All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
PAUSED

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
SUBJECT TO CHANGE

0 out of 0

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED

SECTOR
Surface Transportation

CATEGORY
Project Category DOT Projects

LEAD AGENCY
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

Description:

Reevaluation of King Coal EIS for an approximately 7 mile section of the highway between Delbarton and Belo, where 5 miles would be constructed as a joint-use project in conjunction with a surface coal mine.

The Delbarton to Belo Project is an approximately seven mile section of the King Coal Highway, a 94 mile long corridor from Bluefield, Mercer County, West Virginia to Williamson, Mingo County, West Virginia.  The Delbarton to Belo Project begins at US 52, about one-half mile west of Delbarton, and ends at US 119 just west of its intersection with WV 65. The 94-mile King Coal Highway Corridor was identified in a FEIS issued in June 2000, and approved with a subsequent ROD issued in August 2000.  Since the issuance of the ROD, an opportunity for a joint-use project was identified during Consol of Kentucky, Inc.’s (CONSOL, a mining company) development of a plan to extract mineable coal reserves between the towns of Delbarton and Belo, Mingo County, West Virginia.  A joint-use project would allow CONSOL to construct approximately 5 miles of rough-grade highway alignment in conjunction with their post-mining land use plan for the proposed Buffalo Mountain Surface Mine.  Upon the completion of the Buffalo Mountain Surface Mine project, the WVDOH could incorporate the 5 miles of rough-grade highway alignment constructed by CONSOL into the King Coal Highway Delbarton to Belo Project.