SWCDs to address impact of coal mining

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The prospect of an Oakland coal mine has led the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for three counties to organize an informational meeting about mining and its possible impacts.

The meeting organized by the districts for Coles, Douglas and Edgar counties is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lake Crest School in Oakland. Officials at the Farm Bureaus for these three counties will assist with the meeting.

Nancy Pals, a resource conservationist for the Coles County district, said the local districts and Farm Bureaus are not taking a position for or against the underground mine and the coal-to-diesel plant that American Clean Coal Fuels of Vancouver, Wash., has proposed developing in the Oakland area.

Pals said the districts want to share information and answer questions about mining’s possible impacts, namely the subsidence or sinking of land above underground mines, before any mine opens. She said if residents have this information ahead of time, they will not be taken by surprise if subsidence occurs.

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“Part of our job is to educate and help landowners determine what is the best use of their properties,” Pals said. “If they have a drainage or erosion problem, we are usually the first people they call.”

American Clean Coal Fuels recently signed a lease with the Embarras Valley Coal Association to mine local coal to supply its proposed plant. The coal association encompasses member properties in an area that runs from Hugo in the northwest to Isabel in the southeast, crossing Douglas, Coles and Edgar county lines.

Pals said coal mining typically occurs in areas of Illinois with rolling topography, so subsidence is not as much of a problem. She said the Oakland area would be an unusually flat site for a mine, adding that Douglas County is the flattest county in the state.

A small amount of subsidence in this topography could potentially damage farm drainage tiles in the soil above the mine, she said.

“Many of these tile systems are interconnected. They run from farm to farm to farm,” Pals said. “Some of the tiles are more than 100 years old.”

Pals said mining permit applicants must file a subsidence control plan with the state, adding Illinois has good guidelines for mining and subsidence.

Nevertheless, Pals said landowners who allow mining to take place under their land should know some damage might not be able to be fixed or remedied. She said if they know this up front, it would not “sting as much” if such damage does occur.

Panelists on Tuesday are set to include a hydrologist, who will talk about the impact of mining on aquifers; an attorney, who will talk about drainage laws and the impact of subsidence on tiles; an Illinois State Geological Survey representative, who will talk about mining in general; a private engineer from Douglas County, who will discuss the impact of subsidence on roads and tiles, and the Murdock coal mine; and an Illinois Drainage Districts Association representative.

The panelists are set to make presentations from 6 p.m. to about 7:30 p.m. and then take the audience’s written questions, which will be read by a moderator.

source news : jg-tc.com

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