State environmental regulators are continuing to review a coal company’s application to expand its mining operation in the Donegal area, an issue that will be discussed in a public meeting held by an environmental group Thursday.

The organization, Mountain Watershed Association of Melcroft, said it wants to inform residents who may be affected by the expansion of LCT Energy L.P.’s Rustic Ridge Mine about their rights and if their property and water supply in the rural area is impacted by the mining operations.

The meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Laurelville Retreat Center, 941 Laurelville Lane, Mt. Pleasant Township.

Johnstown-based LCT Energy wants to add about 1,450 acres to its existing permit that allows the firm to mine coal on about 2,880 acres in Donegal Township in Westmoreland County and Saltlick Township in Fayette County. The expansion of its underground mining operations will keep 100 miners employed for about six years, said Mark Tercek, company president.

A Department of Environmental Protection geologist and mining engineer are doing a technical review of the major modification that LCT filed in October 2021, but there has not been a decision on whether to approve the application, said Lauren Camarda, communications manager for DEP.

The expansion would involve extending the coal mine under the Pennsylvania Turnpike and north of Donegal, and below an area following the path of Route 711. Mining would occur along a coal seam ranging from 200 feet to 690 feet below ground. It also would add about 1,410 acres to its mine subsidence control plan, according to its permit application to the DEP.

Opponents of the proposed expansion already have voiced their opinions. In February, several opponents of the proposed coal mine expansion by LCT Energy, including Mountain Watershed members, asked the Westmoreland County commissioners to oppose the mining expansion plans. The state last May held an informal conference to gather public input about LCT Energy’s plans.

The larger mining complex would impact 170 parcels, LCT Energy said in its application to the DEP. Several are owned by coal companies that leased their mineral rights to LCT.

The Loyalhanna Watershed Association, which has eight parcels in the impacted area, has not sold its mineral rights to LCT Energy, said Susan Huba, executive director of the watershed association. The association acquired the rights from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and is prohibited from selling them, Huba said.

The DEP had determined that the headwaters of the watershed would not be impacted by the mining, Huba said.

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