AP reported that Maryland Department of Environment has issued a permit for a new underground coal mine that would tunnel beneath the Casselman River in Garrett County.

Mr Jay Apperson spokesman of Maryland Department of Environment said that the permit has been issued to Maryland Energy Resources LLC, a company controlled by the Joseph Peles Coal Co of Indiana.

Mr Apperson said that Joseph Peles Coal Co must post a bond of USD 25,000 for each drinking water well it approaches. That's in addition to a USD 205,000 general performance bond.

It may be noted that the mine would extract an estimated 360,000 tonnes of coal annually for 20 years from deposits beneath about 3,000 acres south of Grantsville. It would be Maryland's largest working deep mine.

(Sourced from Associated Press)