Residents Hoping to Block Coal Mining on West Side of Cook Inlet

Ben Stanton, KDLL – Kenai

A group of residents wants to prevent coal mining on the west side of Cook Inlet. Delaware-based PacRim Coal is still in the planning process, but two local groups have filed a petition with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources that would declare a certain area of the Chuitna watershed “unsuitable for mining.” One area the company would like to mine is underneath Middle Creek, which is a salmon-bearing stream. At a public hearing for the petition on Wednesday in Kenai, residents spoke out mostly in opposition to mining the area.

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