Author Archives: CALM

ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW TESTIMONY ON DEER RUN MINE NOT ALLOWED BY OFFICE OF MINES AND MINERALS

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The 5 year renewal of Permit 399 for Deer Run Mine is under consideration by Office of Mines and Minerals (OMM) in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). For over 4 years, Citizens Against Longwall Mining (CALM) and Sierra Club petitioners never got to present their experts or present their full case against this permit. The petitioners against Permit 399 were dismissed on Halloween 2013 by a new IDNR Hearing Officer.  It was fitting that the dismissal occurred during IDNR’s Halloween costume parade since the petitioners had already experienced several years of horror and disbelief on the Permit 399 challenge.

The reality of the 4-year battle to challenge Permit 399 with IDNR/OMM involved:  an adversarial relationship, dismissal of petitioners on questionable basis, prolonged delays, and stonewalled and unfulfilled FOIA requests. The most threatening action of IDNR/OMM was its request to Hearing Officer (H. O.) Michael O’Hara to sanction the petitioners and our lawyer after a Summary Judgment filing was submitted in July, 2010.  After this filing, eight motions were left unanswered by Mr. O’Hara and our case remained on a hiatus for over 2 years. A new IDNR Hearing Officer was assigned to the case and began issuing a response to motions in 2013.

In September 2013 the sanctioning threat motion to our first lawyer was answered and it acknowledged the entry filing made in February 2011 of David L. Wentworth II, the lawyer filing to represent the petitioners.  The second IDNR Hearing Officer did not dismiss the sanctioning threat to the petitioners. Without answering other pending motions, the petitioners were dismissed with the stated reason that their attorney had not met a filing deadline. Subsequently, attorney Wentworth, acting for the petitioners, filed an appeal on the Halloween dismissal with IDNR and also filed a Complaint for Administrative Review with the Circuit Court of Sangamon County.

There have been 4 permit applications to OMM by the Deer Run Mine company Hillsboro Energy LLC (HEL): original 399 Permit, Significant Revision 1 of Permit 399 for impoundment 1, Permit 424 for the 2nd impoundment, and renewal of Permit 399.   Citizens are greatly concerned about the power of OMM to make changes that it deems acceptable to coal mining permits as “Insignificant Revisions” which are not placed on public notice and have no comment opportunity.  At Deer Run Mine, as of January 2014, there are 12 Insignificant Permit Revisions and 6 Insignificant Boundary Revisions for Permit 399.

Citizens feel that OMM delayed and impaired their public participation as established by state and federal mining laws.  The administrative review process should have been handled in a timely manner, accepting of concerned citizens’ involvement, and open to freedom of information requests. It is the responsibility of IDNR to hire an appropriate hearing officer to conduct the Administrative Review, but there were delays and a 2 year hiatus of the first hearing officer.

Many issues and inadequacies of Permit 399 exist.  These include additional safety and environmental threats resulting from coal production and Deer Run Mine expansion to a proposed 2nd high hazard dam coal slurry impoundment.  OMM never addressed the inadequate cumulative hydrologic impact area and unlisted stream tributaries that HEL presented in the Permit 399 application.  The drainage problem of subsided farmland and the permeation of coal dust in the atmosphere are still facing the community.

The potential for groundwater and surface water contamination, including Old Hillsboro Lake, is increased by ignoring hydrologic issues and location of impoundments.   The likelihood of failure and leakage will only multiply over time, which is a permanent problem for the community since the impoundments plus coal slurry will remain in place covered with soil in perpetuity. Failure of the impoundments would inundate portions of Hillsboro, Schram City and surrounding area with millions of gallons of noxious coal slurry according to the maps presented by the coal company in their permit applications.

If justice were the issue; it did not occur.  The opponents to 399 had no idea of the coming intimidating legal ramifications and the resulting economic and personal stresses that included “sanctioning” by the state.  Sadly, intimidation by IDNR/OMM is employed as an effective approach in squelching individual objections to Deer Run Mine.  The community, health of residents and the environment are still at risk; so once again IDNR/OMM’s “unique” application of state and federal mining laws enhanced coal profits on the backs of citizens.

Public Comment Hearing

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What:  The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is holding a public comment hearing on the five year renewal for the Deer Run Mine permit #399, which includes the coal processing plant.

Where: Montgomery County Historic Courthouse, No. 1 Courthouse Square, Hillsboro, IL
second floor county board room.

When:  February 19, 2014, 6 PM

 

The Price of Justice: A True Story of Greed and Corruption — a book review

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516zJY5SKMLBook Review ~ THE PRICE OF JUSTICE by Laurence Leamer

For the reader on your Christmas gift list, “The Price of Justice” is a heart wrenching true story of the pervasive effect of coal mining on West Virginia’s citizens. This book has special relevance for citizens that live with coal mining and recognize its influence on their community, government, and judicial system.

