A Nesquehoning company is hoping to use 100,000 tons of coal ash as structural fill on its existing plant site.

On Wednesday, Nesquehoning Borough Councilwoman Abbie Guardiani went on record with her opinion regarding an Environmental Protection permit application for Panther Creek Power Operating, located off Dennison Road in the Hauto Valley Estates portion of the borough.

The permit would allow the company to use coal ash on its property as structural fill, up to 100 feet away from the stream. The permit is under Chapter 290, beneficial use of coal ash.

Guardiani said that coal ash is known to contain several toxins, and said that after reading the public notice, which was only published in a Schuylkill County paper, felt she had several concerns.

She spoke with Matt Cochran, power asset manager for Panther Creek, regarding her concerns.

From that discussion, it was learned that Panther Creek will utilize 7.8 acres of its site for the coal ash fill with an anticipated start date of June 1.

“They are absolutely, positively 100% currently following EPA recommendations,” Guardiani said. “They are doing the active surface water monitoring, active well water monitoring, chemical analysis of their ash, leachate analysis. The ash is going to be compacted so that it is almost encapsulated so that it doesn’t leach. It gets covered with 12 inches of soil to stabilize it and then gets graded to minimize runoff.”

Guardiani said that her concern really isn’t about the use of the coal ash, but rather EPA’s regulation that allows things like this to occur up to 100 feet away from a waterway.

She said she voiced her problem with Panther Creek only publishing the notice in a Schuylkill County paper instead of the Times News, which covers Nesquehoning.

Council President David Hawk, who also works at Panther Creek, said this was because the notice was handled by the regional mining office and not the company itself. If it was handled by the plant, it would have been published in the local newspaper.

One question that remains is what are the long-term effects to residents and the environment of this matter, and Guardiani said Cochran did not have an answer because there have been no studies done on such a project.

According to the public notice, Panther Creek has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s waste management program to allow this on-site, saying it is “pro-beneficial use” that will “support existing power plant operations.”