As a follow up to the big story we brought you in the December-January edition, our correspondent traveled out to the Rocky Branch Road area of Saline County after calls from residents of Cottage Township alerted us to activity going on out there…activity that residents were told wouldn’t be taking place until the permitting process was concluded.
The public hearing held at SIC in early December was all about input on the expansion of mining in the township by Peabody, who said that they would weigh everyone’s input with the pressing need of moving forward with the mine expansion.
However, it at least APPEARS there’s a little movement, without benefit of advising the residents (after they were told they WOULD be notified of Peabody’s decision), and that’s the subject of our next Read the Lead, “Logging already begun on Rocky Branch Road“:
Photo taken Saturday, January 4, 2014
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SALINE CO.—The hearing held in December at Southeastern Illinois College on the topic of Peabody Energy closing Rocky Branch Road was apparently nothing but a smokescreen in order to give residents the appearance that their voice mattered.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources held the hearing to allow the public the opportunity to give their input on why Peabody should not be allowed to deforest and mine the Cottage Township area, but it now appears that hearing was not enough to stop the giant company from doing as they please.
Disclosure received reports that Peabody had brought in skidders to the area that will be mined near Berry Hill in Saline County a little over two weeks after the date of the hearing (December 12, 2013). When Disclosure heard this, contact was made with residents who live close to the area, and it was discovered that logging and deforesting had already begun. The problem is, according to locals who have spoken to the company and the IDNR, Peabody has not been given a permit to start such activities.
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