COLUMBUS, OH -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) will hold a public meeting in Cambridge on May 31 to discuss proposed abandoned mine projects in eight eastern Ohio counties. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Natural Resources Conservation Service Agricultural Building, 9711 E. Pike Road.
Staffers from ODNR's Division of Mineral Resources Management will be on hand to discuss environmental and public health and safety issues associated with mines that were abandoned prior to Aug. 3, 1977 when legislation addressing the problem went into effect. They will also discuss the policies and procedures of Ohio's Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program and present a list of proposed projects for Belmont, Guernsey, Hocking, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble and Perry counties. Meeting attendees are encouraged to present details of their own abandoned mine problems and check on eligibility for funding.
ODNR has secured more than $9.5 million in federal grant money from the U.S. Department of the Interior to fund abandoned mine clean-ups during the next year throughout eastern and southern Ohio. Part of that money was earmarked for 16 non-emergency projects and one acid mine drainage project in the eight-county area.
ODNR proposes to spend more than $2 million on design and construction for these 17 projects. An additional $300,000 is available to Ohio's entire coal region to replace domestic water supplies affected by abandoned mines. Another $50,000 is available for reforestation.
This grant money does not cover emergency projects such as mine subsidence affecting occupied structures. Emergency projects are handled as they occur, using money from other state and federal sources.
Non-emergency projects proposed for the eight-county Cambridge District include:
- Designs for reclaiming four strip mines
- Reclaiming three coal refuse piles
- Restoring a stream segment to reduce flooding of a township road
- Sealing numerous mine entrances and a shaft
- Stabilizing three areas prone to subsidence
- Fencing a dangerous highwall
- Repairing two previously reclaimed sites
- Stabilizing a slip-prone area
- Improving water quality in four watersheds impacted by acid mine drainage
For Further Information Contact:
Terry VanOfferen, ODNR Mineral Resources Management
(614) 265-1094
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860