State accepting comments on Usibelli coal permit

PALMER — If you hear a lot of keyboards clicking in Sutton over the next month, thank Usibelli Coal Mine — comments are due on the Wishbone Hill mining permit Oct. 14.

The state Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday it is seeking comments on the permit.

Though Usibelli will need to get a lot of permits before it can start mining, this is probably the biggest of them all, the one that deals with mining specifically, rather than some other piece of Usibelli’s operation.

The permit has been renewed every five years since the mid-1990s. It’s 3,054 pages long and available online at dnr.state.ak.us/mining/index.htm or at the DNR’s mining office on 7th Avenue in Anchorage. DNR has said so far that the permit is complete, containing all the information such a permit requires and that it has no suggestions thus far for revisions.

Anyone with something to say can write to Russell Kirkham at russell.kirkham@alaska.gov, fax (907) 269-8930 or mail those comments to 500 W. 7th Ave., Suite 900D, Anchorage, AK 99501-3577.

Usibelli has for months been looking at the possibility of extracting coal from the area just north of Palmer. The company says it has not yet made a decision whether to mine and is just exploring whether it’s feasible. Still, Usibelli has been drilling for soil samples in the area, has installed part of a road and has tested loading facilities at Port MacKenzie, where coal mined in the future would be loaded on ships headed for a Japanese power company.

Residents have lined up on both sides of the issue.

One group, which includes local residents, activist groups and the local Native tribe, has expressed opposition. Their concerns include pollution — they worry about local water bodies — noise — blasting is planned for the mine, though Usibelli says not as much blasting as it does at its existing facility in Healy — and safety — the mine will put all kinds of trucks onto the Glenn Highway bringing the coal to the port.

The other group likes the idea of having more local jobs and economic development. It notes that health and environmental effects are overblown, saying that miners who used to work in the area are still around and healthy.

For its part, Usibelli has said it will take neighbors’ concerns into account and try to minimize blasting during inconvenient hours and that mining can be accomplished without polluting water bodies. The company says the land will be left in pristine condition when the coal is gone and that safety on the roads will be one of its priorities.

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