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Several state environmental experts testified at the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources building Monday and Tuesday during
the first round of an administrative hearing to determine whether the IDNR
erred in approving a permit for the Capital Resources Development Co. to
strip-mine a 430.6-acre tract near Banner, a village 25 miles southwest of
Peoria in Fulton County. Hydrologist Chuck Norris spoke about the effects of
the strip mine on Banner Marsh and Rice Lake, two state fish and wildlife
areas that surround the proposed site. Norris said that the mine could
drain water from the two sources, resulting in a permanent loss to the
area. He also said that the mine could lower the pool of groundwater under
Banner, possibly contaminating the residents’ only water supply with
trace and toxic metals. Not enough site-specific data was included in the
permit application, Norris concluded, so the department only received
“a snapshot” of the area’s water elements. “You need to know how the site is working
before you change it,” he said. R. Given Harper, a professor of biology at Illinois
Wesleyan University, testified Tuesday about the strip mine’s
potential impact on bald eagles and osprey, two at-risk bird species that
nest nearby. Although he admitted that some eagles habituate to their
surroundings, including such disruptions as highway traffic, Given said
that scientific studies show that human activity usually lowers survival
for the birds and their nestlings. “Any potential habitat in the proposed site
will be destroyed,” Given said. “Noise from trucks, heavy
machinery, blasting activity, and also toxins could cause harm.”
Terrence Ingram of the Eagle Nature Foundation and
representatives from the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club and the Citizens
Organizing Project were on hand Tuesday as well but were not able to
testify before time ran out. Because of scheduling conflicts, the
administrative hearing will not reconvene at the IDNR until July 23. Capital was given the go-ahead in November by the
IDNR’s Office of Mines and Minerals for a strip mine that would
produce about 1.6 million short tons of coal over five years. Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan took an interest in the issue earlier in the
year, arguing that the mine would harm wetlands and wildlife. The attorney
general’s office filed a petition requesting a rehearing on the
decision; Tom Davis, chief of the environmental bureau, now represents the
environmentalists and Banner citizens in the case. It’s been a rocky road for both Capital and
Banner since the coal company first requested a mining permit from the IDNR
in 2002. The citizens objected to the plan, citing the potential for
contamination of the village’s water supply and also the risk of a
negative impact on nearby Banner Marsh and Rice Lake. A group of Banner citizens and the Heart of Illinois
chapter of the Sierra Club — with the support of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn
— filed a “lands unsuitable for mining” petition in July
2005, but the IDNR denied the petition, stating that the window for
discussion had closed. The application process had ended and the proposed
operation had been advertised several times in the local newspaper in 2004.
After previously requesting modifications, in
December 2005 the IDNR also denied Capital’s permit application. The
coal company requested administrative review of the decision, and in April
2007 an administrative hearing officer remanded the IDNR’s denial and
ordered further review of the original application and its modifications. At the same time, Banner citizens filed a second
“lands unsuitable” petition, but it was again denied by the
IDNR for being untimely filed during the department’s administrative
review of its denial of the mine permit. Banner citizens contested the
IDNR’s decision in May 2007. The issue is pending.
In July 2007, the IDNR issued a second modification
letter to Capital, which submitted the requested information and received
final mine permit approval in November. In the decision, the department
stated that there was no evidence that the site was unsuitable for mining
because it was not within a national park or wildlife refuge system; was
not within 100 feet of public roads or within 300 feet of dwellings, public
buildings, or parks; and would minimally affect agriculture and wildlife.
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2008.
