Petition calls on DEP, state, feds to investigate coal dirt messes
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - A mining truck crosses Route 54 in Connerton, with a trail of dirt visible behind it. Coal dirt build-up is also visible on the shoulder of the highway.
GIRARDVILLE – A month after a resident called for collective municipal action on coal dirt being strewn about the region’s roadways, a petition has been launched asking for state and federal action.
Roseann Weinrich launched the petition via change.org Tuesday.
In it, she says the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act prohibits a permitting mining operation from dragging any material from a permitted site.
“Heavy coal dirt drag out is rampant and widespread here and has created a major public nuisance,” Weinrich writes. “This petition is calling for a full investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the US Office of Surface Mining, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Attorney General Michelle Henry and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation into local mining operations that are responsible for this pollution.”
She said that many complaints have been lodged with the DEP District Mining Office in Pottsville and with local representatives, only to be waved off.
Weinrich says that, while street sweepers are present near some operations, they “are only rearranging the dirt, resulting in huge dust clouds and slick road surfaces.
“The dirt has become so thick and compacted, it has covered over painted road lines,” she wrote. “The dirt is piled so high along the berms in some areas, it is almost level with the lower guardrail.”
The dirt, she says, clings to homes and cars, “making routine care both impossible to maintain and expensive.”
She calls the situation “blatant disregard for our communities” and suggests wheel wash stations be installed at mine sites.
Weinrich also raised concerns about air and water pollution as a result.
As of Tuesday evening, the petition had nine signatures and it can be viewed here.
Weinrich is involved in the Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association.
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