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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Environment - More on: "What's next? Strip mining in state parks?"

Updating this ILB entry from Oct. 2nd, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial today titled "Protecting public land":

Allowing a private coal company to drill in an Indiana wildlife preserve is unconscionable. It has become clear that Gov. Mitch Daniel’s appointment to lead the Indiana Department of Natural Resources does not understand his duty to protect the public lands that belong to Hoosiers.

Kyle Hupfer allowed the Black Beauty Coal Company to do exploratory drilling in the Glendale State Fish and Wildlife Area in Daviess County. And it was only after residents, horrified by the sight of drilling rigs in Glendale, rang alarm bells that Hupfer decided to inform the public – those who own the land – about his wrongheaded plan.

Hupfer gave Black Beauty permission to drill in late August. The company completed its exploratory drilling at the end of September, and the company and DNR are awaiting the results. The DNR is holding its public input meeting about “the possibility of coal mining” in Glendale on Wednesday in Montgomery in southwest Indiana.

Hupfer is sure to get an earful from the locals who rightly consider the wildlife area to be a “jewel of the county” and are outraged to see it desecrated.

Hoosiers should not only be troubled by the flagrant harm being done to public land but also the ties between the Daniels administration and Black Beauty Coal. According to state campaign finance reports, Steve Chancellor, president of Black Beauty, has given Daniels at least $230,000.

Hupfer has attempted to excuse drilling by saying Hoosiers deserve to know what resources might be there. He says any profits from coal mining in the wildlife area would go toward purchase of additional wildlife habitat. He also says that final approval of any mining would have to come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal oversight provides no assurance the land will be protected.

In a press release Hupfer said, “The DNR and the administration will be neutral in this process. Hunters and anglers of Indiana consistently point to a lack of public land as their biggest area of concern. It is those hunters and anglers who will need to make a decision as to whether the additional land to be acquired by the state for public hunting and fishing access is worth the disruption while mining takes place.”

The process does not appear neutral. Hupfer needs to abandon his plan to allow a coal company to take over Glendale.

Bryan Corbin of the Evansville Courier& Press has a news story today on the upcoming meeting. Some quotes:
INDIANAPOLIS - A large turnout is expected Wednesday when state Department of Natural Resources officials conduct a public meeting on the possibility of coal mining at the Glendale State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Glendale - and Dogwood Lake within it - are popular sites in Daviess County, Ind., for hunting, fishing and harvesting mushrooms.

With a coal-mining operation taking place on adjacent private property, the DNR in August allowed Black Beauty Coal Co. to conduct low-impact exploratory drilling on the northernmost two square miles of the wildlife area. * * *

"Dogwood Lake is a very important part of life in Southwestern Indiana, and we will not entertain any proposal that would disrupt the use of the lake," DNR director Kyle Hupfer said in a news release. "However, we owe it to the citizens of Indiana to determine what value, if any, the resources below the surface of a small part of Glendale may have." * * *

On Friday, Gov. Mitch Daniels also weighed in on the issue.

"I think local preferences probably ought to govern in this case," Daniels said. "If it turns out that a small corner of that can be used for a while, then reclaimed - and as a result, a much larger area created through the purchase of more public lands - that might be a good deal. But we don't know enough to know that. And in the end, I think the voices of people down there ought to weigh heavily in any decision."

One concern, Crooks said, is whether explosives used in strip mining would have an adverse impact on Dogwood Lake or its water level. Another concern is reclamation after mining is completed.

"I believe many coal companies have done a good job in restoring mined areas in our state. There are some good areas," said Crooks, D-Washington. But once timber is cleared, it will take many years to restore Glendale, he said.

The DNR has scheduled an informational meeting for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Montgomery Community Building in Ruritan Park in Montgomery, Ind., to discuss possible coal mining at Glendale and to field questions from the public.

"It could be a lively meeting," Crooks said.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 7, 2006 08:11 AM
Posted to Environment