Opponents Seek Hearings On Champaign Area Coal Mine
Dozens await the Homer Village Board's ruling on a coal mine contract for water services in March 2013.. (Jeff Bossert/WILL)
Opponents of a planned coal mine in eastern Illinois are beginning their push for public hearings now that the company has submitted a permit application.
Terre Haute, Indiana-based Sunrise Coal wants to set up a mining operation roughly between the small villages of Fairmont and Homer, about 15 miles southeast of Champaign.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the company submitted a final permit application for formal review by the state on July 29.
Jonathan Ashbrook is a member of the activist group Stand Up to Coal. He tells the News-Gazette that public input will likely focus on concerns over mine discharge points leading to the Salt Fork River.
The newspaper reports that Sunrise officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Links
- Homer Mayor: Looking Beyond the Coal Mine
- A Night Before Elections, Homer Board Rejects Raw Water for Mine
- Sunrise Coal: No More Specific Plans with Homer Officials
- Homer Board Reverses February Vote for Coal Mine
- Water Contract for Mine Back Before Homer Board
- Coal Company Says Mine Will Proceed Despite Homer Vote
- Homer Board Rejects Water Contract for Mine
- Homer Mine Talks Continue After Mayor Breaks Tie Vote