Borough won’t ask for health study of mines

PALMER — For a second time the Mat-Su Borough Assembly has declined to urge a state study of the health impacts of mining.

“It is the means by which large-scale projects such as coal mining in the Mat-Valley may be judged,” Assemblyman Warren Keogh said of a comprehensive health impacts assessment. “It identifies both positive and negative effects and there are both.”

Positive effects, Keogh said, include more job opportunities, more family cohesion, decreased commute times, and increased civic opportunities. Negatives include the effects of blasting, dust, water quality and transportation.

This new request for the state to conduct an assessment expanded on his previous attempt, which just sought a study on Usibelli Coal Mine’s proposed Wishbone Hill project. The new resolution included two other mines proposed by two other companies.

The vast majority of speakers favored the assessment, but there some people who spoke also were opposed.

“This is crazy. This is not about health, this is about slowing down a very good project,” said Chris Gates.

He said the assessment would look at social and psychological health.

“How do you measure these things?” Gates said. “You can’t. They’re ways for people to slow down and stop these projects.”

On the other side, Lisa Wade with the Chickaloon Native Village, urged passage.

“You alone can restore our faith in this assembly and help heal the divide in the community that many of you helped create,” Wade said. “Your constituents will not stop working to make a more healthy Mat-Su Borough.”

Kirby Spangler, whose lives very close to the mine, said he didn’t believe the Assembly would pass the resolution.

“I would not be so naïve as to ask this crew here to do the right thing about coal development so I won’t,” Spangler said. “This is an issue of right and wrong, OK? And we intend to make it that issue.”

As for the assembly, besides Keogh they were mostly silent. One of the only other ones to speak up was Steve Colligan. He said he appreciated the comments but felt that calling for this new study was premature when a different study — a non-comprehensive study of Wishbone Hill — was under way.

“There actually still is a health impact assessment, it’s still in review and there’s no mining going on,” Colligan said. “It’s at least a year off or more for either of those activities.”

He also didn’t like that the issue came to the assembly so close to an election.

“I’m also disgusted at the timing of Mr. Keogh to bring this before the assembly,” he said.

That also bothered assemblyman Jim Colver, who actually sided with Keogh in voting against killing the resolution.

“Maybe we ought to have a gentleman’s agreement to not bring really contentious issues in the middle of an election cycle,” Colver said. “Run on your record. It’s not just what happens in the last month.”

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.