Wishbone Hill mine could be a public health hazard

Alaska is a great place to live and play.

We have majestic scenery, endless outdoor recreational activities, clean air and healthy water. I strongly believe in creating jobs for Alaskans. I also believe we should focus on creating jobs that are clean, healthy and durable. A coal mine is dirty, unhealthy and temporary.

This Wishbone Hill mine is expected to produce for only 12 years. Our valley would be much better served by finding renewable energy options, such as taking advantage of all of our famous wind that would power Alaska, creating jobs that would last for generations.

Disregard those Usibelli Coal Mining Co. radio advertisements suggesting they will lower your electricity bills. The local coal is intended for export to Japan. How else have you been misled? Besides the questionable number of jobs (75 to 100?), the Wishbone Hill mine would have no other benefit for Alaskans, would leave us with a giant scar in our beautiful valley, and risks making many of us ill. UCM has not told you about the many problems this mine will create for you.

For Matanuska Valley residents, this mine will destroy tourism and result in lost revenue for Palmer and the majestic Scenic Byway of the Glenn Highway, likely to Chickaloon and beyond. Tourists will choose an alternative destination over the noise, coal dust and road congestion created by the coal trucks. Tourism-related jobs and revenues will be lost. Tourists come to see our beauty, not a dirty, open-pit coal mine. This mine would be completely different than UCM’s Healy mine in location, prevailing winds and the method of coal transportation. They are not comparable. Your daily chores around the Valley will also be significantly disrupted by the same road congestion, not to mention the markedly increased road damage you will see along the coal’s route through Palmer, Wasilla and Knik-Goose Bay Road to Port MacKenzie.

If UCM opts to transfer the coal to the railroad in Palmer instead of going by Port MacKenzie, not only will revenue be lost for the borough, the transfer process will blow coal dust all over Palmer. Before dismissing this risk as minor, look into all the problems Seward and Resurrection Bay are having with the coal transfer process at their port, with coal dust covering their properties, boats and the bay, whenever the wind blows. Our Valley certainly has no lack of wind. The inability to control the coal dust during transfer and storage has resulted in air quality violations for the Alaska Railroad and Aurora Energy Services, an affiliate of UCM.

A recent Frontiersman article reported that the mine has not been previously opposed. If one reviews the public records, you will find that many residents have opposed the previous permit renewals over the past 14 years. Now, however, we are more organized, the new members in the Alaska Department of Natural Resources mining department are willing to listen, and we will not be silenced by pro-development groups. You would not want the military disposing of bombs in your neighborhood and we don’t want UCM blasting away Wishbone Hill in ours. This area ceased being a coal mining area decades ago and many families have since moved into the area. Coal mining is certainly part of our “history” for the Matanuska Valley, but it should have no role in our future.

However, far more important, given the extensive medical knowledge we now have about the harmful health effects of coal mining, building an open-pit coal mine in and upwind to an existing neighborhood is nothing short of negligence. An open-pit coal mine in an area with more than 120 families living within one mile of the site creates a huge public health hazard. Research in West Virginia has shown that living near a coal mine (not just working in one) markedly increases heart, lung, kidney disease, and the death rate for the adjacent communities. The toxins are associated with cancer. Children exposed to the coal dust have much higher rates of asthma. The blasting will put these residents’ homes at risk of foundation failures, contaminated or failed wells, and blown out windows, exposing them to unnecessary stress. Building a new coal mine (there is currently no active mining in the area) in an existing neighborhood is not just un-neighborly, it is morally wrong.

We were clearly aware of the problems with coal as we astutely voted down the coal-fired power plant. This mine will adversely affect our local economy with loss of tourism related jobs and revenues, our environment, our recreational opportunities, our place of beauty, our quality of life, and the health of all Mat-Su Valley residents, only to provide Japan with electricity. Now, let’s do the right thing again, stop the development of the proposed Wishbone Hill coal mine, and find clean, renewable ways to employ and power Alaska.

Michele Prevost is a Palmer-area orthopedic surgeon.