site.

On August 19, the Board denied the special zoning exception, citing potential noise and mine drainage. Without this special exception, Amerikohl may not mine on the site, and the Board’s decision also puts the DEP mining permit process on hold.

There is always the possibility that Amerikohl will appeal this decision, but for now all who contacted the Board deserve our collective THANKS!

A major environmental impact of coal mining is damage to Western Pennsylvania’s streams.   Two items appeared this past week.

The first item illustrates the influence of the coal industry in the state legislature. On July 27, the PA House Environment and Energy Resources committee passed HB 1847 by a vote of 18-2. This bill allows CONSOL Energy to create coal refuse disposal areas (CRDAs or gob piles) that would fill nearly 5 miles of streams and more than 5 acres of wetlands in the area of Owens Run in Indiana County. HB 1847 now moves to the Appropriations Committee.

If your representative is on the Appropriations Committee, contact them and ask them not to support HB1847.

The second item is a report that studies of the fish populations and aquatic life in three small creeks in Greene County support the reassessment of these creeks from “high quality warm water fisheries” to “exceptional value” — the state’s highest, most protective designation. The three creeks are House Run, Hoge Run and McCourtney Run, all tributaries of the South Fork of Tenmile Creek. The studies were commissioned by the Center for Coalfield Justice, Mountain Watershed Association, and PennFuture.

A recent determination by the DEP providing immediate “exceptional value” protection to several of these streams strongly suggests that studies conducted by the DEP were consistent with the studies submitted by the three environmental groups.

The problem is that the Department of Environmental Protection’s reassessment of these three creeks runs counter to Foundation Mining company’s application to the DEP for a new underground longwall mine under the streams.  All too often, longwall mining causes subsidence in the streams’ watersheds and affects surface water quality.

On June 9, Sen. Bob Casey introduced a bill (S. 1215), to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing. The Safe Drinking Water Act is designed to ensure the quality of our drinking water, but the industry-backed Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempts hydraulic fracturing from the SDWA.
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Sometimes ‘Calls for Action’ fall into a black void after the initial event. To avoid that destiny, here are the outcomes of a couple of recent events:

Proposed Coal Mine by Ohiopyle SP: At a crowded June 11 meeting of the Fayette County Planning Commission it was attorneys who presented the cases for the coal company and for the environmentalists. Following release of the transcript, the two attorneys will have 30 days to produce briefs summarizing their arguments for the Zoning Board. The Board will then have 45 days to render a decision.

For more information, contact Krissy Kasserman, the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, at yrk at mtwatershed dot com or call (724) 455-4200.

Development on Pittsburgh’s North Shore: At the request of the developers of the proposed hotel and amphitheater on the North Shore, Continental Realty, the City Planning Commission postponed the June 23 second public hearing on the matter. In the meantime, Northside United is hosting a bus tour of the neighborhood for elected leaders and community leaders. (Read local blogger Bram Reichbaum’s impressions of the bus tour.) The Northsiders want the city to understand the impact of the proposed development on local residents. They also want to show how local communities are working to improve their neighborhoods in this important part of the city.

Beech Hollow Power Plant: Action for Change Today (ACT) hosted a remarkably successful information session on the Beech Hollow Project. Over 100 concerned residents turned out to hear information on the proposed coal-waste power plant in Robinson Township. Presentations in opposition to the project were made by Lisa Graves-Marcucci (Environmental Integrity Project), Drew Michanowicz (Center for Healthy Environments & Communities) and Rachel Martin (Sierra Club). Developer Robinson Power Company, LLC failed to send a representative.

A public hearing on the Robinson Power Company’s application for a DEP permit to re-mine the waste coal at the Champion gob site is expected sometime in the next eight weeks. For more information contact Randy at randy dot francisco at sierraclub dot org.