Sutton residents continue fight against potential mine

SUTTON — Those who live off Buffalo Mine Road within a mile of a possible open-pit coal mine wonder why Usibelli Coal Mine Co. doesn’t consider them an actual “community.”

They wonder why in all of Usibelli’s various permit applications to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Natural Resources over the last 20 years, it states that the nearest community to the 8,000-acre mine site is Palmer, which is eight miles to the south.

“They have never acknowledged us as a community,” said Bonnie Zirkle, who owns Moose Wallow Bed and Breakfast on 800 acres within a mile of the proposed mine.

They’re also curious why property owners and potential homeowners within a mile from the proposed mine have been denied home loans from both Wells Fargo and Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union solely because of the properties’ proximity to the mine when Usibelli claims property values won’t be adversely affected by the mine.

And they want to know why Healy-based Usibelli Coal Mine Co., in its latest quest to obtain an air quality permit, doesn’t believe wind in the area will be a factor when it comes to spreading coal dust across Matanuska Valley.

Property damage from five windstorms over the past year alone cost Matanuska Electric Association $1.5 million, with the first storm in September costing MEA $534,000 in repairs, according to MEA Chief Executive Officer Joe Griffith.

“If you were along the Gulf Coast, that would’ve been a Category 3 hurricane,” Griffith said of the wind speeds at MEA’s annual meeting April 26. “Can you imagine being on the top of a big boom truck in 100-mile-per-hour winds working on electrical lines?”

Zirkle said that statement is particularly interesting as it relates to Usibelli’s Application for an Air Quality Control, which alleges wind speeds in the Valley don’t exceed 45 mph for more than 10 hours a year and the windy hours happened mostly on a single day in November.

Zirkle and others in the Sutton area say they can’t imagine anyone wanting to live near dusty coal operations they feel could potentially scatter particulates through the air and settle on the ground. That’s what Seward residents argue has happened in their community since Usibelli began transferring coal from train cars to Asia-bound barges in that city.

Zirkle showed the Frontiersman photos of brown-stained snow on the north shore of Seward’s boat harbor that residents there are using in a lawsuit against Usibelli.

“Can you imagine making snow angels in that?” Zirkle said. “I feel so sorry for the people in Seward.”

Zirkle, whose husband Dale suffers from lymphoma after growing up around coal mines in West Virginia, is one of several vocal residents off Buffalo Mine Road who are continuing efforts to rally residents to write the Department of Environmental Conservation by May 11 in response to Usibelli’s air quality permit application.

A copy of the permit can be found at dec.state.ak.us/air/ap/docs/AQ1227MSS02PrePer.pdf.

Usibelli has owned the 9.2-mile-long claim since 1997 and is finishing up its final analysis this summer to determine if it wants to pursue mining operations there that could yield more than 1 million metric tons of bituminous coal per year.

The company has argued for years that the operation would be done in a way that would not adversely affect the environment or residents in the area and would, in fact, be an economic asset to the Valley in terms of jobs generated and everything else that comes with the growth of a local industry.

But recent loan denials by local banks have some residents — and Usibelli officials — confused and frustrated.

“I think it’s a matter of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing,” Usibelli spokesperson Lorali Carter said Thursday of Wells Fargo and MVFCU. “I think it’s still pretty fair to say that there’s definitely a good chance that property values will stay the same or possibly increase in that area. The fact that people are trying to get loans there shows that they want to live there.”

Zirkle said two of the three residents who were denied loans already had property there or already started building their homes before realizing a coalmine might be near their home.

Bill and Natalie Dietze is one local couple who was first told by Wells Fargo Feb. 21 they would qualify for a Veterans Administration loan for a home off Buffalo Mine Road. Three days later, however, they received an email from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage consultant Laneya Wilkes that told them differently.

“I was able to confirm that the property will not be eligible for financing with Wells Fargo due to the coal mine and its proximity.” Wilkes says in the Feb. 24 email. “I’m very sorry to share this news with you, but I’m glad that we uncovered this now rather than later.”

Wilkes confirmed Thursday she did send that email and it wasn’t unique to that borrower. She then referred the Frontiersman to Area Manager Rod Jackson.

Jackson, who was on vacation this past week, said when reached by cellphone Thursday that the company is looking into the matter and he couldn’t comment until he returned to work this week.

Another couple, Stanley and Pam James, were turned down by MVFCU for a construction loan on their home that is already half built simply because of its location near the mine on Moyen Ruelle Court off Buffalo Mine Road.

Stanley James said Thursday he doesn’t have anything against the mine because he comes from a construction background and has always been pro-development.

“I worked in Healy around the mine there and I never saw any problems with it there,” he said. “I just want to finish my house so that I won’t have to live with my in-laws anymore.”

He said he’s already invested about $130,000 in the 3,200-square-foot home for his family of four daughters, ages 2 to 7.

He said that while he doesn’t want to live anywhere that might endanger his girls’ health, he believes there’s a way the mining company can work with residents to ensure the operation is done responsibly and safely.

“I’m not going to paint a large brush against the mine,” he said, adding he is borrowing money from his father to finish the house. “We need the jobs here, that’s for sure, but if it’s going to harm my kids, I’m definitely against that. I just don’t know what to think yet.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.McKee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.