The public is being asked to get involved in a new ALCOA Mine in Warrick County. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is now reviewing the new Liberty Mine that Alcoa is contracting Vigo Coal Company to mine. The Alcoa mine will dig to a depth of 190 feet to extract the next deeper seam of coal from the original Squaw Creek Mine shut down in 2000.

The ground is very close to where Alcoa dumped toxic waste, which included 69 million gallons of coal tar pitch and 7.4 million cubic feet of chromium sludge from the Alcoa Warrick Operations from 1965 until 1979. Additionally several thousand tons of spent pot ling were also disposed of at the mine. Alcoa has been required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to place Environmental Restrictive convents on portions of the Squaw Creek Mine due to this dumping.

Former miners at the Squaw Creek Mine have complained of many unusual diseases and reported abnormal growths on animals as well as animal deaths. They are now fearful that by reopening the mine area, Alcoa will expose more people to the toxic waste. The new mining depth of 190 feet could cause the water table surrounding the previous toxic waste dump sites to leach the toxic waste into nearby Cypress Creek and Squaw Creeks which empty into the Ohio river.

All the new Alcoa and Vigo Liberty Mine permit is on what was the original Squaw Creek Mine. Much of the same area of the proposed new mine is on the same Squaw Creek ground that has had the bond release denied by Administrative Law Judge, Sandra Jensen. Judge Jensen in denying Alcoa the reclamation bond cited in her findings of fact, items 59 through 131 reasons why there could be pollution occurring from toxic waste Alcoa dumped at the mine in the past into nearby streams.