Coal Tattoo

ICG seeks to mine under Buckhannon school sites

This just in from The Associated Press:

The Upshur County Board of Education is fighting plans for a new 1,800-acre underground coal mine that would run below Buckhannon-Upshur High School and the proposed site of a new middle school.

International Coal Group Inc. and its Wolf Run Mining Co. are seeking permits for the Hampton Mine in Buckhannon.

Application documents show ICG expects it to produce 1 million tons of coal a year for eight years.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the school board wants a conference on the project, so a public hearing will eventually be scheduled.

ICG spokesman Ross Mazza won’t comment on the mine or the dispute but acknowledges lawyers for both sides are in discussions

Upshur County Superintendent Scott Lampinen, several board members and the board’s attorney all failed to return messages.