Permit Application #429 Modification Letter – 62 Questions

On March 20, 2015, IDNR sent a letter to Sunrise Coal, LLC to request modifications to their permit application for the proposed Bulldog Mine.

The News-Gazette published a copy of the letter today.  A copy of the letter is also available here on our website.

Sunrise Coal will now have one year to modify and resubmit the permit application.  If they fail to submit the modifications, the permit will be denied.

Once the IDNR receives the responses, they will review the submission, then either grant or deny the application.

The IDNR considered and incorporated a number of the concerns citizens raised throughout the public hearings.

The letter and other documents that have been added by the Department are available for online viewing and download here: https://dnr.state.il.us/mines/lrd/applications.htm.  Look for Permit #429 about half-way down the page.

As this process keeps dragging on, Sunrise Coal is facing domestic markets that continue to decline, weak exports, and continued projections for down markets. The Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis has said that “the industry is shrinking with little upside potential.” More striking, Goldman Sachs has said that “Just as a worker celebrating their 65th birthday can settle into a more sedate lifestyle while they look back on past achievements, we argue that thermal coal has reached its retirement age.”