Massive Mine Reclamation Project Moves Along (Video Report)
WESTPORT — A nearly $12.2 million mine reclamation effort is well underway on a scarred 92 acre site in Sproul State Forest and project overseers say cleanup of the old mine site is proceeding as per schedule.
Site manager Jim Irey from project sub-contractor Berner Construction recently took The Record on a tour of the worksite and said the massive cleanup should be completed by August of 2015.
The reclamation is designed to neutralize the onsite acid resulting from coal mining in the area at various intervals over the last century, mining that scarred the terrain and polluted nearby Kettle Creek.
Irey said the effort is two-pronged: to restore the site and to mix in alkaline material to get the ph up to reduce acidity in surrounding streams:
“There is always sulfur and iron ore associated with the coal as they stripped this off; the purpose of the alkaline material is to neutralize that acid so when the groundwater ends up in the streams it’s a higher ph.”
The work is built around working into the terrain 369,000 tons of limestone-based material as some 17,000 tons of buried coal refuse is removed.
The alkaline material is a byproduct of limestone processing at the Greystone Quarry along Route 64 near Pleasant Gap in Centre County.
Irey and Pat Thompson, an onsite inspector from the state Department of Environmental Protection, both said Pennsylvania has put a high priority on eliminating acid mine drainage from state waterways and has been recognized by the federal government for the effort.
Irey said “much work remains to be done,” several other sites need addressed, all in the vicinity of what is officially called the Huling Branch mine reclamation project; he said all the small tributaries in the area are polluted from past mining activity.
At the time the project began last September officials said the contract was awarded on a competitive basis and is being paid for out of grants from the federal Office of Surface Mining in addition to state Growing Greener money. The federal fund is supported by a fee on the modern coal industry and is distributed to states as annual grants to reclaim mine sites that were abandoned prior to passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
Local historians say the project area had been deep-mined by the Bitumen Coal Company a century ago. More recently, in the 1950s, the state said, it was strip-mined by D. G. Wertz Company and Richmont Coal Company.
The contract requires that any revenue generated from the recovery of crop coal be credited toward the overall project cost.
The tour guides told The Record the work will also include construction of 8,000 to 9,000 feet of new ATV trails and removal of dangerous high walls, stripped out areas with resulting overlooks posing a danger to unsuspecting ATV operators.
Existing trails through the site have been closed while the cleanup is carried out.
Video Report
Project Contract Trucker Stresses Safety
WESTPORT — Huling Branch cleanup contractor Jim Irey said he puts an emphasis on onsite safety and so does the Howard trucking company charged with delivering 369,000 tons of limestone-based material to the Sproul State Forest work area.
Irey said safety plays a big role in all such projects, that his company, Berner Construction, takes that responsibility seriously.
His view was echoed by Bob Confer, president of Confer Trucking, Inc.
Confer’s firm does the bulk of the transporting and he took exception to a recent Record story that wrote about speeding trucks on Route 120; he said his company puts an emphasis on safety, that members of his family operate on the roads between the quarry near Pleasant Gap and the ultimate destination 65 miles away in Sproul State Forest.
Confer said, “It’s not just a matter of getting the material up here and get the job done. We’re looking out for everybody else that’s on the highway. We try to be safe and do a good job.”
The longtime Howard trucking operator said his drivers follow the speed limits; “The state police are out there watching us, DOT (Department of Transportation) is out there watching us and I make trips up and down the road myself. If we see problems, we take care of them.”
The massive project requires 15 to 20 trucks a day, each one making three trips a day from Pleasant Gap, through Lock Haven and Renovo, and on to the site near Westport. Confer said it takes one hour 15 minutes one way each trip.
As to complaints about speeding truckers, he said he can only be responsible for Confer Trucking drivers, noting other trucks from other companies are navigating Route 120 to gas-well sites further north of the Westport site.
