TIRE HILL —
A coal company’s site plan to remove 6 million tons of waste coal here has received Conemaugh Township Planning Commission approval.
The plan also comes with Robindale Energy Services’ pledge that the company will maintain a 6 a.m.-to-6 p.m. hauling schedule, which some residents had been seeking.
The company will maintain a 300-foot buffer between Krings Street and the “boney” pile work site to minimize noise and dust.
The commission’s approval, and the project itself, remains dependant on Robindale acquiring a highway occupancy permit and DEP’s mining approval to excavate the waste coal.
The end result should be an improved Tire Hill neighborhood once the pile is gone, planning officials said.
“Moving that boney is going to be a good thing for everyone,” commission member Doug McIlwain said.
McIlwain noted that the project will remove a blight and clean up Stonycreek River discharges.
The pile has been part of Tire Hill for decades.
Robindale will reclaim the site by removing the coal and then planting a mix of fly ash and limestone on the land to neutralize the acidic soil.
The waste coal is to be trucked from a hauling road to Krings and then Eisenhower Boulevard on its way to the Seward cogenerating plant, company officials have said.
In the process, the project would clean up six discharges, including two iron-laden ones that spill directly into the Stonycreek and add to its orange tint in that area.
Robindale agreed to the buffer after hearing concerns from residents during a public meeting on the project in June.
Planning commission officials asked the company to consider moving its access road to Krings – further toward Eisenhower and away from numerous homes – but Robindale said that would be too costly, zoning officer Mark Walker said.
As planned, the company wants to have a truck wash and water trucks at its haul road exit with Krings to minimize dust and debris.
The project would bring between 50 and 200 trucks through each day, Robindale general Manager Jim Panaro has said.
The company’s proposal remains under review by the DEP. If approved, Robindale likely would start work in 2014, the company has indicated.
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