Company addressing water quality concerns
Alpha Natural Resources’ operating philosophy is based on “Running Right” in all aspects of our business. While this philosophy started as a mine safety program, it has evolved and spread throughout Alpha to incorporate environmental stewardship along with all other aspects of our organization. Compliance with environmental regulations and standards is the starting point for Running Right Environmental and we strive to achieve that on a daily basis.
Recent guest commentaries in the Greene County Messenger have implied that we are ignoring water quality issues in the streams around the Emerald Mine and the Cumberland Mine. That is certainly not the case and we trust that the following information will show that these operations are already dealing with those water quality concerns. However, we must emphasize that the solution will take considerable time, effort and investment.
In late 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) indicated that permits for new or expanded discharges into the Monongahela River and its tributaries would include limits for sulfates and other parameters such as osmotic pressure and chlorides. PADEP soon went one step further and began applying these new parameters to existing operations when their permits are up for renewal. Cumberland’s NPDES permits were recently renewed and now include a compliance schedule for meeting limits for sulfates, osmotic pressure and chlorides. Emerald’s permits will be renewed later this year and are expected to include similar limits and compliance schedule.
Removal of dissolved constituents such as sulfates and chlorides from large volumes of water is neither simple nor inexpensive. Advanced treatment such as reverse osmosis accompanied by the required pre-treatment systems and a residual product handling and disposal system will be necessary to meet the newly imposed limits. Preliminary engineering for this project started over a year ago and work is now proceeding into the next phase. Once matters related to the size and location of the treatment system are settled, we will begin the detailed design, engineering and permitting that must be completed before construction can begin.
While we currently do not have firm costs estimated for our project, all parties involved in this undertaking understand that the complexity and anticipated cost of the system warrants a careful and measured approach. Under the terms of the recently renewed permit, we are committed to having the treatment system in operation as soon as practical but no later than April 2017. In approving this compliance schedule, the PADEP acknowledged that the design, permitting and construction of the advanced water treatment system will require considerable time. Until the advanced treatment system is in place and fully operational, there are no quick fixes that would allow Cumberland and Emerald to meet the newly imposed water quality limits while continuing to operate the underground mines.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Kukura
President
Pennsylvania Services Corporation