DEP’s Moshannon District Mining Office has issued an industrial mineral surface mining permit and associated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the mining operation, which has a total proposed project area of 360.7 acres, of which 150.7 acres will be disturbed.
The mining plan will be phased, with the operation estimated to be active for more than 20 years.
Activity will include blasting and removal of sandstone and mining of sand and gravel. A processing area is also proposed for crushing and screening of the mined material.
The permit review process included enhanced public participation carried out by DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice to ensure that the public was informed and had the opportunity to be involved.
The mine site is within an environmental justice area, as defined by DEP at the time of permit submittal.
The public participation process included a public meeting on July 31, 2023, where attendees had the opportunity to learn about the project and the permitting process and ask questions.
At the request of local residents, DEP held an additional public hearing to receive formal public comments on September 26, 2023. Written comments were also accepted during an extended public comment period.
DEP Mining staff carefully reviewed the written and verbal comments received from 61 commenters, identified 230 specific topics and comments raised, and incorporated them into a comment response document available on DEP’s Minard Mine webpage.
The permit contains special conditions resulting from the public comment and DEP permit review process. These include requirements regarding the discovery of any archaeological resources or bald eagle nests near the mine site.
Erosion and sedimentation controls are required around all affected areas.
In response to public comments regarding the past route of flood waters, a revision was made to the plan to install berms around the northern area of the mine site to allow the passage of water during flooding events.
Air Quality and blasting permits must also be issued by DEP prior to the start of any blasting or processing of stone on the site.
When mining is concluded, Bishop Brothers is responsible to reclaim land to the approved post-mining land use. The company has posted bond to cover the reclamation costs in the event the operator cannot fulfill this requirement.
More information on Environmental Justice can be found on DEP’s website.
For more information on the environmental justice aspects of this project, please contact Northcentral Regional Coordinator Jordi Comas at jcomas@pa.gov.
Click Here for the DEP announcement.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
[Posted: January 8, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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