According to the Associated Press, the Maryland Department of the Environment recently issued the new mine permit to Maryland Energy Resources, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based operator Joseph Peles Coal.
Agency spokesperson Jay Apperson told the news service that the company must now post a $US205,000 general performance bond as well as $25,000 bonds for each drinking water well it encounters.
Joseph Peles Coal told AP last month 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 the mine should see production commence 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.
The AP said last month that Peles and MER would 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 agency 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.
The Patuxent Conservation Corps, which owns 48 acres along the Casselman River, told local newspaper the Cumberland Times-News in August that it would appeal the permit if approved, but released no public statement on the news late last week.
