A Johnstown coal mining company’s plans to open a second Rustic Ridge Mine in Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships will be explored during a public hearing Aug. 20.
The state Department of Environmental Protection will conduct an informal open house at 6 p.m. at St. Raymond of the Mount Church, 170 School House Lane, Donegal.
That will immediately be followed by a hearing on LCT Energy LP’s plans to expand its Rustic Ridge Mine No. 2, which is north of the turnpike.
The company wants to mine about 1,425 acres of coal in Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships.
The public will be able to offer their opinion on LCT Energy’s four permit applications at the hearing.
Representatives from DEP’s district mining operations will make a presentation of about 15 minutes on pertinent technical information on the pending application for the mining permit, DEP spokeswoman Laina Aquiline said.
The public and DEP officials will be able to engage in a question-and-answer session for about 45 minutes, Aquiline said.
The company has applied for four permits: to expand its coal mining activity; for a system to eliminate pollution discharged from the mine; for taking and discharging water; and for an air quality permit for dust and diesel-fuel vehicles at coal preparation and coal refuse plants.
The permitting process takes several years, said Mark Tercek, president of LCT Energy, so he could not estimate when production might begin.
The DEP had issued a mining permit in April for Rustic Ridge Mine No. 2, which adds coal reserves to LCT Energy’s 2,840 acres in its Rustic Ridge Mine No. 1 in Donegal and Saltlick Township, Fayette County.
The Mountain Watershed Association, a Melcroft-based environmental organization, is fighting the DEP’s approval of LCT Energy’s permit request.
It appealed to the state Environmental Hearing Board in June, contending the mining would impact groundwater supplies, possibly damage local streams and create acid mine drainage in streams. The hearing board has not issued a ruling on the appeal.
The environmental organization is planning a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at St. Raymond of the Mount Church to help the community prepare for the hearing.
The plans for Rustic Ridge Mine No. 2 include a 64-acre mine portal and surface operation off of Claypike Road in Mt. Pleasant Township. About 1,770 feet of four unnamed tributaries that feed the Jacobs Creek watershed would be enclosed because of mine operations, according to the company’s application for a permit.