Alpena Vision Resources’ state mining permit for the Murdock Mine in Douglas County, IL is coming up for renewal, and Prairie Rivers Network has requested a public hearing. That public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, May 20th at the Little Hall on the Prairie on Second Street in Murdock.
Murdock area residents are still suffering from dust and pollution from Alpena’s Murdock coal mine, even though the site is being reclaimed. State environmental regulators have agreed to look into new complaints by Murdock area residents that a large amount of dust still blows on windy days from the former mining site, which is the target of pollution complaints filed last fall by the Illinois attorney general’s office.
Prairie Rivers Network has worked to bring the plight of the mine’s neighbors to the attention of the Illinois State Attorney General’s office since 2010. The mine had stockpiled and stored materials such as biosolids and coal ash in ways that created a water pollution hazard, and also allowed the emission of dust and unpleasant odors through storage, handling, disposal and use of wastes.
