Abandoned Mine Posts

by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the Citizen’s Advisory Council, has scheduled two additional public town hall meetings in Clearfield and Freeport to gather public input regarding how to best utilize increased abandoned mine reclamation funding.

As a result of the changes to the federal legislation known as the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), Pennsylvania is now poised to receive over $1.4 billion to reclaim abandoned coal mines over the next 15 years. Amended by Congress in December 2006, SMCRA will give Pennsylvania more flexibility to fix its abandoned coal mine hazards.

Eight similar meetings were already held throughout Pennsylvania’s coal regions. These additional meetings will provide concerned Pennsylvanians with even more opportunity to weigh in on how those funds should be used.

Pennsylvania has more abandoned coal mine problems than anywhere else in the country, with approximately 250,000 acres of mine-scarred land and nearly 5,000 miles of stream affected by over 100 years of unregulated coal mining practices. Highwalls (man-made cliffs), underground mine fires, subsidence, and abandoned mining structures are among the problems that litter the landscape. Acid mine drainage remains Pennsylvania’s number one water pollution problem.

Among the issues to be discussed will be new opportunities to direct more money toward fixing acid mine drainage problems. Under the new law, the state now has the option to set aside an even greater amount of their annual grants to address water quality problems stemming from abandoned coal mines.

As a prelude to the public input portion of the town hall meetings, WPCAMR will present a video aimed toward the general public explaining Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine problems and SMCRA Title IV funding. The video is available on WPCAMR’s website. The meetings will also provide an opportunity for public review of Pennsylvania’s Abandoned Mine Land inventory and maps during a poster session.

From the levels of public participation in the meetings to date, there is obviously significant public interest in abandoned mine reclamation throughout the coal regions of the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is commendably the only state to ask for public comment in formulating how best to use the increased funding from SMCRA.

The additional Town Hall Meetings are:

September 12, 2007 – Lock Haven Univ. of Pennsylvania, Founders Hall, Clearfield, PA

September 13, 2007 – IUP at Northpointe, Room 131, Freeport, PA

All town hall meetings will follow the agenda below:
4:00 to 5:30 pm – Educational videos and overview of SMCRA Title IV Reauthorization.
5:30 to 6:30 pm – Poster session of PA’s Abandoned Mine Land inventory and maps.
6:30 to 8:30 pm – Town hall meeting

Click here for the Department of Environmental Protection’s official
notice of the meetings, containing the complete schedule and locales.

by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator, and Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator
Coal mining has always been an occupation fraught with danger. We have been reminded of that stark reality in recent days due to the collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah where six miners have been trapped since August 6th and 3 workers have already perished in the attempt to rescue those trapped. Since the collapse, there have been many reports indicating a form of mining known as “retreat mining” may have contributed to the problem.

In Pennsylvania, coal mining has been going on for about 200 years and retreat mining has also been going on for just as long. But in order to understand retreat mining, we must understand something of the mining technique known as “room and pillar” mining. In extracting coal, voids in the coal seam are created. However, substantial blocks of coal must be left behind to support the mine roof. The voids are called rooms, while the supporting blocks of unextracted coal are called pillars. Roughly half the coal in the seam remains in place in the form of pillars for the safety of the miners and equipment. As mining in a seam progresses, a gridwork of voids punctuated by pillars emerges.

Retreat mining is the process of removing the supporting pillars (a.k.a pulling the pillars) once the traditional room and pillar mining is completed. A carefully drawn-up and regulated retreat mining plan outlines the systematic removal of all or parts of pillars to safely extract as much coal as possible. The retreat process begins in the furthest reaches of the mine and progresses in the opposite direction of the original mining. As retreat mining progresses, the roof is intended to collapse following pillar removal. This collapse should happen soon, but not too soon. Understandably, this is an inherently dangerous undertaking, even for the most experienced of miners. However, the technique yields a return of around 70% of the coal originally in the seam.

Each mine has its own conditions that dictate how aggressive the retreat mining can be. For instance, deeper mines will have greater stresses on their roofs (and thus pillars) than shallower mines. Safety dictates leaving more of the pillars in highly stressed situations. Without sufficient supporting material in the pillars, a “bump” may occur in which a pillar literally explodes outward from excessive stress. Indications are the Utah mine is highly stressed with bumps a not uncommon occurrence.

Room and pillar mining still occurs in the Bituminous region of Western Pennsylvania along with retreat mining. Although retreat mining can still be a dangerous practice, it is generally safer today than in years past. Indeed, all mining methods can be very dangerous if applicable laws, regulations, and approved plans are not followed.

Today, mining operations that wish to legally practice retreat mining must have a federally approved plan containing proper safety precautions.

More Resources:

• PA DEP Underground Mining Information
• The Oil Drum Blog about Energy and our Future

Just a friendly reminder that the WPCAMR Quarterly Meeting will be held at the Beaver Conservation District office in Aliquippa on Thursday August 23, 2007 at 10:30 AM.

The Beaver Conservation District has graciously offered to supply lunch for the meeting. Also, for those wanting to car pool to Beaver County, please let us know and we will get you in touch with others who may be attending from your area.

Click here for directions and meeting materials. (www.wpcamr.org)

By Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator and Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator 

This week, WPCAMR congratulates Brent Wahlquist in his confirmation as Director of the Office of Surface Mining.   Wahlquist has served as OSM’s  Acting Director since December 20, 2005 replacing former OSM Director Jeff  Jarrett. 

Wahlquist, a 24-year career veteran of OSM, has served as director of OSM’s Applachian Region in Pittsburgh overseeing the agency’s programs in a seven-state area since 2002.  Previously, he served as director of the agency’s Mid-Continent Region  and also its Western Region.  Dr. Wahlquist has also worked as OSM’s Assistant Director in Washington, DC.  Before joining OSM, he served as deputy director of the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources .

Last month, President Bush formally nominated Dr. Wahlquist to the post after several failed controversial nominations.  On August 3, 2007, the 30^th anniversary of the creation of the Office of Surface Mining, Wahlquist was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.  

Bruce Golden, WPCMAR’s Regional Coordinator, said “Brent Whalquist is a very fitting choice for the Director’s position.  He knows OSM and knows the issues as well as anyone.   He is very thoughtful, experienced and forward looking.   I expect he will continue to serve the position well as he leads OSM through the substantial changes to SMCRA instituted last December.” 

John Dawes, Chairman of the PA AML Campaign,  noted  that “The AML Campaign has met with Dr. Whalquist and found him to be very forthcoming. “  Dawes went on to say, “ We look forward to a constructive relationship with as reclamation projects are implemented throughout the coal communities of Pennsylvania.”