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County, and how has it affected the watershed? Has it happened in other counties
where longwall mining is going on?
Response: Illinois EPA is not aware of any permanent damage done by longwall mining
in Illinois.
6. Is there an increase in arsenic, mercury and sulfur in Macoupin County waterways, as
has happened with longwall mining in Pennsylvania?
Response: Illinois EPA is not aware of any increase in arsenic, mercury and sulfur
resulting from subsidence caused by longwall mining in Macoupin County.
7. Longwall mining, if it happens to 200,000 acres, which is the major part of the
southern half of Montgomery County, will cause many tributaries of Shoal Creek to
dry up. Has the EPA anticipated how this mining in Montgomery and Macoupin
counties will eventually affect the Kaskaskia and the Mississippi Rivers?
Response: Illinois EPA is not aware of any streams in Illinois drying up as a result of
longwall mining.
8. My LUMP has been turned down twice by Natural Resources Mining and Minerals
because they say the Strip Mining Act of 1977 does not apply to “underground
mining”. I submitted it under the Bill of Rights, Amendment 1 of the U.S.
Constitution...a citizen’s right to petition the government for grievances, and it was
turned down again. Is the EPA aware of where a citizen might submit a petition
aimed at protecting the environment, especially the loss and pollution of water by
longwall mining?
Response: The Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act, including
provisions dealing with lands unsuitable for mining petitions, is administered by
IDNR/Office of Mines and Minerals. Questions related to that Act are best directed to
IDNR.
