The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 21 issued a final permit to install (PTIO) air approval for a facility at Ohio American Energy’s Redbird South operation in Jefferson County.
“This is a PTIO for initial installation of a coal processing plant including crushing/material handling, storage piles (including pile maintenance with bulldozers) and a 320 HP diesel engine,” said the final permit.
The material handling operations included in this emissions unit that are covered by this permit are:
- hopper load-in w/ front-loader;
- coal crushing;
- crusher load-out onto conveyor; and
- customer truck load-in w/ front-loader.
Ohio American is a company controlled by coal operator Robert Murray. A Murray spokesman confirmed that this is a coal crusher, and not a full prep plant, for the Redbird South operation. Ohio American has four operations listed with the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
- Salt Run Mine #1 surface job in Jefferson County, listed as active by MSHA, with production of 265,747 tons in the first half of this year and 752,554 tons in all of 2012. U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows this mine shipping coal earlier this year to the nearby Cardinal power plant of American Electric Power (owns Unit 1 and operates whole plant) and Buckeye Power (owns Unit 2 and 3), a generation and transmission cooperative;
- Redbird South strip mine in neighboring Belmont County, shown by MSHA as temporarily idled, though it has produced no coal since first being listed with MSHA in 2006;
- StarRidge prep plant in Jefferson County, shown by MSHA as active; and
- Marfank No. 2 deep mine, has not started production since first being listed with MSHA in 2009.
