State sets hearing on Donegal area new coal mine

A Johnstown coal mining company’s plans to open a second Rustic Ridge Mine in Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships will be explored during a public hearing Aug. 20.

The state Department of Environmental Protection will conduct an informal open house at 6 p.m. at St. Raymond of the Mountains Church, 170 School House Lane, Donegal.

That will immediately be followed by a hearing on LCT Energy LP’s plans for its proposed Rustic Ridge Mine No. 2 in Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships. The public will be able to offer their opinion on LCT Energy’s four permit applications at the hearing.

Representatives from DEP’s district mining operations will make a presentation of about 15 minutes on pertinent technical information on the pending application for the mining permit, DEP spokeswoman Laina Aquiline said. The public and DEP officials will be able to engage in a question-and-answer session for about 45 minutes, Aquiline said.

The company has applied for four permits: to expand its coal mining activity; for a system to eliminate pollution discharged from the mine; for taking and discharging water; and for an air quality permit for dust and diesel-fuel vehicles at coal preparation and coal refuse plants.

The permitting process takes several years, said Mark Tercek, president of LCT Energy, so he could not estimate when production might begin.

The DEP had issued a mining permit in April for an expansion of Rustic Ridge Mine No. 1, which adds coal reserves to LCT’s Rustic Ridge Mine No. 1 in Donegal and Saltlick Township, Fayette County. The expanded Rustic Ridge Mine would carry operations north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the Donegal area.

The Mountain Watershed Association, a Melcroft-based environmental organization, is fighting the DEP’s approval of LCT Energy’s permit for an expand Rustic Ridge Mine No. 1.

It appealed to the state Environmental Hearing Board in June, contending the mining would impact groundwater supplies, possibly damage local streams and create acid mine drainage in streams. The hearing board has not issued a ruling on the appeal.

The plans for Rustic Ridge Mine No. 2 include a 64-acre mine portal and surface operation off of Claypike Road in Mt. Pleasant Township. About 1,770 feet of four unnamed tributaries that feed the Jacobs Creek watershed would be enclosed because of mine operations, according to the company’s application for a permit.