On June 10th, 2020 from 1-5 PM, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection Division of Mining and Reclamation will host an informal conference regarding the proposed Keystone surface mining and reclamation permit on Corridor H North of Davis, WV.
Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the public hearing will be hosted by the DEP on an online platform — the first of its kind. Thank you! to the 356 people who requested a public meeting about this surface mine. We will send e-mail notices about how to join the meeting online to everyone who commented.
Geologists, engineers, specialists and inspections and enforcement personnel will answer questions to the best of their ability, followed by a comment period where questions will not be answered.
Meanwhile, FOB met with representatives of Keystone Coal Reserves on March 13, 2020 to review their mining and reclamation plans for the site, located on Corridor H across from Mettiki Coal, 5 miles north of Davis and across the highway from Beaver Creek. We poured over maps, learned about the history of the site, and asked questions about potential pollution sources. Former DEP inspector Brad Moore, who has years of experience with this site, helped represent FOB’s interests.
Our site tour revealed the awful state that Beacon Resources left after they finished mining coal and rock in 2013. We were standing on a wasteland, overlooking a huge rock pit that is visible from the Corridor. The company plans to fill in the pit as part of the reclamation process. The overburden at this mine site, which is the rock above the coal seam, is such that iron, aluminum, and other heavy metals don’t pollute the groundwater. This is different from most abandoned mine lands in this region and gives us hope that, if done properly and according to DEP standards, this area could be re-mined and reclaimed without further polluting Beaver Creek, or compromising the restoration work already completed in the Beaver Creek Watershed.
If the remining and reclamation is to be successful, detailed plans and maps of where water from the permit area will be sent must be created. This includes the set-up of treatment ponds and culverts under Corridor H, that will ensure that water from the mine site will not hurt water quality in Beaver Creek.
Keep an eye out for a link to join the June 10 online public hearing, and thanks for helping to protect Beaver Creek!
