Planners give mine critics a boost

"It doesn't make sense that we can have a gravel pit and can tell them what to do with their dust and what to do with their water table and what to do with the noise, but when it comes to a coal pit that creates cancer dust, we have no say," Planning Commissioner David Cheezem said Wednesday. "This is not about being pro- or anti-coal but about what decisions we're allowed to make about our own neighborhoods and about our future."

Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. acquired the claim to 8,000 acres of state land at Wishbone Hill near Sutton in 1997 and is exploring the site this summer.

The company plans to drill six to eight exploratory holes this summer and hopes to begin mining operations within the next year. It said it could mine about 10 million tons of coal. The company claims that's enough to keep 75 to 125 workers busy for 12 to 20 years. Its current mining permit expires in 2011.

Since the mine is on state land, the borough can only make recommendations and requests of the state and the company to accommodate residents' wishes.

It was Cheezem's idea to have a work session on the issue Monday night during the Planning Commission meeting. Cheezem had drafted a possible resolution and "Statement of Principles for Open Pit Coal Mining Operations Within the Mat-Su Borough" that he hopes eventually will help convince borough and state officials to take more time to study mine issues before opening the door any further to such industries.

Cheezem, co-owner of Fireside Books in Palmer, said he believes that because this is the first time in Alaska history that a surface-extraction coal mine has been located within one-quarter-mile of two dozen homes and within a mile of more than 100 homes, the borough has a responsibility to listen to those closest to the mine and to try to protect them as much as possible.

Having a say in hours of operation, noise levels and dust levels, and allowing for an independent third-party monitor of air and water quality were listed as goals in the draft document.

Planning commissioners already lost one battle with the Borough Assembly in June when the Assembly shot down the commission's recommendation to deny Usibelli's request to use 60 acres of borough land for a road to the Wishbone Hill coal deposit for the next 25 years.

Now, with the willingness of the planning commission to continue to discuss the issue, Buffalo Mine Road residents like Michael Prevost and Bonnie Zirkle feel a renewed sense of hope.

"The planning commission seems more concerned about the environment and their fellow Alaskans than the Assembly," said Prevost, an orthopedic surgeon who has lived in the Sutton area since 2006. "Coal dust contains some pretty significant toxins that will blow onto our properties and across the Valley."

Zirkle, who owns Moose Wallow Cabins B&B with her husband, Dale, knows first-hand the harmful effects of coal after watching Dale undergo treatment for lymphoma in 1996. Dale grew up around coal mines in West Virginia and lost a few relatives to black lung disease.

"There is plenty of research out there that proves coal causes cancer," said Zirkle, who added that homeowners in the area of the mine never realized when they bought their homes that they would be living so close to a mine.

But Usibelli's external affairs manager for the Wishbone Hill project, Lorali Carter, said Thursday there is no evidence that cancer is caused by coal or coal mining.

"There are a number of accusations out there that are completely unsubstantiated," said Carter, who lives near the four-corners area of the Valley near Finger Lake.

Carter said she also contests residents' claims that they were unaware they were moving into a mining area.

"That area has been mined since the early 1900s, and Usibelli and other companies have maintained leases in the area for years," Carter said. She added, however, that the company wants to be a good neighbor and that they will work with residents the best they can.