Coal company asks DEP permission to mine within 50 feet of Raven Run Road, blasting near water, power lines

LOST CREEK #2 – A year after they purchased and razed this village, a Girardville firm wants to expand its strip mine there, almost up to Raven Run Road and in close proximity of utility lines.

Keystone Anthracite, of Girardville, filed an application to revise their surface mining permit for operations between Lost Creek #2 and Shenandoah.

The land is owned by the Girard Estate, administered by the City of Philadelphia, and leased to Keystone for mining activities.

In the application on file at the West Mahanoy Township Municipal Building, Keystone is asking for permission from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to conduct mining activities within 100 feet of Raven Run Road and within 200 feet of a power and water line.

“Blasting activities are proposed within 200 feet of an overhead line owned by PPL Electric Utilities, with excavation proposed within 60 feet of the line and general mining activities within 20 feet of the line,” the application reads. Keystone says in the application that PPL is planning to move the line to the west side of Raven Run Road.

As for the water line — the primary Aqua water main serving William Penn and Lost Creek — the company plans to blast within 200 feet of it, and excavate within about 85 feet of it. General mining activities are proposed within 50 feet.

Keystone said a stability analysis of Raven Run Road has been provided to PennDOT assuming excavation within 60 feet of the right-of-way.

“To maximize coal extraction, the mine operator would like to advance mining activities as close to the limits of the Right of Way as permitted by PennDOT,” part of the application states.

Maps provided with the application show the area where utility lines are of concern is in the area where Keystone razed several homes in Lost Creek #2.

Excavation in that area severed the line last summer, disrupting water service to all points on the former Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah (MABS) water system west of Shenandoah, except Raven Run.

Maps also indicated plans to raze several homes in the Upper Brownsville area which Keystone purchased within the past few years. They also submitted waivers for Brownsville homes they do not intend to raze, allowing surface mining within 300 feet.

The map also showed a mining operational area in the permit area including the hairpin corner where Theresa Street and West Coal Street meet, though the application makes no mention of plans to sever the connection between Upper and Lower Brownsville.

Much of Shenandoah is considered an “Environmental Justice Area” by DEP, and certain activities within the designated area and one half mile outside of it are supposed to trigger an enhanced public participation procedure. Those activities are ones that “may lead to significant public concern due to potential impacts on human health and the environment.”

Though a notable portion of the permit area is within that half-mile area, the EJA policy, which often requires a public hearing, has not been invoked.

The application, which DEP lists as a major amendment, is under technical review with a decision expected in September.

Written comments, objections, or a request for an informal conference can be submitted to Michael Kutney, District Mining Manager, at 5 West Laurel Boulevard, Pottsville, by July 7. such comments must include the person’s name, address, telephone number, and a brief statement to the nature of the objection.

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Kaylee Lindenmuth

Kaylee Lindenmuth is a Shenandoah native with a passion for journalism and the community she calls home.

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