Comment on FR Doc # 2012-23521

I have been watching and following, even challenging the company Champion Processing Incorporated since 2005. This is when I learned that the owner of this mine site was attempting to rush permits through the state and local authorities in order to beat a new air ruling set by the EPA for Particulate Matter 2.5. The owner succeeded and was on his way to building a power plant to burn 38 million tons of waste coal and return 87 million tons of coal ash back to the sight near my home. I live in a rural, farming community where many of us still have wells for our drinking water. The thought of coal ash being dumped into the unlined ground and open mine at the CPI site and without any geo-hydrological testing done and the state only requiring four monitoring wells for the nearly 800 acres site is frightening. Also, at the time my area’s air was in non-attainment for particulate matter (PM) 10, so why pollute more? I turned to the Pa DEP for help but quickly learned that they were instrumental in getting the permits rushed to beat the EPA clock. How could this be? They are supposed to be the agency that sets that standard for protecting the environment. They are supposed to be the regulators and enforcers of environmental rules meant to protect not only the environment but the public, ie SMCRA, RCRA, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act etc. What I learned, however, through discovery after challenging CPI’s air permit was that the Pa DEP is no friend to the citizens of Pennsylvania. They are the permitting agency for industry. Pa DEP even went so far as to having their heads of the SW Regional Office Air Division, Ken Bowman calling Senator Stout at his home per the direction of the Secretary of the DEP (Kathleen McGinty) to rush CPI’s air permit. ....to be continued