The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued the permit to allow LCT Energy to expand their underground coal mining operations by 1452 acres. The mining area will expand under the Pennsylvania Turnpike and into the headwaters of the Fourmile Run watershed, which feeds Donegal Lake and Loyalhanna Creek, the treasured stream that runs between Ligonier and Latrobe.
Many streams in the Pennsylvania Laurel Highlands are impaired by legacy coal mines. In Fayette County’s Indian Creek Valley alone, there are over 100 abandoned mine discharges that flow into Indian Creek, a large tributary of the Youghiogheny River. To date, cleaning up damage from those old mines has cost nearly $10 million.
Environmental groups and community members, still fighting to clean up contaminated creeks and remediate water supplies polluted by old mines, expect dire consequences from the mine expansion.
A report by a consulting hydrogeologist backs up those fears. The report predicts that further coal mining in the area is highly likely to cause more water problems for this rural community. Those potential issues include:
- Reduced surface flow in the upper tributaries of Fourmile RunÂ
- Lowered groundwater and putting more than 100 private water supplies at risk
- Deteriorated water quality in Jacobs Creek and Fourmile Run
- The creation of new acid mine discharges that could move south to the Indian Creek and Youghiogheny River watersheds
Based on the report’s findings, Mountain Watershed Association filed an Unsuitable for Mining petition covering the Rustic Ridge I expansion area and the proposed Rustic Ridge II Mine.Â
The Rustic Ridge I mine is operated by LCT Energy, a subsidiary of Latrobe-based Robindale Energy. The mine started operating in 2018. Around that time, area residents began experiencing problems with their well and spring water. They also reported severe subsidence, plus noise, dust, and endless (and sometimes deadly) coal truck traffic. The mine expansion has been under review for three years.
Mountain Watershed Association has long voiced concerns on the active and proposed mining in the area. In the 1990s, the group formed by opposing a coal mine proposed near Indian Creek that could have damaged private water supplies in the community.Â
Since then, mining impacts have been a key focus of the organization, which seeks to protect the Youghiogheny River watershed from any and all threats. During the permitting process for the Rustic Ridge I mine, MWA pushed back, eventually reaching a settlement to hold the facility to higher environmental standards and mitigate its damage to local streams.
Since LCT Energy announced plans to expand Rustic Ridge I, MWA staff and members have attended several PA DEP public hearings, traveled to Harrisburg to speak with decision makers, canvassed door-to-door, hosted community meetings, monitored water quality throughout the area, and filed an “Unsuitable for Mining” petition in an effort to convey the severity of their concerns with the mine expansion.
MWA’s Managing Organizer, Stacey Magda, has been working on this issue for nearly four years. In her opinion, PA DEP hasn’t done enough to protect its citizens from corporate interests.
“The PA DEP continues to prioritize business interests over Pennsylvanians’ rights to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment,” Magda says. “The Rustic Ridge coal mine is and always will be a stain on the Laurel Highlands.”
COMMUNITY ACTION:
Rustic Ridge Community Town Hall
May 15, 2025 at 6:30 pm
St Raymond of the Mountains Church
170 School House Lane, Donegal PA
Learn more about the mine expansion, and what you can do to protect your property and safeguard clean water in the Laurel Highlands! Dinner and information hand-outs will be provided.
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Mountain Watershed Association is a non-profit organization with the mission to protect, preserve and restore the Youghiogheny River watershed and its broader communities through conservation, recreation, education, and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.mtwatershed.com.