DUBOIS – At Monday night’s board meeting, a representative from RES Coal LLC approached the Sandy Township Supervisors to begin the process of obtaining a conditional use permit.
RES Coal is planning on excavating a 55-acre plot of land near Sandy Lick Creek and Interstate 80. RES Coal has already been working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.
For RES Coal, the next step within Sandy Township is for the Planning Commission to review the conditional use permit.
RES Coal only plans to extract from around 40 acres of the land, which includes some wetlands. When asked, the representative stated they had no plans to use Platt Road for transport and are planning on using state roads.
While use of blasting is something RES Coal would like to avoid, the representative stated they are applying for the permit to blast and will do so as legally allowed if needed.
If the conditional use permit is granted, RES Coal has no plans to begin extraction until after the start of the upcoming year. The representative explained they had recently laid off around 60 employees due to current market conditions. However, they expected things to change beginning in January.
Sandy Township’s Municipal Authority is moving forward in allowing direct debit payments for bills. Starting with the Dec. 25 bill, citizens will be able to pay their municipal authority bills directly from their checking accounts. To enroll in the program, citizens must complete a form along with a voided check at the township building.