CEDAR CITY - Imagine hearing a 42-ton coal truck rumble past your home not once, not twice,
but nearly 300 times a day, six days a week, 312 days a year.
Although it may be difficult to fathom the sound of a
large truck every 4.8 minutes, for Panguitch residents Pat and Mack Oetting, this sobering realization may become reality
if mining begins at the proposed Coal Hollow Project near Alton.
The couple's biggest concern is for their
late 19th century home on Main Street. Pat Oetting said she's worried it may not be able to survive the possible damage
caused by the trucks.
"We were just designated as a historical community," she said, "and we will totally
wipe out all of our historical homes just by the damage that the trucks will do. "If they would like to go around
Panguitch, I would be a happy little camper."
The Panguitch City Council has also expressed formal concern by
sending a letter to the Bureau of Land Management's Kanab Field Office, said Panguitch Mayor Art Cooper.
However,
city officials seem to be torn between a possible negative impact on the community and economic opportunity.
"We're
not against economic development in the area, but we don't want the negatives to far offset the positives," Cooper
said.
The coal mine
Alton Coal Development, a company with offices in Huntington, has introduced a plan to begin
mining the Alton coal field in Kane County, approximately three miles south of Alton. Project Manager Allen Childs said
his company has applied for a lease of about 3,500 acres of federal land, but the BLM must grant its approval before the mine
can move forward.
Before it can do that, the BLM Kanab Field Office will conduct an environmental impact study, said
Natural Resource Planning Specialist Keith Rigtrup. The study is under way.
If all goes according to plan, mining can
begin on private land as early as 2008, according to information from Alton Coal Development.
When the mine is running
at its full potential, it will produce about two million tons of coal annually, which will be transported to a facility located
west of Cedar City.
And in order for the coal to get to its Cedar City destination, the mine must rely on trucks -
lots of trucks.
The coal would be loaded at the mine site, then the trucks would head north on U.S. Highway 89, which
includes Main Street in Panguitch, the hub city of Garfield County.
From U.S. Highway 89, the trucks would hang a left
and head west on state Route 20 to Interstate 15.
After unloading in Cedar City, the trucks would return to the mine
the same way they came.
Childs assured The Spectrum & Daily News that all the figures reported to this point, including
the number of daily truck trips, are "the worst-case scenario."
"We're a very honorable group of
people," Childs said. "We realize that transportation is the biggest issue, but we will do all we can to be as compatible
as possible."
Other concerns
Along with transportation concerns, some Panguitch residents have raised questions
about economic and environmental impact. Although information from the mine claims the project will open about 160 jobs
and Childs said starting pay is $25 an hour, Panguitch resident Peggy Egan wrote in a statement that she believes most workers
will come from outside the area.
And, Egan wrote, most workers will live in Cedar City, where the economy will benefit
from a population increase, and not Panguitch or other smaller communities.
"And besides, why would anyone want
to live in a town inundated with truck traffic, noise, dust and pollution," she wrote.
Egan is also concerned
about air quality, increased traffic, transportation safety and the impact on Panguitch's tourism industry. She declined
to be interviewed by The Spectrum & Daily News.
Rigtrup said the BLM environmental study will focus on issues including
an illuminated night sky, air quality and wildlife.
"We're just concerned about all the issues," he said.
"Our concern is that we do a good job analyzing the impact of the possible mine. ... We don't want to leave any stones
unturned."
The environmental study will have its first completed draft by spring of next year, Rigtrup said.
For
now, Panguitch residents, including Egan and the Oettings, are closely watching the developments of the Coal Hollow Project.
Many have sent letters and comments to the BLM Kanab Field Office. All they can do now is wait to see what happens
next.
"I just think we need to speak up for what's important," Pat Oetting said, "and I think our
community is more important."
