A conservation group has filed a motion for an emergency halt of coal mining under and around Ohio University-owned Dysart Woods, and the mining company has until next Tuesday to respond.

The Buckeye Forest Council wants to stop mining in the Belmont County forest area until Ohio’s 7th District Court of Appeals decides on a June 2005 appeal of the legality of the Ohio Valley Coal Company’s (OVCC) mining permit.

Longwall mining, in which all the coal is removed and no supporting pillars of coal remain, could cause the springs of Dysart Woods to dry up or be relocated, said Brandi Whetstone, executive director of the Buckeye Forest Council, in an Aug. 24 news release.

The appeal also addresses the long-term stability of the mine and the credibility of the evidence used to show mining will not harm the forest.

The Division of Mineral Resources Management gave the OVCC a permit in August 2003 to begin mining beneath Dysart Woods and the surrounding area, and the Ohio Reclamation Commission upheld the permit in May 2005. Those two agencies are expected to file a response along with the OVCC.