Montito Resources Seeks Full Bond Release on McDowell County Mining Permit

Montito Resources Corporation, the Iaeger-based surface and underground coal mining company headquartered at 86 West Virginia Avenue, has submitted an application to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection seeking full release of its reclamation performance bond on Permit U301612, a 5.15-acre site in the Sandy River District of McDowell County.

The application targets the entire $15,600.00 bond, requesting a Phase 1, 2, and 3 release, which under West Virginia law represents the complete spectrum of reclamation milestones: from backfilling and regrading through to final revegetation and the long-term stability required for a permit to be fully closed. State law allows the WVDEP secretary to release a bond in whole or in part once satisfied that reclamation has been accomplished as required, with Phase 1 covering completion of backfilling, regrading and drainage control. A simultaneous Phase 1 through 3 application means Montito is asserting that all reclamation work on the site is complete.

The permitted site sits 1.08 miles southwest of the community of Panther, along unnamed tributaries of Zacks Branch of the Tug Fork River. The public notice listing the application contains an unusual gap: the field for the date of final reclamation completion reads "N/A," leaving regulators and the public without a documented timeline for when the work was finished.

Montito Resources Corporation is classified in the surface and underground coal mining industry, with its principal address in Iaeger. McDowell Circuit Judge Rudolph Murensky II entered a final judgment order in favor of Geoff Coady and Montito Resources Corporation in a separate business dispute in 2024, underscoring the company's continued presence and operations in the county.

Under state law, a permittee seeking bond release must file a request with the WVDEP secretary and publish an advertisement in the same manner required for permit applications. The WVDEP secretary is then required to notify the permittee in writing of the decision to release or not release all or part of the bond within sixty days from the date of the initial publication of the advertisement, if no public hearing is requested.

The DEP is accepting written public comments on the application at its office at 1159 Nick Rahall Greenway, Fayetteville, WV 25840, with a deadline of May 14, 2026, or thirty days from the date of final publication of the notice, whichever applies. Anyone wishing to weigh in on the bond release for Permit U301612 must submit comments in writing to that address before that deadline.