Up in smoke

Smoldering mines to be snuffed

May 2, 2006

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman

SUTTON - As a three-man crew from Cruz Construction Inc. calibrates its global positioning system settings, a serene silence surrounds the hills of abandoned coal mines near Slipper Lake in Sutton. The heavy machinery sits idle, a gust of wind agitates the dust, and a puff of smoke emits in the distant hills - the only sign of coal smoldering below the earth.

This quietness could not foreshadow the activity that will take place this summer when crews excavate, extinguish and compact to 90 percent the coal buried up to 70 feet underground.

In addition to putting out the coal fires, crews will move around the dirt to create a more gradual slope, install a 10- to 12-foot-wide stone wall as an underground fire break, re-seed and fertilize the area near tree growth, and construct a parking lot for people who recreate in the area, according to Joe Wehrman, abandoned mine land program manager with the state Department of Natural Resources.

&#8220It's just like a giant landscaping job - only more complicated,” Wehrman said.

The area, just a couple miles off Jonesville Road in Sutton, is where rejected coal was piled during the heyday of Eska & Jonesville Coal Mines, which operated from 1920 until 1968. Even while the mine was open, coal fires occasionally started underground and mine employees compacted the coal with bulldozers.

Now, through the Restoration of Abandoned Mines program, the nation's operating coal mines pay a tax that helps cover the cost of mitigating potential hazards where abandoned mines exist, Wehrman said.

A $3.5 million federal grant will pay for this 26-acre project. An active coal lease prohibits reclamation work on an 8- to 10-acre spot in the area, he said. In the summer of 2007, crews will cover the state-owned parcel with 1.5 feet of clay, he said.

&#8220We're trying to get the vegetation growing again,” he said. &#8220By the end of the summer, this place will look entirely different.”

The objective of the RAMS project is to make the state-owned land safer for public use and to avoid the worst-case scenario - coal fire spreading to start a forest fire, as happens in the Lower 48, he said.

&#8220It (the buried coal) doesn't really flame up. It's just a glowing, molten mass,” Wehrman said. He added underground fires exist in spots bare of snow during the winter.

&#8220We drilled five years ago. The hottest pocket was over 600 degrees. That doesn't mean there's some hotter out there, that's just the one we've tested,” he said.

DNR sought advice from officials in eastern mining states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. From those discussions, it was concluded that the best way to deal with fire in abandoned coal mines is to dig it out, extinguish it and fill the holes back in tightly.

&#8220The fire burns in pockets, but you have to dig it all up to make sure you've got it out,” Wehrman said.

Crews will compact the coal with track walkers and wheel rollers. If that doesn't do the job, Cruz Construction will use a dirt roller.

Last week, workers excavated a small amount of coal and dirt just to see how easily it could be moved, Wehrman said.

Four-feet-tall rows of black, recently moved dirt contrast with the dusty ground, punctuated with last autumn's leaves and shotgun casings. Every few feet, chunks of long-discarded coal can be seen. Some pieces are as glossy as obsidian, others dull as unfinished pottery.

Scott Miller, Cruz Construction's on-site watchman and a retired Oregon state trooper, said public awareness is an important part of his job.

&#8220Basically, we're educating people that this area will be restricted this summer. It won't be safe to play here while we're running equipment. And in case a fire breaks out, we need to focus on evacuating our personnel and equipment and not worrying about the public,” Miller said.

DNR personnel have appeared before the Sutton Community Council to inform members of the state's plans, and the need to have the area temporarily restricted until work is completed.

&#8220Ideally, the intention was to leave Slipper Lake access open to the public for fishing, swimming and camping. The fossil beds up above the lake are popular, too,” Wehrman said.

Unfortunately, following a shooting incident, where people engaging in target practice shot a little too close to Cruz' equipment and Miller's camper, the construction company put up a gate to block off the gravel road. Wehrman said the public may continue to have access to Slipper Lake but can't linger where work is occurring.

DNR strives to get the approval of and cooperation from the community as the abandoned mine tailings return to nature, he said.

When DNR tackled buried burning coal in an adjacent area five years ago, one of the biggest complaints heard from Sutton residents was about the noxious fumes, Wehrman said. That project took a couple summers to complete, but this time crews should finish in one season.

&#8220This summer is going to be a smelly deal,” Wehrman said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@frontiersman.com.