BURNSIDE - Motorists traveling Route 125 through this small patch south of Shamokin may have noticed a change in the landscape.
Several acres of trees northeast of the village were cut at the end of March as a surface mining operation got under way. Removal of the trees reveal a large hill scarred from past mining operations during a time when reclamation laws did not exist, and colorful Volkswagen vans and Beetles abandoned at its base.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Nov. granted a request from Blue Ridge Mining LP, Iris Road, Shamokin, to conduct surface mining activities on 43.5 acres of property owned by Northumberland County. The company met all application requirements and agreed to several permit conditions and requirements.
The permit area is located north of the proposed trail head for the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area; however, the project is not affiliated with the park.
3 veins targeted
Blue Ridge president Marc Sandri said the company will mine three veins
of coal: the No. 9 ½, No. 9, and No. 8 vein, also known as the mammoth vein - considered the largest deposit of anthracite coal in the region. He estimates that 80 to 85 feet of earth will be excavated to reach the first vein, the 9 1/2.
In preparation for mining, approximately 10 acres of trees are being cut down. Several acres have already been cut in order to meet a March 31 deadline set by DEP to protect bat habitats. Sandri said an outside contracting firm hired to cut the trees will return after Nov. 1 to finish the job. DEP restricts cutting of trees or dead snags greater than five inches in diameter at breast height between Nov. 1 and March 31.
'Actually cleaning it up'
The land consists of a large culm pile, large pits and several areas where trash and debris have been illegally dumped. Sandri described the land as a "pigsty."
"We are actually cleaning it up," Sandri said. "We will be responsible for the pits we work out of."
Permit requirements include monitoring quarterly the Stirling Mine Pool discharge off Route 125 at the "bus barn," stabilizing within three weeks any area which is disturbed during the operation, installing and maintaining site entrances to eliminate deposition of material on public right-of-way, and developing and implementing a reclamation plan, which involves backfilling, grading and revegetating the area affected by the operation.
How long?
The direction of the veins of coal will determine what land will be mined, while the market will determine the amount of coal mined and how long the operation will last, Sandri said.
"The government has been tough on the market for coal due to President Obama's anti-coal policies," Sandri said. "I don't know how long the project will last, maybe years."