Usibelli withdraws permit application again

PALMER — What does it mean that Usibelli Coal Mine has for a second time withdrawn its permit for an air quality permit?

“It’s procedural,” said Usibelli spokeswoman Lorali Simon. “Because of the permit application procedures outlined in statute and regulation, Usibelli needs to withdraw our application and resubmit it with the information that has been requested.”

The permit is one of many Usibelli needs to mine coal at Wishbone Hill near Sutton. Usibelli has not announced a decision on whether to begin mining. The company says that, for now, it’s just exploring the economics of the project. A power company in Japan has committed to buying whatever Usibelli can extract.

While Simon says the application withdrawal is not a big deal and par for the course, that’s not what mine opponents say.

“This is a huge victory for all who own property, recreate or breathe clean air in the Matanuska Valley,” says Jeremiah Millen, executive director of Friends of Mat-Su, in a press release issued Thursday. “Thanks to the hundreds of residents throughout the Mat-Su for identifying the obvious flaws in Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.’s air permit application, Usibelli will now have to prove they can protect our communities from toxic coal dust.”

The release says the permit was withdrawn because it contained “outdated and inaccurate data.”

Simon disagreed.

She said the information the state requested was very technical and has to do with the algorithms used in the air modeling contained in the permit. Simon said that while having to withdraw a permit isn’t unusual, the current process is actually pretty unusual in one sense.

“From what I can tell from the department and from our consultants, for a minor air quality permit like this, this permit is under a lot more scrutiny,” Simon said

Nothing found thus far in the permit has been fatal to Usibelli’s attempts to get one. However, enough minor flaws have been found to warrant resubmitting it, she said.

Some people who took part in a coal protest at the assembly meeting Tuesday, were happy to hear the news.

“Usibelli should see this as an indication that the public is informed and paying attention,” said Kirby Spangler, in a press release from the Castle Mountain Coalition Thursday. “The constant coal dust, traffic jams, blasting and loss of our recreation areas will have severe impacts for the entire Mat-Su. Usibelli should put this project on hold until all these issues can be studied and addressed.”

Simon disagreed.

“The suggestion that we should put this project on hold until all of these issues can be addressed is absurd,” she said.

Simon said Usibelli has had these coal leases — and has been studying them — for 30 years.

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