HUNTINGTON — The Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a Clean Water Act individual permit to Coal Mac Inc. for the Pine Creek No. 1 Surface Mine located in Logan County.

The project will have temporary and permanent impacts totaling 14,530 feet of stream.

Compensatory mitigation will include 3,800 feet of near-site stream restoration and enhancement, 2,923 feet of on-site stream re-establishment, 37,720 feet of near and on-site stream creation, and 4,959 feet of stream and 74.1 acres of upland forest preservation. The project was advertised by Public Notice on Sept. 16. 2008. The project was included on the Enhanced Coordination Process list resulting from the June 11, 2009 Interagency MOU.

The Corps worked in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the applicant to ensure environmental impacts are reduced to the maximum extent practicable. Mountaintop removal mining is a controversial subject, with at least one already-approved permit at a Sharples surface mine being vetoed by the EPA. Several meetings have been held by local and state elected officials in efforts to get the Sharples mine permit re-approived.