American Coal seeks to close portion of Lone Oak Road for expansion
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A crowd of about 25 people packed the Raleigh Township Hall Thursday to learn of American Coal's proposal to close a portion of Lone Oak Road in order to expand its Galatia Mine operations.
"We are trying to expand. We are running out of room," American Coal Land Manager Nelson Wood said.
He and American Coal Chief Engineer Mark Mormino said the current refuse, or gob, storage area will hold only about another year's worth of refuse and the north portion of Lone Oak Road between the railroad track and state Route 34 will provide about another five year's worth of storage.
The mine owns the property on either side of the road.
Residents' chief concerns regarded accessibility to their property in times of high water. When the Saline River bottomland floods the access to the highway from the north end of Lone Oak Road is the most convenient route in and out several said.
Wood said Strawberry Lane is open, though it may be less convenient, and a resident said if Strawberry Lane was underwater, most homes would be water locked anyway.
Samantha Parish said she and her husband keep pigs in the area not accessible by way of Strawberry Lane and when the south end of Lone Oak Road floods she will have no way to feed them.
Sharon Fleege said the flooding was not a problem in year's past and blames the Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport runway expansion for displacing rainwater.
"When they revamped the airport, that caused the flooding problem," Fleege said.
Township Road Commissioner Pervis Ellis said the township board has been in discussion with American Coal and shared with the crowd a few possibilities for township compensation if the closure is agreed to.
Ellis has asked for the contract between the board and the mine be modified if the township agrees to the Lone Oak Road closure.
"I asked for land the coal company owns to be a township yard," Ellis said.
The yard on property at the south side of Raleigh would be used to park equipment and store rock.
He also proposed the company pay for and maintained an oil and chip surface on the rest of Lone Oak Road.
A property owner on the south end of Lone Oak Road suggested the company raise the south end of Lone Oak Road at the bridge so it could be above the flood level and provide access during high water.
Ellis said another discussion item has been new road construction at the north end of Lone Oak Road around the property where the company wants the expansion. He described its route as east toward Carl Gaskins' house.
Parish asked for a timeline and Mormino said construction has already begun for the storage area on the west side of Lone Oak Road where houses have been demolished this winter. Mormino said Illinois Department of Natural Resources has permitted the expansion and he expects the Environmental Protection Agency to approve a permit soon.
"The EPA permit should be this spring," he said.
Ellis said the township would require the new road be constructed before the old one is vacated.
Ellis said for residents concerned about access to their property there are other complication.
Ellis said Illinois Department of Transportation plans to either completely close or close to one lane a portion of state Route 34 between Raleigh and Harrisburg between July 15 and Labor Day to rebuild the highway. Galatia Mine's longwall is expected to cause to undermine a section of Harco Road at a bridge in May or June so it may not be a through road.
"Lone Oak Road could be a heavily travelled road in the near future," Ellis said.
Richard Vinyard had a complaint for the coal mine regarding a problem for residents near the current gob pile.
"Those of us who live to the east and southeast of the gob pile get an extreme amount of dust," Vinyard said.
He said the problem is caused by the bulldozers and other equipment moving on the piles stirring coal dust which blow into the yards of residents.
"I step out the front door and taste coal dust. Miners have problems with black lung. I'm breathing coal dust all the time," Vinyard said.
Wood said the gob piles will be covered over with dirt when they are finished with them.
Another resident said when trucks dump a load she can feel the vibration in her house.
"Our house shakes every night," another woman said.
One woman indicated the closing the road would be good in the sense it would end the drug trafficking she said occurs there.
Ellis said there would be a hearing on the issue held at a later date that will be publicized and said residents would have the opportunity to make more comments then.
Ellis reminded the crowd all are welcome to attend the Raleigh Township Board meetings held 7:30 a.m. the third Thursday of each month.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>
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