September 30, 2024 |
Photo – Crew fills Hanna Mine #3 – Courtesy WY DEQ
The federal government has recognized Wyoming’s Abandoned Mine Lands Division for its work in Hanna.
When the last truckloads of coal were removed from the Hanna mines in the early 2000’s, the underground tunnels were left as they were. In the following decades, the ground above the tunnels has begun to collapse into the underground chambers, called subsidence.
Last week, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement awarded the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Abandoned Mine Lands Division the 2024 Western States and Tribes Regional Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Award for their work to combat mine collapses in Hanna. The Office of Surface Reclamation and Enforcement, or OSMRE, explained that decades of coal mining have undermined the surface of the northern Carbon County town.
According to the OSMRE website, the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards were established in 1992 to recognize exemplary state and Tribal reclamation projects that reclaim coal mine sites abandoned prior to the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
The Western States and Tribes Regional Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Award is given to projects that represent the nation’s highest achievements in abandoned mine land reclamation and demonstrate outstanding results in restoring previously mined lands. The awardees have helped to protect the public through the elimination of public safety and environmental hazards and bolstered local economies by creating new recreation opportunities and protecting local treasures.
Last summer, a 12-foot-wide subsidence opened under a water truck traveling along County Road 297, connecting the eastern side of Hanna to Highway 30. The road was closed until the surface was reinforced. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement said County Road 297 is one of the major routes into and out of Hanna.
Wyoming Abandoned Mine Lands Division Director Don Newton told Bigfoot99 that over $10 million was spent on the County Road 297 project. Despite the high cost, Newton said it is impossible to entirely fill the miles of underground tunnels that run beneath the town.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement said while AML was reinforcing the County Road 297, workers ensured that the bridge crossing over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks remained stable. Through a partnership between Wyoming AML and the Carbon County Road and Bridge Department, Hanna residents are once again able to access Highway 30 via County Road 297.
OSMRE said the Hanna Number Three Mine Subsidence and Bridge Repair project is why the Wyoming Abandoned Mine Lands Division was selected to win the 2024 Western States and Tribes Regional Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Award.
OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino wrote, “The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards honor the best examples of AML reclamation in our nation. These reclamation projects showcase innovation, community collaboration, and how reclaiming legacy coal mining problems builds a better future for former coal communities.”
Four other states were also recognized this year by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for their coal mine reclamation projects, including New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Alabama, who’s Department of Labor Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program received the National Award for the Piper Mine Reclamation Project.
This July, another void opened beneath County Road 297, prompting the county to close the road once again. However, Abandoned Mine Lands Division Director Newton told Bigfoot99 that the void wasn’t a subsidence into the mines, but a collapse of one of the bore holes used to fill the mine shaft last summer.
Earlier this month, AML visited Hanna once more to fill the hole. County Road 297 is currently open to traffic once again.
