According to local newspaper the Tribune-Democrat, Steven and Nancy Putman filed an appeal of the permit last week with the Maryland Bureau of Mines, arguing that the proposed complex is an environmental threat and will impact the hydrology of a local watershed.
Steven Putman is the executive officer for the Patuxent Conservation Corps, a group that owns 48 acres along the Casselman River which runs near the planned minesite.
The PCC said in August, a month before the permit was granted, that it would appeal.
Casselman is owned by Pennsylvania-based producer Joseph Peles Coal and the permit was granted to its Maryland Energy Resources subsidiary.
The company told the Associated Press earlier this year that 20-25 people would be employed when operations commenced, though it has not yet confirmed whether production will start this year. In August, the company said production would start in three to five months.
Casselman, located within a 3000-acre property south of Grantsville, could realize 360,000 tons per annum for 20 years.
Peles and MER plan to tunnel underneath, but not actively mine, four waterways: the north and south branches of the Casselman River, the main stem of the Casselman, and Spiker Run as an equipment and personnel entry. The state’s Department of the Environment is ordering the operator to check for stream flow changes and water levels each quarter as well as construct diversion ditches and settling ponds to collect and treat mine water.
