In return the operator will invest more than $1 million for infrastructure that it will then donate back to the community.

Sunrise spokeswoman Suzanne Jaworowski told ILN that it would buy water for production use at Bulldog, an underground mine in Homer, Vermilion County that it estimated would use about 300,000 gallons per day to start and ramp up to 500,000gpd during peak mining.

The water will be used to wash coal and as part of mining operations.

Georgetown, she said, pumped between 250,000 and 300,000 gallons of

water each day using two wells supplied by the Wabash aquifer.

It is the same source used for Sunrise’s actively running 3 million ton per annum Carlisle operation in Indiana.

The upgraded system is designed to provide daily capacity of 1 million gallons, making it well equipped for the needs of Bulldog.

“We believe this is a win-win for both the city and the coal mine,” Sunrise property manager Jamalyn Sarver said.

“For the coal mine, we will have a reliable source of water. The city will receive revenue from the water sale and then hopes to provide water to neighboring communities which now have to haul water.

“In addition, fire hydrants will be installed all along the new lines.”

Farnsworth Engineering’s Robert Kohlhase, retained as Georgetown’s engineer, said the deal made sense.

The financial logistics of the project and timeline for completion were not available, though Jaworowski said it would negotiate with Georgetown in the next 90 days to determine a rate plan for the next 29 years of the contract.

Once in production, Bulldog is projected to create 300 long-term direct jobs as well as 303 indirect jobs in supporting industries and about $10.9 million annually in state and local tax revenue.

Sunrise Coal is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallador Energy.