Valley fill permit approved for portion of King Coal Highway

Williamson - A Mingo County coal company has received a federal permit that includes a highway as part of its reclamation plans.

Premier Energy Incorporated's mining plan says it will reclaim a valley fill into a rough road bed for the King Coal Highway.

A US Army Corps of Engineers spokesman says the agency believes using the waste pile for the highway complies with a federal judge's ruling on valley fill permits.

US District Judge Charles Haden ruled in May that valley fill permits violate the federal Clean Water Act.

The judge ruled such fills can only be authorized if they are for a constructive purpose.

Premier would provide the rough grade for about three miles of the proposed 90-mile Williamson to Bluefield highway.

The permit would finalize an agreement reached with the state Division of Highways in March that allowed Premier and Logan-Mingo Coal Company to construct part of the road bed.

State officials say the agreement will save at least 24 million dollars in construction costs.