Concerned Citizens
The
Maryland Energy Resources, LLC (an affiliate of the Joseph Peles Coal Company) is proposing a coal mining operation along
and under the Casselman River in Grantsville, MD.
Here’s what you need to know
about the proposed Casselman River basin coal mine:
· The proposed mining application requests the permission to pump between 500,000 to 750,000
gallons of water from the ground on a DAILY basis. To put it in perspective, 600,000 gallons of water,
pumped from the ground everyday, represents the amount of water required to fill 9,954 Olympic size swimming pools over the
life time of this proposed mining activity. This is the equivalent of a swimming pool that is 4.8 square
miles in size (3072 acres). This volume of water drawn from our community's aquifer/ground water source
could dramatically impact the quality and availability of well water within and beyond the proposed 3040 acre mining area.
Furthermore, a loss of quality well water associated with this activity would certainly affect the real estate property values
for local residents.
· The proposed mine plan includes tunneling under the Casselman
River at several points. This delicate trout fishing estuary is a valuable source of outdoor recreation in Garrett
County. There are many concerns about the potential impacts of tunneling under this valuable natural resource.
· The proposed mining site design requires the direct encroachment and adverse impact of sensitive
wetlands.
· The proposed site design requires the encroachment of the protective
environmental setback buffers along the Casselman River. This encroachment would potentially remove or
diminish a safety buffer that protects the watershed from an environmental accident such as a chemical spill or a treatment
pond containment breach.
· The estimated traffic impact from this operation is believed to
be 100 coal trucks passing per day. This equates to (1) coal hauling truck, potentially loaded with 22,000 pounds of
coal, traveling on our community roads every 10 minutes. If you compound this industrial traffic flow with
normal school bus and commuter traffic, there arises many concerns about the congestion and safety of our county roads. It
is believed that the mining company is retaining the right to go into a 24 hour/3 work shift operation.
·
Due to the grade of the surrounding county roads (Durst Rd, Amish Rd, and MD Rte 495), it is anticipated that the noise
generated by this traffic would approach the effective noise level of an interstate highway to the surrounding community.
A noise nuisance of this type would clearly impact housing values and the quality of life in the surrounding area.
· Due to the close proximity of the mining haul road to the Casselman River bridge (on Durst
Rd) and riparian water bodies, it is feared that the dust from this excessive industrial traffic and coal mining operation
would negatively impact the water quality, as well as the local air quality.
· The
mining company representatives have admitted to participating in discussions associated with the potential construction of
a coal burning power plant on or near the same site along the Casselman River.
· The
mining site is directly adjacent to a sensitive conservation area operated by the Patuxent Conservation Corps, a Maryland
Land trust. The Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources - Bureau of Mines has already invested more than $150,000 of taxpayer
dollars in reclaiming this site after a previous mining activity left the site an environmental disaster. The Maryland
Dept. of Natural Resources - Maryland Environmental Trust jointly holds the environmental easement associated with this
riparian parcel in partnership with the Patuxent Conservation Corps. This easement was granted to the State
of Maryland due to the close proximity to the Casselman River. Though much improved, this site is still
recovering from this legacy mining activity. It is very concerning that a new mining application has been submitted involving
the same branch of the Casselman River that was severely impacted from the previous mining activity.
·
The Boy Scouts of America regularly use the parcel adjacent to this proposed mining site for numerous scouting activities.
Should the proposed mining application be approved as written, this site would no longer be suitable for use as part of the
scouting outdoor program.
Should you share any of these
concerns, we encourage you to attend the above public meeting.
For further information - http://www.mdconservation.org
or
For meeting and hearing dates:
http://www.mde.state.md.us/AboutMDE/calendar/
