Comment: Remember, just replace the coal with Uranium, States all over America rarely or slowly reclaim the land, only a few have been reclaimed, if you call it that, still looks awful and not normal!!
Abandoned coal sites contain dangers such as sinkholes, pits and contaminated water
BY GAVIN OFF - Tulsa World
Published: May 10, 2009
Subtle hints give away the history of Bernie Woytas’ rural Rogers County property.
The hills cut rather than roll. Black rock covers the ground.
And steep banks corral surrounding waterways.
Most of Woytas’ 88 acres off County Road 4070 sit on an abandoned coal mine.
Abandoned coal sites contain dangers such as sinkholes, pits and contaminated water
BY GAVIN OFF - Tulsa World
Published: May 10, 2009
Subtle hints give away the history of Bernie Woytas’ rural Rogers County property.
The hills cut rather than roll. Black rock covers the ground.
And steep banks corral surrounding waterways.
Most of Woytas’ 88 acres off County Road 4070 sit on an abandoned coal mine.
Although trees and thick brush have hidden much of the remains, the mine left 25-foot-high banks along its former pits, which have since become lakes.
Woytas said the slopes are dangerous and he is hoping the Oklahoma Conservation Commission will add his property to its list of future reclamation projects.
For years, the Conservation Commission, backed by federal dollars, has worked to reclaim abandoned coal mines.
So far, the state has restored more than 5,600 acres at a cost of more than $30 million, according to a database from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
Reclamation targets dangerous areas, such as high banks, sinkholes, vertical openings and contaminated water.
But with more than 360 mines and more than 700 problem areas in eastern Oklahoma, it’s possible the state will never restore all its dangerous mines, said Mike Kastl, director of the Conservation Commission’s abandoned mine lands program.
According to the Conservation Commission, 25 people have died at abandoned mines since the early 1970s. Most drowned after falling into water-filled pits where miners once dug for coal.
Others died from injuries after falling into pits not filled with water.
"And these are just the ones we know about,” Kastl said.
Funding’s scarce
Woytas said the slopes are dangerous and he is hoping the Oklahoma Conservation Commission will add his property to its list of future reclamation projects.
For years, the Conservation Commission, backed by federal dollars, has worked to reclaim abandoned coal mines.
So far, the state has restored more than 5,600 acres at a cost of more than $30 million, according to a database from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
Reclamation targets dangerous areas, such as high banks, sinkholes, vertical openings and contaminated water.
But with more than 360 mines and more than 700 problem areas in eastern Oklahoma, it’s possible the state will never restore all its dangerous mines, said Mike Kastl, director of the Conservation Commission’s abandoned mine lands program.
According to the Conservation Commission, 25 people have died at abandoned mines since the early 1970s. Most drowned after falling into water-filled pits where miners once dug for coal.
Others died from injuries after falling into pits not filled with water.
"And these are just the ones we know about,” Kastl said.
Funding’s scarce
Oklahoma needs more than $91 million to reclaim abandoned coal mines that could threaten a person’s health or safety, a Tulsa World analysis found.
The state needs an additional $52.6 million to reclaim mines that pose environmental threats only.
"We’ve done a lot of good, but gosh it’s a shame we can’t get more funding,” Kastl said.
The federal government awards reclamation funds based largely on how much coal a state produces. Currently, Oklahoma has fewer than 10 operating mines that produce about 1.5 million tons a year, a state Mines Department official said. That’s a fraction of what some states, such as Wyoming and West Virginia, produce.
But Oklahoma does have a wealth of abandoned mines that were dug before the 1970s, when laws began to require that mining companies restore the land. Those mines do not contribute to the abandoned mine lands funding program.
Kastl said Oklahoma received $1.8 million for reclamation projects this year.
That number is scheduled to increase to $2.3 million in 2010 and to $3 million in 2012.
Problems persist
The state needs an additional $52.6 million to reclaim mines that pose environmental threats only.
"We’ve done a lot of good, but gosh it’s a shame we can’t get more funding,” Kastl said.
The federal government awards reclamation funds based largely on how much coal a state produces. Currently, Oklahoma has fewer than 10 operating mines that produce about 1.5 million tons a year, a state Mines Department official said. That’s a fraction of what some states, such as Wyoming and West Virginia, produce.
But Oklahoma does have a wealth of abandoned mines that were dug before the 1970s, when laws began to require that mining companies restore the land. Those mines do not contribute to the abandoned mine lands funding program.
Kastl said Oklahoma received $1.8 million for reclamation projects this year.
That number is scheduled to increase to $2.3 million in 2010 and to $3 million in 2012.
Problems persist
Limited funding means more potential problems, said Dan Trout, with the Office of Surface Mining’s Tulsa office.
"The hazards will just hang around that much longer,” Trout said.
"And the longer they’re there, the higher the opportunity is for somebody to get hurt.”
Highwalls — the embankments leading to mining pits — are the most common problem at Oklahoma’s abandoned mines, data show. There are 280 highwalls in the state, followed by 255 dangerous bodies of water and 92 cases of subsidence.
Kastl said the state uses its limited funds to target potentially dangerous mines that are close to homes or areas where people frequently visit.
That’s why Woytas is hoping the state soon adds his property to the reclamation list. Woytas said he’s concerned a slip down a bank on his land could turn deadly.
"It’s a major concern,” he said
Jacque Bronson, also a Rogers County resident, said she, too, is afraid of someone getting hurt on her property.
Bronson said she doesn’t allow her children near the highwall, which rises about 30 or 40 feet above a water-filled pit.
"I just worry that they’ll get curious and not do what Mom says.”
http://newsok.com/state-needs-millions-to-fix-mines/article/3368202
"And the longer they’re there, the higher the opportunity is for somebody to get hurt.”
Highwalls — the embankments leading to mining pits — are the most common problem at Oklahoma’s abandoned mines, data show. There are 280 highwalls in the state, followed by 255 dangerous bodies of water and 92 cases of subsidence.
Kastl said the state uses its limited funds to target potentially dangerous mines that are close to homes or areas where people frequently visit.
That’s why Woytas is hoping the state soon adds his property to the reclamation list. Woytas said he’s concerned a slip down a bank on his land could turn deadly.
"It’s a major concern,” he said
Jacque Bronson, also a Rogers County resident, said she, too, is afraid of someone getting hurt on her property.
Bronson said she doesn’t allow her children near the highwall, which rises about 30 or 40 feet above a water-filled pit.
"I just worry that they’ll get curious and not do what Mom says.”
http://newsok.com/state-needs-millions-to-fix-mines/article/3368202
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