|
|
Location: Athens, Ohio | from The Enquirer:
Buckhorn Lake area won't be mined for coal after all
The Associated Press
FRANKFORT - State officials have rescinded a permit that would have allowed coal mining near Buckhorn Lake in eastern Kentucky, saying that it should not have been issued to begin with.
"This one got off the ranch, as it were," said Paul Ehret, director of the Kentucky Division of Mine Permits.
Kentucky Heartwood, an environmental group based in Lexington, had opposed the permit, arguing that mining near the lake would hurt water quality and would be unsightly for tourists.
The group asked the state last month to reconsider the decision.
Plans for the mine were set in motion after the U.S. Forest Service traded 91 acres near the lake to Leslie Resources in exchange for 98 acres in Owsley County.
In October, state officials granted the mining permit to Leslie Resources, a subsidiary of the former Horizon Natural Resources, which dissolved in bankruptcy last year.
Ehret said questions about the company's financial stability prompted a review of the permit.
Leslie Resources had proposed the land swap, acknowledging that mining would begin after the deal was completed.
Despite objections from environmentalists and others, the Forest Service agreed to the trade, saying it would benefit both the Daniel Boone National Forest and the coal company.
The Forest Service said the land near the lake was difficult to monitor because it was separated from the main body of the Daniel Boone. The tract in Owsley County is surrounded on three sides by the forest.
The coal company, according to the Forest Service, would have reclaimed the property for wildlife habitat after mining it.
Ehret said the company also would have taken steps to prevent sediment from getting into the lake.
Ehret said no mining had taken place on the property and none was imminent.
Nick Neises, spokesman for Kentucky Heartwood, said Tuesday he was relieved to learn of the state's decision.
"That is definitely a positive," he said. "It seems like a strange turn of events, but it can only be viewed as noteworthy that the state Division of Mine Permits in the end decided to withhold permission."
m
| |
| |
|
Good news for Buckhorn Lake, Ky.