The personal struggle of two lawyers to bring justice to the victims of a powerful coal baron in West Virginia will captivate and inspire the hope that all of us have for the oppressed and powerless.

Dave Fawcett, a 3rd generation Pittsburgh attorney, and Bruce Stanley, raised in West Virginia, now a Pittsburgh attorney, took on the challenge of rectifying the injustice that Hugh Caperton and his Harmon Mining Company were subjected to by Don Blankenship, Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy.

Caperton took on a tremendous debt to acquire Harmon Mining and he cared deeply about making it successful for his family and employees. The loss of his mining company was devastating to him, but there was some comfort in the verdict of two juries that Blankenship was liable for fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment, and interference with contractual agreements.

Blankenship controlled the largest coal company in Appalachia, 4th in the nation with revenues of 2 billion in 2008. This book describes his powerful influence that was extensive throughout the state.  He flexed his control with the help of friends in the court system. Blankenship was determined to destroy the United Mine Workers Union and with the help of a circuit court judge, Elliot Maynard, they together stopped a lengthy strike and diminished UMW’s influence with the miners. In 1996, Maynard was elected to a 12 year term in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals which placed a friend of Blankenship in even higher places.

Although Fawcett and Stanley were awarded 50 million dollars in damages for Caperton, Massey appealed the ruling to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.  The reader will marvel at the timing of the appeal to reverse the jury decision that was filed after an election in which Blankenship spent 3 million dollars to remove an incumbent and to elect Brent Benjamin. The court now had a more pro-business leaning, especially with Blankenship’s old friend, Justice Maynard and indeed the 50 million dollar verdict against Massey was reversed. Caperton had filed a request for Benjamin to recuse himself due to Blankenship’s financial support of his election, but Benjamin refused to disqualify himself.

Fawcett and Stanley thought the only way to get justice for Caperton was to be heard by the U. S. Supreme Court, but the chances for that were very slim. Certain events, however, occurred that changed the interest in Caperton and made it a federal issue.

Caperton et al. v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., Inc. was brought before the U. S. Supreme Court to address the issue of potential bias of Benjamin that denied due process to Caperton by reversing Massey’s 50 million dollar judgment by the West Virginia Supreme Court. The vote of the U. S. Supreme Court was 5-4 with Justice Kennedy providing the swing vote that concluded Benjamin should have recused himself.  After the victory for Caperton, the case was presented again to the West Virginia Supreme Court.  Here, incredibly, the damages against Massey were dismissed again in a 4-1 vote.  Massey and the coal baron prevailed and continued to dominate West Virginia politics.

The author relates how Blankenship insisted that coal be mined at any cost which created many hazards for the miners and several tragedies resulted.  Two miners, Don Bragg and Ellery Hatfield, died in a fire at the Aracoma Mine owned by Massey.  The safety issues that were thought to cause the fire were never addressed, and maximal production of coal at any cost continued. In longwall mining, there is continual formation of dust that must be covered or removed to prevent fires that could upon contact with methane gas explode.  This is what happened on April 5, 2010 at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. Twenty-nine miners were killed; since 1995, Upper Big Branch had been cited over 3000 times for safety violations with 2 given the day of the explosion.

Read how eight months later, Blankenship left Massey with a 10.9 million salary plus benefits and a 39 million retirement package.  He left hundreds of residents with contaminated drinking water that resulted from his initiation of coal slurry injections into mine voids.  The devastation in West Virginia of lost lives, lost mountains, and loss of community will endure; that is Don Blankenship’s legacy.

The story of politics, money, and greed is developed artfully and placed in context of a hard working community that is only trying to survive. Hugh Caperton kept going with the knowledge that by fighting Blankenship, he was doing the right thing for West Virginia. He showed true courage, conviction, and tenacity, but never received justice.

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Times Books; 1St Edition edition (May 7, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805094717
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805094718
  • Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 6.4 x 9.3 inches

Deer Run Mine’s Extended Halloween Celebration

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Originally posted on October 29, 2013 by sierraclubillinois

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WARNING:  This story is not to read by the timid or those prone to nightmares.
 

Once upon a time there was a clever Werewolf that convinced the leaders of Montgomery County and the City of Hillsboro, Illinois that they needed and deserved a coal mine in their city. Happy thoughts of many jobs and more money in the community were served with smiles and pleasantries.  Many fantasies and myths assured the community that Deer Run Mine would only bestow treats with no tricks.

