Abandoned Mine Posts

by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

In this new series at Abandoned Mine Posts, we take a fascinating journey back through time. It’s a journey of discovery and a journey of connections. It’s the story of how coal came to be part of Western Pennsylvania life and the story of the coal connections that would shape our future.

Part I The Beginning

Mankind had recognized the value of coal since it was used in China around 8,000 BC and even further back still, in parts of Europe about 10,000 years ago. But, in order to understand how coal mining got its start in our own backyard and eventually involved itself in our evolution as a nation, we have to take the “wayback” machine and travel back to another place and another time. Namely, early England, just before the Roman invasion.

Even before the Roman conquest throughout the first centuries BC and AD, coal had been used sporadically in England. Once folks figured out that this little black rock burned, it became useful for such simple, day-to-day needs such as: home heating, drying grain, funeral pyres, and making the odd weapon or two—which of course, led to more funeral pyres. In those first several hundred years of the common era in England, coal usage caught on rather slowly.

Coal began to be seen as an actual resource in England at around the 11th century when easily obtainable surface outcrops were mined. At that time, coal became more useful in metalworking, particularly smelting. Strangely, all coal was often referred to in the Medieval period as “sea coal”, even if found miles inland. The term “sea coal” may have been used because coal arrived at other ports such as London by sea from other areas of the country. However, a more likely explanation is that sea-coal was originally found in a washed-up form on the beaches of the North-East and other parts of the country.

Coal mining in 17th century China.

The depletion of those surface outcrops by the 13th century, led to the advent of underground mining. That, as we all know, led to a whole new ball of wax. This measley lump of rock was just beginning to show how it would influence a civilization. Well, back to England in the 13th century.

Coal was certainly known and used here and there in early England, but for various reasons, one of those principally being the odor released when it was burned, it really didn’t catch on as much as one would think. Trees were abundant, charcoal could be made easily from trees, and so charcoal remained the fuel of choice for a fairly long time.

Over the years, as England became the center of industrial growth in the world, there was a need for more and more charcoal to fuel the furnaces to make the iron that served as the building block for this industrial growth. The increasing demand for charcoal led to widespread deforestation which of course, led to the subsequent shortage of said charcoal. Now, without the charcoal to fuel the furnaces,to make the iron, to create the machinery, to advance the civilization, it comes as no surprise that people, especially those involved with industry, were very, very concerned about the future of their livelihoods and indeed the future of the country. Things began to look bleak. That’s when folks started looking at coal in a different light. Here begins coal’s influence on industrial economies, technology, and of course, politics.

By the 16th century, coal was becoming widely used in England although the tremendous smoke and odor problems were causing discontent and severe health problems among the residents in the large population centers. In fact, air pollution as fodder for conversation, is not a 20th century invention. Even in 16th century England, air pollution was a big topic in the pubs. But, despite the problems associated with it, coal use and the associated poor air quality would eventually be seen as facts of everyday life.

When the English began settling the land that was destined to become the United States, they brought their collective history and knowledge about their industrial past with them along with their china, beer, and particularly bland-tasting food. So, when coal was eventually discovered in Eastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s, that was a good thing, right? Not quite. Anthracite coal was found to be very difficult to ignite and there really wasn’t a good, dependable way to transport it to the early population centers of Philadelphia and New York.

The most immediate way to transport coal from the Anthracite region was to place it on barges and take a “log flume” ride down the local waterways. While that ride was most assuredly very exciting for those who manned the barges (if they survived the trip), most of the coal wound up in the bottom of the rivers. It wasn’t long before they realized it really wasn’t worth the bother. Besides which, “Penn’s Woods” was absolutely loaded, and I mean LOADED with trees, and by default, charcoal. So, being there was so much of an easily-obtainable, more “familiar” type of fuel out there, namely charcoal, there wasn’t too much interest in Pennsylvania coal at that time. But, things were about to happen that would change that attitude.

by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

Western Pennsylvania’s mining culture has a rich history of ethnic and racial diversity. African-Americans have always been a part of the region’s mining culture, though their contributions to that rich history have not been widely recognized. Their story is a struggle for freedom and for community. It’s an epic story that has yet to be told.

Once Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780, the movement of African Americans to Southwestern Pennsylvania increased via the underground railroad. By the 1880s, African-Americans were already working in many bituminous mines of Southwestern Pennsylvania when waves of European immigrants began to arrive. At that time, African-American miners were often listed as “Americans” on mine fatality reports to distinguish them from their immigrant co-workers.

Throughout the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, southwestern Pennsylvania in particular saw an increase in African American workers along with new European immigrants. This influx was largely due to the continual need for laborers in the mining and coking industries at the time.

During the 1920s, unbeknownst to them , African American miners from the southern coalfields were brought into the region as strike breakers by the H.C. Frick Coal Company, however this effort to break the strike backfired on the company. Once the would-be strike breakers found out what was happening, they made a courageous decision and stood in solidarity alongside their fellow miners.

The United Mine Workers of America recognized that out of diversity would come a united labor force and encouraged participation from African-American miners early on in the organization’s history. As many newly-arrived immigrant miners struggled to learn English and become part of the union, African-American miners often took it upon themselves to learn Slovak, Hungarian and other languages to increase safety and foster community.

Photo courtesy of US Bureau of Mines.

Many patch towns had been integrated before the 20th century, Indeed, at the H.C. Frick Company patches for example, everyone was thrown together. However, some towns remained segregated. Ultimately, the decision to segregate or integrate was the company’s decision.

