State renews 1 of many Usibelli coal permits

PALMER — The state has renewed one of many permits Usibelli Coal Mine has for a proposed Wishbone Hill coal mine.

In a letter dated Aug. 10, the state’s Department of Natural Resources announced its decision to renew for two years the Wishbone Hill Coal Exploration Permit based on an application from Usibelli.

“The application complies with the requirements of the Alaska Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act,” the letter states.

Usibelli vice president for external affairs Lorali Simon wrote in an email that the exploration permit is neither an important mining permit or a smaller air quality permit.

“The exploration permit is a two-year permit and allows us to do such things like drill exploratory holes and take core samples,” Simon wrote.

The renewal was an attempt to keep it current, something she said Usibelli likes to do with all of its permits even if, as is the case here, it does not intend any exploration work this summer.

“We’ll see how things go this winter — maybe we’ll conduct an exploration program next summer,” Simon wrote.

Usibelli has said previously that permitting work is a lot of what has kept them out of the exploration game this year. The process is moving slower than anticipated. At the federal level, Office of Surface Mining officials have said that the important mining permit is invalid and has been through multiple renewals over two decades. The state disagrees.

If the federal government does step in to invalidate the permits in question, state officials say, it would be unprecedented. But that federal agency might not be the ultimate decider; there’s a concomitant court process ongoing as well.

The Wishbone Hill coalfield is between Palmer and Sutton in the area often referred to as Bufalo Mine/Soapstone. Usibelli is still studying whether mining there is feasible.

The company says a Japanese firm will buy whatever coal can be mined. Alaska coal is valuable on the world market for its high energy and low sulfur.

Usibelli also has tried out Port MacKenzie as a place to load coal onto ships heading overseas and found it to be sufficient.

Meanwhile, a group of local homeowners and local and state activists have banded together to oppose the mine. The groups were responsible for the complaint filed with the Office of Surface Mining in December 2011.

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