Reclaimed abandoned mine lands
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Photo Library: Reclaimed abandoned mine lands |
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Abandoned mine land sites frequently contain a variety of environmental problems. At this 45-acre West Virginia site adjacent to a small town, 11 abandoned underground mine openings were discharging acid water, mountains of exposed coal refuse from an abandoned coal cleaning plant covered the valley floor, and 6,500 linear feet of dangerous highwalls from an abandoned surface mine were present. After reclamation it is difficult to find any traces of past mining or the associated abandoned mine problems. Here, as the architects of the Surface Mining Law envisioned, use of Abandoned Mine Land funds has resulted in permanently removing the health and safety hazards, leaving the land essential as it was before mining took place.
Enlarged Photo (39 KB file)
Reclamation of this abandoned mine land site eliminated 6,000 linear feet of highwall and sealed four mine openings. To prevent future damage, an under-drain was placed along the length of the highwall to collect drainage from auger holes. Since no topsoil was available, the spoil was direct-seeded with a special seed mix. Today this landscape bears little resemblance to its appearance before the abandoned highwalls and spoil were reclaimed. Enlarged Photo (22 KB file)
This reclaimed Western Maryland site was the Ocean underground mine, which began operation about 1870. During World War I, approximately 90 percent of all steamship coal used by U.S. warships came from this mine. But when mining was completed in the 1940's the unreclaimed site was abandoned. Reclamation included closing the mine entrances, removing dangerous buildings, and reclaiming the stream running through the mine site. Since this photo was taken a high school science class planted seedling trees on the reclaimed land, and after more than a century, the site is once again an asset to the community.
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On February 4, 2004, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Office of Surface Mining Director Jeff Jarrett met with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, U.S. Representatives John Peterson and Don Sherwood, and Tim Schaeffer, Director of the Central Pennsylvania Environmental Council. At the meeting Secretary Norton announced the Administration's proposal to accelerate the cleanup of dangerous abandoned coal mines. Pennsylvania has more than $1 billion worth of high priority abandoned mine health and safety hazards that require reclamation. Under the proposal Pennsylvania would receive an increase in its annual reclamation grant of nearly 50 percent, from $24.1 million to $35.5 million.Here Secretary Norton and Director Jarrett are at an abandoned mine site near Shenandoah, Pennsylvania which is about 1,000 feet from a residential area. Mining stopped there in the late 1960s, and its deceptively enticing waters have lured at least two people to their deaths. In 1994, an 11-year-old boy drowned while swimming in the pit and in 1990, a 16-year-old boy fell to his death at the pit. It is estimated that it will cost about $28 million to reclaim the Shen-Penn pit. While at that site, Paul Hummel, from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection described rescues that were needed at abandoned underground mines where people entered the dangerous workings and became trapped. Photo credit: Tom Shope, Office of Surface Mining Enlarged Photo (16 KB file)
This abandoned mine site located about one mile north of Herminie, Pennsylvania required backfilling two open mine shafts, demolition of abandoned concrete structures, grading of more than 84,000 cubic yards of refuse spread over approximately 10 acres, mixing limestone and placement of one foot of soil cover (more than 16,000 cubic yards) on the entire site, and revegetating the regraded site. In addition more than 1,000 linear feet of stream bank was lined with rock and stabilized. The total cost of the reclamation was $273,882.74. Photo credit: Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation Enlarged Photo (20 KB file)
After about four month work, this abandoned mine site was reclaimed. With the work completed the hazards have been eliminated and sediment is no longer eroding from the land and polluting the streams. This photo taken immediately after the work was completed shows the vegetation just coming up through the hay mulch. Photo credit: Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Enlarged Photo (13 KB file) Photo credit: Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation
On July 23, 2004 Jeff Jarrett, Director of the Office of Surface Mining toured the Cedar Creek Abandoned Mine project near Columbia. Upper Cedar Creek, in Boone Country, Missouri, lies within the boundaries of the Mark Twain National Forest and is a significant aquatic resource in Central Missouri. It drains approximately 2,000 acres of abandoned coal mines. Numerous fish kills were reported between 1948 and 1980. In some instances, the entire 44 miles of the stream were made lifeless due to acid mine drainage. The Missouri Abandoned Mine Land program rehabilitated 706 acres between 1985 through 1990. Flooding in 1990 and 1993 severely damaged the site. The Abandoned Mine Land program constructed passive treatment wetlands, repaired stream banks, and planted native warm season grasses between 1997 and 2002. The reclamation has improved the water quality and reduced the likelihood of future fish kills.Here Stuart Miller from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Abandoned Mine Land Division, is describing the reclamation plan for the Cedar Creek site. Enlarged Photo (64 KB file) (See the July 23, 2004 News Release for additional information.
