TVA requests public comments on environmental study for proposed coal mine expansion

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which delivers energy to 10 million people across seven southeastern states, seeks public comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for a coal mine expansion in southern Illinois.

Specifically, Sugar Camp Energy LLC proposes an expansion of its Mine No. 1 to extract TVA-owned coal from a 21,868-acre area in Franklin and Hamilton counties. The TVA on Aug. 23 issued the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposed expansion in Significant Boundary Revision Number 8 of its Underground Coal Mine Permit No. 382.

Four alternatives are evaluated in the EIS, consisting of a “No Action Alternative” and three action alternatives, according to the TVA, which said the EIS considered the impacts, as well as safety concerns, and potential socioeconomic and environmental justice issues.

Since 2011, the TVA said it has conducted several environmental reviews of proposals to mine TVA-owned coal reserves underlying areas of Franklin and Hamilton counties by Sugar Camp Energy, with whom TVA has executed a lease to mine its coal reserves.

The TVA’s reviews have considered expansions of underground mining operations of the Sugar Camp Energy Mine No. 1 into areas of TVA-owned coal reserves. The State of Illinois must approve operations and expansions of Mine No. 1; mining of TVA-owned coal reserves by Sugar Camp Energy requires approval by TVA.

In 2011, the TVA approved Sugar Camp Energy’s plan for Mine No. 1 to mine coal from approximately 2,600-acres of TVA holdings in Hamilton County, Ill. In 2013, the TVA approved a mine expansion to allow Sugar Camp Energy to mine additional coal reserves underlying an 880.3-acre area.

In 2018, the TVA approved another mine expansion into the Viking District #2 area, encompassing almost 2,250 acres in Franklin and Hamilton counties. Then, in 2019, the TVA completed a Supplemental Environmental Assessment to review an 85-acre expansion of Mine No. 1 and issued a finding of no significant impact.

In 2020, the TVA issued a final EIS and Record of Decision approving Sugar Camp’s application to mine roughly 12,125 acres of TVA-owned coal reserves in Illinois, as part of the Sugar Camp Mine No. 1 expansion.

Comments on the draft EIS must be received by Oct. 14. Details of the review are available in the draft EIS at tva.com/nepa .

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