Water Hearings for 2nd Coal Waste Impoundment at Deer Run

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
Notice of Water Discharge Permit (NPDES) & 401 Water Quality Certification
Public Hearings

Hillsboro Energy, LLC
Deer Run Mine Refuse Disposal Area No. 2

Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Hillsboro High School

522 East Tremont Street, Hillsboro, Illinois

NPDES Permit Hearing at 5 p.m.
401 Water Quality Certification Hearing at 7:30 p.m.

Please refer to these documents for additional information including how, where and when to file written comments.
Click here for the NPDES information.

Click here for the 401 Certification information.

5 Year Renewal of Permit 399 for Deer Run Mine Does Not Protect Citizens

coaldustPermit 399 does not protect citizens and the environment from the impact of coal mining as state and federal mining laws intended. Specifically, Permit 399 does not provide adequate monitoring to show or establish that there is compliance with the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

Permit 399 for Deer Run Mine should not be renewed for another 5 years.  In fact, Permit 399 should never have been approved.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Mines and Minerals (IDNR/OMM) not only approved an incomplete permit, but also turned over the water and air quality to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). When citizens expressed concerns about the impact of coal on their air, water, and community, IDNR/OMM responded that these issues were not in their purview. IDNR/OMM should be responsible for impacts from the mine as outlined in state and federal mining laws and that is not happening.

By turning over environmental responsibility of Deer Run Mine to IEPA, IDNR/OMM has essentially set up conditions that complicate and often hinder enforcement of mining laws. IDNR/OMM has granted Deer Run certain exemptions, which make the community even more vulnerable.  Runoff from railroad loading zones and mine roadways are allowed to drain into the area surrounding the mine without any treatment. The most harmful components of coal are not monitored or analyzed so contamination of surface water like Central Park Creek is a threat. There is no monitoring of fugitive emissions that are unique to coal mining. There are no limitations in noise or time delays in road use due to rail transport. In short, Permit 399 does not reasonably protect citizens from the harmful effects of coal processing and transport in the community.

Deer Run Mine was granted a lifetime air permit with particulate matter limitations but it is not doing any monitoring.  With the coal processing plant so close to the hospital and nursing home, the coal dust is potentially very harmful to residents.  Many months ago, a petition signed by 364 citizens to have air monitors placed at the hospital and nursing home was presented to Mayor Downs. Hopefully, the citizens’ petition will be honored and air monitors will be established, possibly with Deer Run’s assistance; but, to date this has not happened.

When Roger Dennison (President of Hillsboro Energy, LLC) presented the positive aspects that coal mining will bring to Montgomery County at the Permit 399 hearing, he asked that we give the mine a chance to be a good neighbor. Well, the citizens of Montgomery County have given Deer Run Mine an excellent chance and they are still waiting for the good neighbor response from Deer Run.

In Tuesday’s (Feb. 18, 2014) Journal-News article on page 7B titled, “EPA Files Rules About Coke and Coal Piles,” the importance of dust suppression and enclosure of coal piles was given major emphasis. The damage to health resulting from fugitive coal dust should be a concern to all of us. For the record, a copy of the above news article was submitted into the record at the hearing.

Deer-Run-Mine-AerialPerhaps the greatest threat to Hillsboro is the permanent existence of high-rise impoundments that can leak and fail over time. The non-impounding coal refuse area as presented in permit 399 was altered through revisions that did not allow for public involvement. The incised waste area was converted to a high-hazard 80-foot dam impoundment made of coarse coal waste. In doing this, IDNR/OMM was representing Hillsboro Energy LLC (HEL), not the interests of citizens in Montgomery County.

 

From a background perspective, it is important to point out that the location of the slurry waste area in Permit 399 was suggested by the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conversation District to be moved out of the Hillsboro Lake’s watershed. This agency also pointed out that the permit application failed to include all the intermittent streams within the permit and shadow areas and are therefore vulnerable to contamination and mine runoff. Montgomery County SWCD also questioned how the drainage and restoration of the longwall subsidence could be accomplished within one year as proposed.  The very pertinent Montgomery County SWCD letter dated March 24, 2008 to Mr. Scott Fowler was not discovered until November 6, 2012 through a FOIA request to the Montgomery County SWCD.  This letter was not available for reviewing or found in the Permit 399 file. A copy of this letter was submitted for the record.

