Dec 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Spencer Hunt The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

In April, the state rejected a mining company's plan to build a lagoon to hold nearly 2 billion gallons of liquid coal waste.

The company appealed the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's ruling and warned that 1,000 jobs are at risk without the permit.

That got the state's attention.

Now, the EPA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources say they will put together a team of experts to help Murray Energy Corp. find an alternative to its plan to build a slurry pond in Belmont County.

The EPA, in rejecting the original plan, said the plan, saying the slurry would threaten a pristine stream.

"It is our sincere hope that, through a collaborative approach between the state, our federal partners and the company, we can solve this challenge," states a Nov. 24 letter to Murray Energy signed by Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski and Natural Resources Director Sean Logan.

At the same time, Korleski and Logan are expected to appear at a state Senate committee meeting today to oppose a bill that would strip the Ohio EPA's power to limit water pollution from coal mines and give it to Natural Resources.

The Ohio Environmental Council, a critic of state mining policies, describes the bill as an attempt to help Murray Energy build the lagoon. The bill's sponsors, however, say the bill is intended to end long waiting periods for new mine permits.

Gov. Ted Strickland's chief of staff, John Haseley, sent a letter to the Ohio Coal Association yesterday saying the EPA has eliminated delays in approving mine permits and that the bill targets "a problem that no longer exists."

The state's plan to help Murray Energy with its lagoon problem comes after company executives and Haseley met privately several times.

Jack Shaner, an Ohio Environmental Council lobbyist, said the state shouldn't have to reach out to the company.

"It's the coal company that ought to be bringing alternatives to the table," Shaner said.

Korleski and Logan said it is better to find a solution than to fight the company's appeal. The mining jobs are a concern, too.

"We think that this process balances protection of natural resources and the protection of jobs," Logan said.

The company wants to dam Casey Run, a 2-mile-long stream in Belmont County, to replace an old slurry lagoon that dates back to the 1970s.

The Ohio EPA said the slurry would endanger Captina Creek, a high-water-quality stream and home of the state-endangered eastern hellbender salamander.

The agencies' offer of help came after Murray Energy met with Haseley on Oct. 6, Oct. 27 and Nov. 19. Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman, said Haseley didn't order the new approach.

"Everybody agreed that the best way to approach this problem was in a collaborative manner," Dailey said.

shunt@dispatch.com

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