Rustic Ridge: What You Should Know

May 22, 2025/Colleen O'Neil

Mountain Watershed Association held an informational meeting for residents affected by the Rustic Ridge mining operation during a town hall May 15 at St. Raymond of the Mountain Church in Donegal.

MWA’s Managing Community Organizer, Stacey Magda, and Melissa Marshall, Managing Attorney, explained LCT Energy LP’s plans for coal mining in the Laurel Highlands, and offered steps people can take to protect their water supplies and property from mining operations.

LCT Energy is a subsidiary of Latrobe-based Robindale Energy. The company owns Rustic Ridge I, an active coal mine encompassing about 2,800 underground acres in Donegal Township and Acme. A mine and surface area are located just west of Hellein School Road, near County Line Road. The mine has been in operation since 2018, and the Department of Environmental Protection renewed its NPDES (water discharge) permit in January.

The expansion permit

In early April, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit to allow LCT Energy to expand their underground coal mining operations by 1,452 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.

This expansion is different from Rustic Ridge II, a proposed operation of 2,322 underground acres on the eastern slope of Chestnut Ridge. This is a new mine with a new surface opening, along Clay Pike Road near Keyser Road. LCT first submitted an application for this operation in September 2024, but the company withdrew it. The application was resubmitted in March and is under technical review.

MWA, our partner organizations, and community members, are still fighting to clean up contaminated creeks and remediate water supplies polluted by old mines. Consequences from the expansion could be dire for our watershed.

A report by a consulting hydrogeologist 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 Run
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. (Which the PA DEP dismissed – a decision MWA is appealing.)

How to protect your water and property:

Residents in the mining area need to have a pre-mining survey, in which the mining company visits private property to test water supply and quality, takes photos to assess any pre-mining damage, and records the conditions of all structures on the property. This information is compiled into a written report that is shared with the property owner.

Property owners should double check the report to make sure there are no errors in the report.

A pre-mining survey protects property owners in case of damage, as it can stand as proof that the damage was caused by mining. In that case, the mining company is financially responsible for repairing the damage or replacing damaged items. Without the survey, the mining company can claim it is not responsible for the damage.

Surveys must be taken before mining reaches a 35-degree angle of draw from a structure or a property’s water supply. Only properties within that angle of draw are eligible for the survey.

Properties within 1,000 feet of a mine boundary still are entitled to limited protections. In those cases, the mining company must include the resident’s information in a water supply inventory, which documents the existence and use of all public and private water supplies that could be impacted within that range.

The water supply inventory does not include water quality sampling, but it does encompass location and use of any springs, wells or other water sources, as well as their depth.

Even if property owners aren’t eligible for these protections, they can do their own pre-mine inspections, including having a certified home inspector or property assessor inspect and record the condition of the home before mining.

We encourage the community to keep accurate records, stay informed, and communicate with neighbors on this issue!