There are techniques that could be used to process coal that would not result in high hazard impoundments, but IDNR/OMM approves what the coal operator wants, not what is best for the community. HEL has applied for a 2nd impoundment that is twice the size as the first and closer to residents in Hillsboro and Schram City. Failure of this impoundment would inundate portions of Hillsboro and Schram City with tragic consequences.

IDNR/OMM intends to approve this high risk coal slurry impoundment even with the location creating a serious potential threat to residents.

Illinois is now experiencing what is called the West Virginia Syndrome–the production of coal with the coal operator shielded from its responsibility to the community. In Illinois, the government officials and regulatory agencies, similar to West Virginia, are beholden to coal. They can see the damage that coal has done to West Virginia citizens, but our officials seem immune to the reality. Chris Cline, owner of Deer Run, has established himself in West Virginia and identifies with Don Blankenship of Massey Energy as a talented coal leader. So far, the policies in Illinois have followed the same favoritism to coal as in West Virginia.

Before we have any more irreversible damage, IDNR/OMM must start enforcing mining laws with the protection of citizens in mind to prevent a repeat of the environmental disasters in Illinois that have already occurred in West Virginia.

Deer Run Mine Permit Renewal Demonstration and Hearing

Deer Run Feb 19 2014 permit 399 renewal pre-hearing protest 011

Citizens stand at the Abraham Lincoln statue on the public square across from the courthouse to protest the renewal of Permit #399 for the Deer Run Mine located within the city limits of Hillsboro.

Deer Run Feb 19 2014 pre-hearing protest 007

Five years ago citizens requested an administrative review of Permit #399, for which they are still waiting. In the meantime, coal has been pouring out of Deer Run Mine and the time has already come for the 5-year permit renewal. Citizens are asking for justice.

Deer Run 399 Renewal IDNR Public Hearing Feb 19 2014 Mary Ellen DeClue 034

Nine citizens gave comments and asked questions at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources public hearing.

Citizens to Protest IDNR Flawed Mine Permit Renewal

What: Public Protest Demonstration of IDNR Coal Mine Permit Renewal
When: Wednesday, February 19, 2014, beginning at 5:15 p.m.
Where: public sidewalk across from the Historic Courthouse, Hillsboro, south sidewalk,  at #1 Public Square, Hillsboro, at the Abraham Lincoln statue.
Citizens are protesting the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) permit for the Deer Run Mine at a public demonstration at 5:15 p.m. February 19th, across from the Historic Courthouse Public Square in Hillsboro. The state is considering an additional five-year permit renewal approval for the same permit that was challenged by area residents and Sierra Club in 2009 for being incomplete and not protective of the local environment and community.
            IDNR should re-examine the Cumulative Hydrologic  Impact Assessment for this coal mine since the mine’s full impacts on area water resources have not been fully addressed. Citizens Against Longwall Mining (CALM) is opposed to the underground longwall mining method used at the mine, which removes nearly the entire coal seam and drops or subsides the surface of the ground often four to six feet with earthquake like impacts. The group is concerned because the Deer Run Mine is covering hundreds of acres of farmland with massive toxic coal slurry impoundments. Once the massive coal waste impoundments are built they will not be cleared away and the land cannot be returned to farming.
             The original permit approved by IDNR in 2009 did not supply specific locations for the coal slurry waste impoundments under the five-year permit. In 2010, the mine filed for and received approval for a major revision that drastically altered an in-ground coal waste pond into an 80-foot-high, approximately 140-acre high hazard impoundment.  Last year the mine applied for a new permit for a nearly 300-acre, 65-foot-tall impoundment which could be the second high hazard dam coal slurry structure at the site. This high hazard impoundment is twice the size of the first impoundment and is located closer to residents in Hillsboro and Schram City. High Hazard dams mean that a dam break could cause injury to property and possibly loss of life.
            The groundwater and drainage around the mine here at Hillsboro are at risk. Future generations will have to deal with what happens to the very shallow underground water levels and the potential for contamination since underground layers here have areas of sand that can allow pollution to travel more quickly and in unexpected ways.
            The Deer Run Mine permit is held by Hillsboro Energy, LLC, which is a Foresight Reserves corporate entity linked to the Natural Resource Partners mining conglomerate that began in West Virginia and is headed by coal billionaire Chris Cline.
            IDNR is holding a public hearing on the renewal of the Deer Run Mine permit at 6 p.m. in the second floor boardroom of the historic courthouse in Hillsboro at #1 Public Square.