By PATRICK BUCHNOWSKI
WINDBER — Along Railroad Street in Windber, trucks kicking up dirt and dust are leaving many cars black as coal.
Some residents have phoned Borough Council members, written letters or turned out at monthly council meetings to voice complaints about the increased coal-truck traffic.
They’re asking that something be done to clean up the mess.
“All I know is there are a heck of a lot of trucks,” Railroad Street resident Dolores Block said. ”All the cars are black.”
Coal trucks have become increasingly frequent in the borough during the past few years. Rosebud Mining Co. in 2007 reopened the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. Mine 78 and coal processing facility, and Railroad Street is a main route for truck drivers.
With coal trucks making an estimated 800 trips a day through Windber, council continues to work with the mining company to find ways to resolve the problem, Mayor Simon “Red” Ohler said.
“We’ve got to control the dust for the benefit of the town,” he said.
“You should have a reasonable expectation to be free from that.”
Borough officials have little control over traffic on Railroad Street, also known as state Route 1033. But Ohler said he is hoping the mining company could install a truck wash to clean the trucks before they leave the mine site.
Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the agency is aware of the problem.
The DEP has received complaints, but the agency has had no reason to issue citations, she said.
The complaints also are nothing new for the mining company.
Residents’ concerns “trickle up to us,” Rosebud Vice President Jim Barker said.
An unusually harsh winter has left the company dealing with “slop everywhere,” he said.
The company will use a street sweeper to clean the road, something it could not do when the temperature was below freezing.
Barker said the company also considered installing a power wash, but last year opted to spend $300,000 to pave the road where the trucks enter and leave the site, which employs about 250 people.
“The trucks never leave the cement,” he said.
“We just try to do our best.”
Barker said the company is aiming to be a good neighbor.
Rosebud recently stepped in to purchase the Windber Coal Heritage Center Museum for $250,000. The museum, which closed last year amid financial woes, will reopen in a few months.