Permit #399 was approved by the protectors of the community — the Illinois Department of Natural Resources/Office of Mines and Minerals (IDNR/OMM) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Some land owners and residents were doubtful of the protections that were promised, but their voices that echoed through the treeless horizon were silenced.

These past echoes, however, collected and reformed to create a force to fight the darkness and myths. This force is called Citizens Against Longwall Mining (CALM) and it continues to brighten the darkness with facts and to enlighten others with hope to do the right thing.

CALM delved into the fantasy of coal mining promises. Can magic really awaken the sunken graves caused by longwall mining? Farming is so much more productive if the land is level and drained without sunken ravines being created.

The promise that water resources would not be destroyed by the evil sinking of land was the easiest myth to bust. All goblins, witches, and vampires know that water seeks its own level, if land sinks, water sinks. Should we even address the myth that streams can be created?  Check with Pennsylvania about the folly of how few streams were fixed after being sunk by longwall mining.

CALM is not convinced that surface and ground waters will not be contaminated, since the most toxic and nasty stuff from coal is not monitored. The Clean Water Act is only as good as it is enforced.  Even with known National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) violations, little is corrected and the darkness continues.

One very mystical happening was arranged by IDNR/OMM. It strangely converted an in-ground coal slurry disposal area to an above ground high hazard coal slurry impoundment dam in the City of Hillsboro in close proximity to the hospital, nursing home, daycare, and homes. The high hazard dam classification even made the skeletons sit up in fearful fright

Well, fellow goblins, if you think it can’t get any worse, you are WRONG! Permit #424 submitted by Deer Run Mine proposes a second much larger (1/2 by 2 miles) high hazard coal slurry dam impoundment that is even closer to the City of Hillsboro and Schram City. The zombies were astonished that there was no risk assessment.  The location of the second impoundment threatens thousands of residents with loss of life and property if the coarse coal embankment ever fails over its lifetime, which is forever, remaining as a threat to the community forever.

The Witches’ Council clued CALM into another huge problem. Within their flight pattern, there is a coal processing plant at Deer Run Mine that spews coal dust that makes them cough. The Witches brooms were no match for the black dust and the effect it had on their lungs. How frightening that the IEPA, that is responsible for protecting air quality and that realizes the need to limit particulate matter (PM) exposure, has failed to require testing or monitoring of PM at the mine site or in the community.

Realizing that everyone, not just the Witches, were at risk, CALM asked the citizens attending Old Settlers Event in Hillsboro in August to sign a petition to ask the Mayor of Hillsboro to facilitate the placement of air monitors at the hospital and nursing home.  The petition was well received with a total of 364 signatures that was later presented and well received by the Mayor of Hillsboro.

The community has paid dearly for the mining jobs and the potential financial gain; the tricks far out weigh the treats; we all need clean air, productive farmland, and wonderful water for apple bobbing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM CALM

Tell Governor Quinn to Protect the Prairie State from mining horror stories!

The time has come for a coal severance tax in Illinois

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A recent study points out how the state of Illinois is spending more to promote the coal industry than the corporations are paying in taxes to the state. It points up the real need for a coal severance tax on these companies that are selling Illinois coal out of state for huge profits.

Also, citizens are in effect subsidizing these corporations, as much of the damage left behind by these operations is repaired with our tax money also.

“Downstream Strategies” came out in June 2013 on “The Impact of Coal on the Illinois State Budget, FY2011.” Rory McIlmoil (MA, project manager), Meghan Betcher (MS, environmental science) and Amanda Kass (MS, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Chicago) did the study.

Our legislators need to review the true needs and priorities of Illinois, especially with our current budget problems. We cannot afford to supplement industries with grants when they are not providing the numbers of jobs originally promised, while being allowed to ship coal out of state and even out of the country without paying their fair share of taxes to the state of Illinois. Other states charge severance taxes. Why doesn’t Illinois?

Then there are the problems of permanent damage to farms and roads, as well as air pollution and water contamination. A severance tax could provide funds for repairing the damage left behind. These corporations also could be required in their original operating permits to set up funds for this purpose.

The above referenced study showed that out of 17 companies operating coal mines in Illinois in 2010, only three were required to pay corporate income tax. The remaining 14 companies, classified as LLCs, do not pay tax. Only 34 percent of Illinois coal produced in 2010 was produced by companies with corporate income tax liability. The study showed that taxes on coal came to $1,400,860. Meanwhile, the state’s total expenses in promoting the industry also came to $1,400,860.

The authors recommended the following actions: one, a state severance tax on coal; two, a permanent trust fund to help remediate environmental damages due to mining; and three, a detailed analysis of the full costs and benefits of grant programs supporting coal-related projects, with a plan for more oversight.