As interest in baseball as a patch town pastime caught on throughout the 1930s, local, company-sponsored teams sprang up. While many teams were segregated, others such as “The Brenizer Miners” from Blairsville were not. The “Ernest Grays”, an all black baseball team from Indiana County were widely known in the area for their ability to beat an all-white team, the Rochester and Pittsburgh All Stars, especially when the Grays’ star player, Dodge Embry of Johnstown, was on the field. But, in spite of their successes, prejudicial attitudes often prevailed and their winning scores rarely made it into the newspaper.

African-American miners most often held the job of loading coal but the increase in mechanization during the 1930s and 1940s resulted in less need for loaders. As a result, many African-American miners lost their jobs. Over time, the number of African-American miners dropped significantly as the industry declined and miners began to look for work elsewhere.

For more information on mining communities in Western Pennsylvania visit:
http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.com/

By Dave Hamilton, Program Specialist, OSM, Harrisburg, PA and Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator, WPCAMR

The Watershed Cooperative Agreement Program (WCAP), an initiative of the US Dept of Interior Office of Surface Mining (OSM), received $1.5 million for federal fiscal year 2008 beginning October 1, 2007. The WCAP was started in 1998 to promote clean-up of streams and watersheds impacted by Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) by encouraging partnerships among funding agencies and other individuals and organizations.

Awards are made to not-for-profit organizations (501(c)(3)), especially small watershed groups, that undertake local acid mine drainage (AMD) reclamation projects. The maximum award amount for each cooperative agreement is $100,000, in order to assist as many groups as possible to undertake actual construction projects to clean up streams impacted by acid mine drainage. Normally, the WCAP participation level cannot exceed 30% of the total project cost.

Some of the eligibility criteria include:
• Projects to be considered must address land or water that has been adversely affected by coal mining activities that happened prior to 1977.
• The state’s Abandoned Mine Program must not be opposed to the project
• The project must be able to show tangible results.
• An operation and maintenance plan must be developed.
• There must be demonstrated public support for the project.

Eligible projects in the following states will be considered for funding: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The WCAP has been a vital part of AMD remediation throughout the coal regions of Appalachia and could be considered as matching funds depending on which other funding source is tapped. Check with your primary funding agency to find out if they will accept WCAP funds as match.

OSM is looking for eligible, good quality, technically feasible projects that will fully obligate the available funds by the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2008).

For more information on the particulars of WCAP, contact:

In Pennsylvania:
David Hamilton - OSM office Harrisburg, 717- 782-4036 dhamil@osmre.gov

In Ohio:
Max Leuhrs - OSM office Columbus, 614-416-2238 ext. 110 mluehrs@osmre.gov

In West Virginia:
Nancy Roberts - OSM office Charleston, 304-347-7162 ext. 3043 nroberts@osmre.gov

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

The traditional approach to Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation has provided minimal diversity for plants and wildlife and is not visually satisfying. With the traditional method, the mine sites are reclaimed to a point where they have uniform, smooth, grassy slopes. The smooth slope is compacted to prevent erosion. The traditionally reclaimed area often appears very different compared to the surrounding landscape. I”m sure we all can think of numerous sites where this is occurring. The concept of Geomorphic Reclamation however, offers us a different way of looking at reclamation.

In terms of mining reclamation, Geomorphic Reclamation is landscape reconstruction that attempts to come close to the original surface forms surrounding the mined area, thereby mimicking the natural drainage patterns of a natural landscape. The final goal of this procedure is to have a finished site that is in a stable hydrologic equilibrium (minimizing soil erosion) while at the same time being visually appealing.

The technique was originally developed at active mining sites in New Mexico in 2006, and is now gaining acceptance throughout the country for use in active as well as abandoned sites. The computer software developed to incorporate geomorphic landform designs is called “Natural Regrade” and is available from Carlson Software in Colorado. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) has named Carlson Software’s Natural Regrade a “Core Software” for its Technical Innovation and Professional Services (TIPS) task force for use in mine reclamation design and review.

The practice of reclamation using geomorphic principles was put to the test during the summer of 2006 at the La Plata Mine in New Mexico. The mine received over two inches of rainfall within a two-hour period. This is equivalent to a storm in that area with an approximate recurrence interval of 200 years. Much of the reclamation was new and had just been topsoiled that year, but because of these innovative reclamation techniques used, there was astonishingly little erosion.

Techniques used at the mine that helped minimize erosion include a combination of highly scalloped slopes which create drainage density, sinuous drainages which reduce gradient and concave slope shapes which slow the water velocity near the bottom of slopes. All these practices mimic the shapes that nature creates in hill slopes that are lacking bedrock control. In the end, the runoff from the unvegetated reclamation site was such that it didn’t create the erosion one might expect.

Old highwall site reclaimed using Geomorphic Reclamation principles. Log Creek Church, Indiana. Scalloped slopes in the upper right direct runoff from those areas into the “squiggly ditch” in the center of the photo.

Photo courtesy of Indiana Geologic Survey.

So far, Geomorphic Reclamation has proven to require less maintenance than traditional reclamation and creates a more diverse and natural looking wildlife habitat. But this practice isn’t just confined to states in the far west. The State of Indiana has begun to use Geomorphic Reclamation on abandoned mine reclamation projects in their state.

The Log Creek Church highwall reclamation project in the southern part of the state is an example of how a geomorphic approach leads to a more natural looking reclamation project which eliminates the use of terraces and rock-lined ditches. Scalloped slopes were constructed in this former highwall site and small, concentrated drainage areas were created. The main drainage channel affectionately called “the squiggly ditch” served to dissipate the runoff’s erosive energy without using boulders or other methods of deflection. The resulting drainage pattern was more stable, even before it was revegetated, and in the end will provide better habitat for aquatic flora and fauna.

For more information on Geomorphic Reclamation:

Carlson Software’s Natural Regrade