Problems with Abandon Mine Land
1. Mine Openings
Older mine openings may have not been adequately sealed, or sealed at all. These opening can be hazardous. Not only falling into a mine is dangerous, but exploring one can be as well. Mines can have poisonous gases, unstable roofs, flooded sections, and are pitch black.
2.Land slides
Gob piles, spoil banks, and mine slopes can often become unstable. These areas then have the potential to become a land slide due to steep hills, or water saturation. The slides can cover roads and block streams causing flooding.
3.Highwalls
Highwalls occur during surface mining when the coal seam is exposed. The highwall can resemble a cliff and can be extremely dangerous if it isn't covered over to remove the free fall.
4.Acid Mine Drainage
(more in a later post)
5.Subsidence
Subsidence is when houses, and other dwellings undergo damage due to an underground mine collapse.
In Athens County it is mandatory to have subsidence insurance coverage. This coverage can be obtained through a homeowners insurance company and is a $1 annual premium for the residence.
Its important for residents to know about AML before building a house in the area. The DNR has composed a guide of things to learn before building.
The Department of Natural Resources in Ohio has devised an interactive map (may have to disable pop-up blocker, and agree to terms of use) to see where underground mines are.
(information from the Ohio DNR)
I never really thought of these issues about abandoned mine land before. All the issues you describe are very serious and I hope there is a policy developed by government that requires mine companies to take certain steps to make the area safer before they abandon the mines. Very interesting and informative post. I also liked the interactive map that gives information about the AML areas.
ReplyDeleteSince AML is clearly so dangerous, I wonder if efforts are being made to remedy the situation? Or is the land simply being ignored and avoided? I could understand if the latter were the case-- that sort of endeavor would obviously be insanely expensive and resource-intensive.
ReplyDeleteAsh...
ReplyDeleteCurrently there are regulations that require mine companies to clean up after their mines are no longer in use. Much of the AML problems are from before there were mining regulations in the early 1900s. Since 1977 there has been a fee paid by active coal companies that goes into a fund to restore AML.
Brett...
In Ohio there is an active Mine Reclamation programs that you can check out at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/mineral/reclamation/tabid/10426/Default.aspx, there is also a link on the site where you can report AML problems to have them fixed.
In Ohio mining began in the early 1800s, and about its first 150 years were unregulated. That may help paint a picture as to why there are so many problems with AML.
ReplyDelete