Jacob Moore / For Nisqually Valley News
Despite closing its mining operation in 2006, the TransAlta mine north of Centralia has recently received an extension on its mining permit from the federal government.
The extension will allow TransAlta to continue work meant to make the land fit for “post-mining” uses.
The Lewis County Public Utility District and other local governments recently received a letter from the federal government informing them of the extension of the TransAlta mining permit through 2030.
According to the letter from the United States Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the permit applies to more than 9,000 acres starting from its northernmost point near Bucoda and extending southeast.
The TransAlta Centralia mine is currently doing reclamation work on just over 6,600 acres of the land covered by the permit. The reclamation efforts are meant to prepare the land to be used for other purposes than mining, including forestry, fish and wildlife habitat, and light industrial uses.
TransAlta submitted the application to extend its mining permit at the beginning of the summer on June 25.
The approval of the request extends the mining permit from its previous expiration date on Nov. 21, 2025, to Nov. 21, 2030.
According to the letter, landowners who have a valid mining permit have the right to have it renewed repeatedly within its current boundaries when that permit is set to expire. As part of the renewal process, the public can also submit written comments or objections to the renewal or even call for an “informal conference” to discuss the application.
The TransAlta Centralia mine halted mining operations in the area in 2006. In 2010, TransAlta negotiated an agreement with then-Gov. Chris Gregoire and the state’s Department of Ecology to reduce the plant’s pollution output. The plant committed to reduce its mercury pollution output by 50% and its nitrogen oxide output by 20%.
A year later, Gregoire signed the TransAlta Energy Transition Bill passed by the state Legislature, which, along with other agreements, required the plant to stop burning coal in its first boiler no later than Dec. 31, 2020, and in its second boiler by Dec. 31, 2025.
