The developer that bought the former Mayview State Hospital site three years ago is asking South Fayette Township officials to allow it do a “full-scale mining operation” on the property to remove coal.
Aloe Brothers LLC, which in 2010 bought the former state hospital property in South Fayette, wants to conduct surface mining on the land to retrieve coal 40 feet beneath the ground.
Dennis Regan, who is Aloe’s project manager, claimed that the coal removal is mainly to stabilize the ground to begin developing the property.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there is a coal mine located beneath the property that was used to heat the hospital buildings, but it was abandoned in the 1960s. The newspaper also reported that the state retained the property's mineral rights in the sale.
“It’s an Earth-moving project so we can build our development there, “Regan said. “Part of the process of that development is removing (the coal).”
Aloe is petitioning South Fayette Township to grant it a variance for mineral removal because the property is zoned as a business district. The township is holding a public hearing inside the municipal building at 7 p.m. Wednesday to get feedback from residents and other affected parties.
The area that would be surface mined encompasses the lower property off Mayview Road that is surrounded by Chartiers Creek.
South Fayette Township Engineer Mike Benton did not have specifics on the proposal, although he said the project is “feasible.”
“They’re asking to do a full scale mining operation,” Benton said. “It sounds like it will be pretty extensive.”
He said the township is expecting a big crowd for the public hearing and plans to move it to the senior center on the other side of the municipal building. Benton was not sure if the South Fayette commissioners would make a decision on the variance Wednesday night.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Benton said of the outcome. “There are definitely a lot of unknowns and we don’t see this thing very often.”
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Seriously, though...This will ruin the nearby nature preserve, pollute Chartiers Creek, and that's not to mention the awful eyesore that will be left as a result.
This should be a wake up call for all of you that we need to have sources of energy that do not come from fossil fuels. I have been solar since the late 1990s and am not in need of mining or polluting the air. More people need to move to cost effective and efficient renewables that are proven to work. It is good for the people and for the land alike.
I wouldn't trust them to say that their trucks aren't ever going to make the right out of the development and head to Upper St. Clair and Bridgeville roads thus also affecting those neighborhoods. Heavy truck traffic places a much larger amount of stress on roads and infrastructure than cars. The smallest CAT Mining truck has a target gross operating weight of 363,000 lb. In addition, are there going to be issues with using Mayview road to get from Boyce Road to the USC Rec Center and Bridgeville(and back)? I frequently use that road and don't want to worry about issues with access. Are they going to use the rail more often to haul the coal? The crossing on Mayview road has NO signal and could be very dangerous if rail traffic increases. Last... let's keep in mind the definition of 'surface mining' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mining Do we want that area to be a massive strip mine? Lot's of questions for those SF and nearby residents.
Do you really think that a mining truck would be on public roads? If you do, then it is time for some very basic education on how surface mining is done. We wouldn't want to interrupt access for anybody getting to the Rec Center. This should be of primary concern.
Have you seen the plans for the development? If so, can you share the information, please? You must have some inside information to believe the development would be an eyesore.
Isn't this all of the property? Including the nature conservation area?
Who has the site plans and development drawings that claim the outcome will be an eyesore? Lets see them, please?