MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (WSIL) -- The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency granted a permit for a local mine that would allow it to dump its discharge waters into the Big Muddy River, according to a local mayor.
In December 2019, Pond Creek Mine No. 1 in Williamson County held a public hearing to discuss renewing its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
The original permit, according to Murphysboro Mayor Will Stephens, would've required the mine to test their discharge water once every 30 days. The discharge water houses chemicals like alkaline and acid mine drainage.
But the new permit, Stephens says, changed the testing requirements.
"They have to test that discharge water three times a week," Stephens said. "They were confident all along they would get a permit it was just a matter of what that permit was going to look like."
The permit's changes to testing requirements eased Stephens' mind but he's still worried about the potential pollution it could bring to the river's ecosystem and anyone who uses it.
"Anytime that somebody wants to dump waste water in a river that flows through your community I think any mayor in my position would've taken a skeptical look at that," Stephens said.
News 3 contacted the Illinois EPA to obtain documents related to the permit using a Freedom of Information Act request. News 3 reached out to the mine and the mine's parent company, Foresight Energy, but haven't heard back.
