The Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Water Works Board both spoke out this week against a proposed coal mine on the Black Warrior River, about five miles away from a drinking water intake that provides water for about 200,000 people.

The Water Works said in a news release that it has filed comments this week with the Alabama Surface Mining Commission opposing the renewal of a permit for Mays Mining to operate a surface coal mine (Mays Mine No. 5), on the banks of the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, upstream of the Water Works’ Mulberry Intake.

“Birmingham Water Works has been a long-standing opponent of coal mining near our water sources as it opens the possibility of contamination into the drinking water for many families we serve,” the utility said in a news release. “The opposition with this particular mine dates back almost a decade.”

The Water Works also noted that a Jefferson County judge ordered the permit remanded back to the Surface Mining Commission twice due to concerns over contamination left behind from a plywood facility that used to operate on the proposed mine site. According to court documents, a plywood production facility operated on the site from approximately 1969 to 1980 and likely used chemicals such as phenolic formaldehyde resin glue that could adversely impact the source water.

There is also a federally protected species, the flattened musk turtle, living in the area.

“Not only do we believe that this coal mining could adversely impact our water supply, but our professional research indicates that it’s also a threat to an endangered species that inhabits that area,” BWWB General Manager Michael Johnson said in a news release. “People live and depend on a clean and safe water supply and we strive each day to ensure that it stays protected.”

That statement came Friday, a few days after the Birmingham City Council passed a resolution opposing the mine, citing the environmental hazards and the potential for adverse impacts to the drinking water.

“We implore the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to deny the permit for the proposed No. 5 Mine,” the resolution said.

The Mays Mine is a different tract than the proposed Shepherd Bend Mine, which was to be located less than 1000 feet from the intake. In 2015, Drummond Company announced it would not seek to renew its permit to open a mine on that site. Much of the land at the Shepherd Bend site is owned by the University of Alabama. The university has no connection to the Mays Mine project.

Environmental group Black Warrior Riverkeeper, which has also filed comments opposing the mine, and has asked for a public hearing on the permit, said the location is unsuitable for coal mining, particularly at a site that also contains industrial contaminants from the plywood facility.

“This mine is a threat to the source of our drinking water for 200,000 people in greater Birmingham,” Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said. "It’s just upstream from one of the largest sources of drinking water in the entire state.

“There’s a very real concern that this mine could release those [plywood] contaminants right next to our drinking water source. It’s just too close.”

A permit for a surface coal mine on the site had previously been approved by the Alabama Surface Mining Commission under the previous owner of the site, Reed Minerals, but no mining has taken place yet there, partly due to ongoing court actions.

The Birmingham Water Works filed suit against the mining commission to block the permit, and in 2016, a judge ruled that the permit did not take into account the potential for contamination from the plywood facility, and remanded it back to the mining commission. In 2018, the same judge ruled the Mining Commission still had not adequately resolved those issues in a revised permit.

In addition to opposition from the Water Works and City Council, the Citizen Advisory Board of Birmingham also approved a resolution opposing the mine and asking the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to reject the permit application.

Brooke said he hopes that the commission will grant its request for a public hearing before approving the permit, and that many local residents also oppose the permit. He said the area near the proposed mine is a popular fishing spot.

“The Alabama Surface Mining Commission is going to have to meaningfully address the court’s concerns," Brooke said. “A lot of people are opposed to this mine and rightfully so.”