Logan County Board OKs Viper Mine rezone

In a 10-1 vote with one abstention, the Logan County Board approved an amended version of the Viper Mine rezone petition at their meeting Tuesday night.

The initial petition, filed on Aug. 28, sought to rezone three parcels of land, equaling approximately 322 acres, from an agricultural designation to a commercial one for use as a coal-waste containment area.

As soon as it was announced, the proposal was met with opposition from many of the surrounding residents in Elkhart, Ill., who expressed concerns for their health, the environment and the community's property values.

On Oct. 28, the company requested a modification to the petition that would remove 40 acres of land from the proposed site in an effort to distance the containment area from a nearby wildlife habitat. That amendment was approved in an 11-0 vote just before the main motion Tuesday.

Two representatives from the water advocacy group Prairie Rivers Network were the first to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. They cited several legal factors, existing environmental issues at similar sites, as well as alternative engineering options and urged the Board to do further research before making their decision.

Attorney Daniel Hamilton, with Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP of Springfield, Ill., spoke on behalf of a group of landowners. He reiterated the point that he brought up at previous meetings, stating that the petitioners' application is insufficient on several counts. He asked the Board to cast their vote based on zoning, not other factors.

"Filter out the extraneous issues and all the other things that you're hearing and vote based on zoning because that's what your decision will be judged on," Hamilton said.

Former Elkhart Resident Patrick Gleason asked the Board to hold off on their decision. "With the new EPA regulations coming on December 19th, I think pushing this vote through now is a move by Arch Coal to avoid the responsibility that every coal company will have to communities across the United States once the new rules come into play," Gleason said.

James Cook, of Elkhart, addressed the Board next. He explained that his family is originally from an area in England near the village of Aberfan, where the collapse of a mine-waste storage area caused a slurry landslide disaster, in 1966, that resulted in the death of 116 children and 28 adults.

"We need to think very clearly and very long and hard before we make these decisions; you know, it's a big burden to put on our future generations if we make the wrong decision," he said.

Phillip Gonet, President of the Illinois Coal Association, was next up to the microphone. He said that containment ponds are required for mining operations, that Viper Mine has a 32-year record of successful operation of its current pond, that there are no alternative sites and that the mine will be forced to close in three years if the rezoning was to be denied.

He stressed that ongoing monitoring of the ponds prevents groundwater contamination. "The current pond has several monitoring wells to detect anything seeping out of the pond. There has never been an excursion in 32 years of operation," Gonet said. "The Viper Mine has proven to be a responsible steward of this operation." He added that the factors that Hamilton mentioned were made public during the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.

Garrett Barton, Engineering Manager at Viper Mine, told the room that the company was grateful for the opportunity to open up lines of communication with the community in previous weeks.

"While we respect that folks have worries rooted in uncertainty, we believe the evidence of the mine's real impacts on the local community, as well as a performance over the past 32 years, shows we will continue to operate responsibly and contribute positively to Logan County," Barton said.

"Further, we ask that the Board and the residents also trust that the many agencies charged with the overseeing of our operations will continue to do their jobs to ensure our mine is operating in an environmentally protective manner."

He said that the company is taking additional steps to address the visibility and appearance of the new facility. "We've committed to ensuring the integrity of the Elkhart drinking water supply if, by some slim chance, our operation is impacted," he said.

He added, "We are committed, going forward, to partner with the community and the county and to be responsive to the ongoing concerns of local residents."

Next up, a Lincoln resident and Viper Mine employee spoke in favor of the petition. "I wouldn't be sitting here saying we should vote yes for this if I had concerns for my community's children," he said.

"Think hard folks; 300 jobs isn't something that we can get back. This community has suffered enough from jobs that have gone south- they've gone elsewhere. I mean, ask yourselves, ‘can we afford this? Is this something this community can take?' Think back 15-20 years. Think the difference the closing of these places has made, it hasn't been positive on this community and neither will this. If you say no to this, it's going to be that all over again."

The Board voted on the amendment before voting on the main motion. Board member Gene Rohlfs chose to abstain from the vote and Board member Scott Schaffenacker cast the only vote against the petition. All other members voted in favor. The results of the vote were initially called, at the meeting, as a 10-0 approval, but upon further review of the recording, Schaffenacker clearly voted "no."

Many of the people who attended the meeting in support of the company's petition applauded after the vote as the room began to clear out.

Mine representatives stuck around for the rest of the meeting, shook hands with board members and thanked them for their support.