The
land would be developed for a new
fly ash disposal facility. The
property is located one mile
southeast of Elkhart, adjacent and
north of the current processing and
impoundment. The meeting began at
7:30 p.m. and lasted over two hours.
The Viper Mine opened in 1982. The
mine currently operates in
Williamsville. It's underground
mining in Sangamon County began
about 2009, though it was bringing
coal up in Logan County before that
and could come back into Logan
County in the not to distant future
as access to veins are opened.
The mine employs over 300 employees
and 10 contractors. The current
impoundment was built in 1983, and,
according to the mine
representatives, is reaching the
filling point.
Currently, the mining company is
working simultaneously on getting
all of the various permits and plans
approved that are needed for such a
project. They need to have the new
impoundment operational and ready to
receive by 2017.
Kayla Primm, who has worked at the
mine for 32 years, gave a
presentation on what they are
looking to build to everyone at the
meeting. Primm oversees
environmental operations at the
mine.
Primm reiterated several times over
the course of the hearing that IDNR
and the EPA both receive monthly
reports from the mine as they
monitor thirty-one nearby water
sources, including the water supply
for Elkhart. “In fact, IDNR asked if
they could bring some of their
regional directors to our mine to
show them how ash is handled. They
were extremely impressed and could
not say enough good things about our
operation,” said Primm.
Primm gave a brief explanation on
what happens to fly ash as it is
disposed of. The ash is prevented
from filling the air with the help
of industrial fans that push it into
the impoundment. The ash is then
conditioned and mixed with fluids
and other waste materials until it
becomes thicker and cannot blow
around.
Primm said the proposed construction
would include new areas for topsoil
stockpiles and two sediment ponds.
The plans were designed by a company
called D’Appolonia, an engineering
company known worldwide.
ZBA Chairman Doug Thompson asked
about the capacity of the sediment
ponds.
Bob Snow, who also represented the
mine, said the ponds would be built
to withstand storms up to a
potential 100-year storm. In the
event of greater rains, the water
would run off into additional
storage drains. If the rain was
heavy enough, the water could run
into nearby tributaries.
On the topic of storms and natural
disasters, Snow said that the
facility would be held to the same
high standards regarding tornadoes
or earthquakes and preparation for
such events.
Paul Lee of the AIPG (or the
American Institute of Professional
Geologists) repeatedly asked how the
company plans on controlling the
quality of water that leaves the
site. Snow reiterated that any water
stored in the ponds would be
monitored, and that the worst
run-off in terms of quality occurs
with smaller storms, not larger
ones.
“When you’re talking about larger
run-off events, the sheer volume [of
water] tends to result in reducing
the constituents,” said Snow. “If we
can retain the run-off from smaller
events and recover that water, then
we can control the water coming off
of the site.”
Primm added that the company
routinely performs their own tests
on the water quality of their sites
outside of the regulatory groups.
Primm said that any water in their
facilities has to meet Class 1
drinking water standards.
“I have drank that water,” said
Primm.
According to the representatives at
the hearing, underneath the proposed
storage unit would be a liner
composed of heavy duty plastic
materials that would prevent any
seepage that may occur. In addition,
there would also be a layer of
man-made clay under the liner and a
series of drains that would lead to
the sediment ponds. All of the ponds
and ditches would also be lined this
way, and everything would be
monitored constantly. Any water used
would be recycled and reused by the
company.
With the construction of a new
facility, the current one would be
reclaimed, meaning that the mine
would oversee the planting of
grasses and shrubs over the top of
everything after the impoundment is
compacted and drained. In addition,
the new facility would be reclaimed
as it is being used, rather than
waiting until it is used up.
Primm reiterated several times that
everything would be run according to
the regulations of several
government organizations at both the
state and federal levels.
“Everything in mining is highly
regulated,” said Primm. Snow added
that the mine follows an equally
strict series of regulations
concerning air pollution and
particulates.
Primm said that the hope is that the
new facility would last for the
remainder of the life of the mine.
Bob Snow, who also works at the
mine, said that the facility should
hold twenty years’ worth of
production materials.
Several citizens in attendance
asked how long monitoring will
continue after the mine shuts down.
Snow said that they are required to
monitor water for five years after
the mine is closed, and that time
can be extended if they are found
deficient. Primm said that there are
financial bonds kept in place for
future repairs and maintenance after
the mine might close.
Erwin Sass, a manager at the mine,
said that they have not looked very
much into alternatives yet, although
they have considered looking east
instead of north. “We own the land.
We have been there since ’82 and we
have never had any problems with the
south impoundment,” said Sass.
One citizen said she has made
complaints several times over the
years concerning dust and ash in the
air, and nobody has addressed those
complaints or tested her water. She
also asked how far the fly ash would
travel if the holding area was
breached.
