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Appeal of mine permit scheduled for conference

HARRISBURG, Ill. - Opponents of Peabody Energy's plans for a coal mine near Harrisburg in southern Illinois soon could know whether their appeal of a permit for the project may go forward.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports an Illinois Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a July 2 pre-hearing conference on the matter.

Both the IDNR and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency granted permits earlier this year to allow the new Rocky Branch strip mine, and other permits are pending.

But Cottage Township Trustee Judy Kellen and others in the township claim their homes, health and the environment would be damaged by the mine Peabody proposes.

The mine would be an extension of an existing mine and come within 300 feet of some homes just south of Illinois 13 near Harrisburg.

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