Amerikohl Mining Inc., Stahlstown, is seeking to mine 80,000 to 90,000 tons of Middle Kittanning coal from the old Henry Mine in Springfield Township, situated between Indian Head and Normalville.

Amerikohl Mining Inc., Stahlstown, is seeking to mine 80,000 to 90,000 tons of Middle Kittanning coal from the old Henry Mine in Springfield Township, situated between Indian Head and Normalville.

Officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection said during an informal public meeting Tuesday that while Amerikohl's permit application request is for 40 acres, only 31 total acres would be affected and about 15.3 acres of coal would be removed.

According to Amerikohl, once the project begins, it would take six to eight months to complete -- from the time the company moved in to the time the property would be reclaimed.

John Stilley, Amerikohl president, said the time frame of when the project would begin -- if the permit is approved -- does not necessarily depend on when the permit is issued.

"It depends on the market at that time," he said. "It could sit for up to a year before we even did anything."

The company has proposed watering access roads to minimize the dust as well as having commercial trucks tarped. Drill rigs also will have hoods and seed mixture will be applied to topsoil.

As for noise, Amerikohl proposes that all equipment will have mufflers and the trees will be left in place as much as possible.

Company Vice President David Maxwell said the area is half forest and half residential with about 30 properties within 1,000 feet of the site.

Stilley said the company is proposing to use Hilllview and Middlefork roads to haul the coal from the site.

Amerikohl's permit also says there will be one sediment pond and associated ditches to catch mine-water runoff as well as one to two sets of treatment ponds that will discharge into Laurel Run.

It was that issue that concerned several residents, including Bill Graham who lives close to the area.

"They say some of the water runoff is going to run into Buck Run and I live near Buck Run," he said.

His two ponds are fed by Buck Run.

Beverly Braverman, executive director of the Mountain Watershed Association, said the proposed location is almost in the same place as a deep mine created and mined by Lawrence Coal Co. several years ago. She said early in the 1990s DEP studies showed there were major problems with deep-mine voids.

Braverman's other concern is the contamination of two cold-water fisheries.

"Laurel Run and Middle Fork are both designated cold-water fisheries and they have native trout populations," she said. "We're concerned those populations will be threatened if the stream is degraded at all."

There is no timetable from DEP on when it will make a decision on the permit.