Plans for a new Bulldog Coal Mine in southwestern Vermilion County have moved a step closer to reality. Tim Schweitzer, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, says Sunrise Coal Company has recently submitted its bond and fee for the project.
Schweizer says the fee is around $9800…and the bond around $5.5-million dollars. But Sunrise will pay the bond over time, and only paid a little over $830-thousand dollars to start….
Schweizer expects the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will likely issue the necessary permit for the mine northeast of Allerton sometime this fall. Sunrise Coal is an Indiana-based company. It also needs a permit for water from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Spokesmen for Sunrise Coal and the Illinois EPA could not be immediately reached for comment.
Andrew Rehn with the Champaign-based Prairie Rivers Network, says the public will have another opportunity for comments before the Department of Natural Resources acts on the permit. Environmental groups have expressed strong opposition to the mine in past hearings.
