DUBOIS – The first public hearing for RES Coal LLC.’s conditional use permit was held on Monday night.
Testimony was presented during the public hearing. Also, questions regarding the permit were answered later during the Sandy Township Supervisors’ meeting.
Conditional use permits are requested when a person or business wants to use a property for a purpose not allowed under existing zoning rules.
According to Solicitor Greg Kruk, receipt of a request initiates a 60-day deadline. It had already been presented to the Planning Commission, which reported it didn’t have any adverse conditions or objections to the surface coal mining project.
An RES Coal representative explained that the next step for their permit process was Sandy Township’s approval for conditional use.
As part of the pre-permit process through the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the DEP, Army Corps of Engineers, Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission have visited the property.
It was also noted that another 18 months of processing is expected if Sandy Township approves the conditional use.
While it is not expected to be used often, a blasting permit will be sought by RES Coal. As part of the requirements, every structure within a half-mile will be given a pre-blast survey.
There are homes within 1,000 feet of the property, where the surface mining will occur, according to the RES Coal representative who indicated that they are near the access road. There aren’t any homes within 2,000 feet of the actual mining site.
DuBois City Manager John “Herm” Suplizio was present at the public hearing. He was there representing the city’s interests to ensure that the mining does not impact the city’s six new water wells.
“The City of DuBois has drilled some holes down there but not within 1,000 feet or within 2,000 feet,” said Suplizio. He warned that there are 30,000 people who use the wells.
“Mr. Suplizio, the 30,000 people include the people of Sandy Township,” said Kruk.
The RES Coal representative indicated that DuBois City’s wells were well out of the DEP range and run-off will be contained on-site.
There was also a request by township citizens to consider restricting the hours of operation to daylight hours. The expected hours of operation given were from 6 a.m. to either 3 p.m. or 4 p.m.