Primm answered, saying the
company has compiled data on such a
potential event. The data also
includes names and addresses of who
could be in the path. Primm said she
would be glad to provide information
on those locations in the future, as
she did not have the paperwork on
hand. When asked if the people on
the list had been informed
previously, Primm said they had not.
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top of second column]
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Daniel Hamilton, an attorney with
Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP of
Springfield, asked if the company
has looked at alternatives. Primm
answered, saying that this plan
would be the most preferred and
efficient manner of storing the fly
ash and continuing mine operations.
“If this plan is not approved, we
will explore other options,” said
Primm.
Hamilton asked multiple times what
the other options would be. Primm
said that no other options had been
outlined completely.
Hamilton also asked several
questions as to why the facility
needs to be built, what its capacity
would be, and why this location was
chosen. “This raises too many
questions,” said Hamilton.
Sass answered, saying the company
already owns the land, and that
other locations would result in an
increased effect on highway traffic,
and the current disposal unit will
be approaching full capacity in
2017.
Hamilton asked what would go into
the facility.
Primm said ash would be mixed with
clay, limestone, and shale. “Up to
twenty-five percent of it could be
fly ash,” said Primm. Primm said
that some of the fly ash is returned
by some of their customers, as per
their contracts.
Hamilton asked if she could list any
sources, which Primm declined due to
confidentiality.
Before taking his seat, Hamilton
said that the application itself is
deficient, and there is too much
information left off of the
application. “You haven’t met the
criteria yet. That’s what we’re
looking for tonight,” said Hamilton.
Primm asked the ZBA members what
else they needed to know, and the
ZBA members present did not indicate
anything either way.
“We want to see everything that has
been said in writing, as per the
zoning regulations,” said Hamilton.
While they test for thirty-one
potentially toxic constituents,
Primm said that there are currently
no toxins present in the area that
would normally raise alarms anyway.
Primm added that sixteen of those
compounds are routinely too low to
even be detected, and the mine looks
for the same toxins in the fly ash.
If toxins are detected in the
future, the mine will take steps to
correct any problems, but so far the
mine has not found said toxins to be
present.
Multiple people asked about the
potential loss of jobs if the mine
cannot open a new disposal area. One
person (who did not give a name)
asked if Primm knew how many people
from Elkhart worked at the mine.
Primm said she was not sure how many
people working at the mine live in
Elkhart specifically, but she does
know that 49 people living in Logan
County work at the mine. Primm also
said that if the land is not rezoned
and an alternative area cannot be
found, those people could
potentially lose their jobs.
“We at Viper are proud of our
long-standing partnership with the
community. We truly are,” said
Primm.
Multiple people, including Rick
Sheley of the ZBA, asked why the fly
ash is coming back to Logan County,
especially when the coal mine itself
is located in Williamsville.
The representatives from the coal
mine said that for some of their
customers, it makes more sense
economically for the fly ash to come
to Logan County. In addition, some
of the coal mined does come from
Logan County, even though it is
brought out of the ground in
Sangamon County.
Primm said that the alternative for
fly ash is for it to be dumped in a
landfill.
On the topic of from which county is
the coal is mined, many of the
audience members said that Sangamon
County is receiving sales tax money
for the coal that is mined, even
though the fly ash would be dumped
in Logan County.
Primm responded, saying that due to
government programs, many of their
customers do not have to pay sales
tax, and any amount that is paid is
extremely low.
“It’s not anywhere near where it
used to be,” said Primm.
Multiple employees of the mine also
spoke up at the hearing. “Arch Coal
is by far the safest and most
environmentally friendly place
anyone could work for,” said one
employee and Elkhart resident.
Another audience member who has
family working at the mine said that
nobody at the mine has ever called
in sick due to working around the
fly ash.
Before the hearing ended, Peggy Lee,
a member of the Elkhart Village
Council, thanked everyone for their
participation in this process. “This
isn’t just an Elkhart problem, but a
Logan County problem,” said Lee. “We
have to think about our environment
and what might happen to it.”
Sass said he appreciates the concern
the community has shown by coming
forward with their questions. Sass
also said he hopes to see
communication improve between the
village and the company. “I know we
can work together on this and come
to terms on this issue,” said Sass.
As the hearing drew to a close, the
ZBA members announced that there
would be a second hearing on the 9th
at the same time and place. No
decision has been made yet on the
ZBA’s part on whether or not to
recommend the rezone. The County
Board will ultimately make the
decision on the land’s designation.
Members of the ZBA present were Doug
Thompson, chairman; Rick Sheley, and
Judy Graff. The other members of the
ZBA decided to abstain from this
specific matter for personal
reasons. Logan County's zoning
officer, Will D'Andrea, was also
present.
[Derek Hurley]
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