McDowell-Pocahontas Seeks Release of $10,500 Reclamation Bond for 6.2 Acres Near Welch

McDowell-Pocahontas Coal Company has applied to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for full release of a reclamation performance bond tied to a 6.2-acre permit site near Welch. The company says it completed final reclamation on December 10, 2025 and is seeking a Phase 1, 2 and 3 release on Permit Number H011600, which would free $10,500 currently held as assurance that reclamation obligations were met.

The permit area lies in the Browns Creek District, roughly 1.5 miles southeast of Welch, on Rockhouse Branch and an unnamed tributary of Elkhorn Creek of Tug Fork River. Written comments on the bond release are being accepted at the DEP office in Fayetteville, 1159 Nick Rahall Greenway, until February 15, 2026, or thirty days from the final publication date of the notice.

For residents of McDowell County, the request matters in practical ways. A reclamation performance bond is the financial guarantee that the landowner or operator will restore disturbed ground and protect local waterways after mining activity. If the DEP accepts the Phase 1, 2 and 3 release and returns the $10,500, the company’s formal financial obligation on that parcel would end. If objections or evidence of incomplete reclamation are raised during the comment period, DEP is more likely to review the site in detail before taking action.

This is a small, specific case but it ties into ongoing concerns in coal country about water quality, slope stabilization and the long-term stewardship of hollows and stream corridors. The site’s location on tributaries that feed Elkhorn Creek and the Tug Fork River underscores why neighbors and local leaders track reclamation notices: what happens at small branch lines can affect larger streams and downstream communities. For many in McDowell County, reclamation outcomes also affect land use options, property values and the character of former mining lands.

The permitting notice lists the company’s mailing address as PO Box 1030, 356 S College Ave, Bluefield, VA 24605. The DEP address for comments is the Fayetteville office at 1159 Nick Rahall Greenway, Fayetteville, WV 25840. Written comments must arrive by the stated deadline to be part of the administrative record.

What comes next will depend on DEP’s review of reclamation on the ground and any public input received. If citizens or local officials have concerns about revegetation, erosion control or stream health, filing timely comments is the straightforward way to ensure those issues are considered. Otherwise, acceptance of the release would return the $10,500 bond to McDowell-Pocahontas and close the permit’s financial obligation for those 6.2 acres.