WASILLA --The state on Wednesday granted Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.'s permit to drill exploration wells at its Wishbone Hill mine lease north of Palmer.
The exploration wells will help the company decide whether to mine coal there. The Wishbone Hill mine lease was last active in 1968. Usibelli has leased the mine since the early 1990s.
If the drilling results are favorable, Usibelli officials have said open-pit mining could begin in 2012. Usibelli vice president Steve Denton has said he expects the first phase of mining activity to take 12 to 20 years and employ between 75 and 125 people.
Usibelli spokeswoman Lorali Carter said the company will begin drilling in the next few weeks. Usibelli plans to drill between six and eight wells this summer. The state permit allows the company to drill up to 20 wells.
"Primarily we want to focus on the area where we believe we will build the mine facilities, the warehouse and shop," Carter said.
Usibelli has one large hurdle to clear before mining can begin. Its mining permit for Wishbone Hill expires in 2011 and must be renewed if the company plans to mine in 2012.
State coal program manager Russell Kirkham has said the department does not typically deny mining or exploration permits. Instead, the state seeks to address public concerns by applying conditions to a permit.
Nearby residents opposed to mine development said they aren't surprised the exploration permit was granted, and they will be watching for potential violations by Usibelli.
Water quality in Moose Creek is one area of particular concern for opponents. The exploration permit prohibits exploration-related activity within 100 feet of Moose Creek or Caribou Creek. Chickaloon Tribe environmental stewardship director Angela Wade said tribal members will be monitoring the creek to make sure Usibelli complies.
Of larger concern to the tribe, and to many residents in the area, are the issues the exploration permit doesn't address: the potential loss of property values and quality of life for residents in the area as a result of Usibelli's proposed mining activity, for example.
The Department of Natural Resources renewal permit states that the state received two comments from residents concerned mining would mar their views and lower their property values.
The state's response?
"This comment is beyond DNR's scope of review of the proposed exploration renewal ... There are no regulatory provisions concerning view shed or loss of property values as a result of proximity to a proposed mine," DNR states.
"We asked the (Matanuska-Susitna) Borough to consider all of those things and to please put some protections in place," Wade said. "If it's not the state's job to do that and it's not the borough's job to do it, whose is it?"
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly weighed in on a small part of Usibelli's exploration process last month when it agreed to lease 60 acres of borough land to the company for 25 years so it could build a 2.7-mile access road to the mine site.
Assembly members added restrictions to the lease, such as requiring Usibelli to tightly tarp loads of coal. But federal mining law prevents local governments from regulating coal mining, so the Assembly did not add restrictions beyond the scope of the land lease.
By RINDI WHITE
rwhite@adn.com