Two DEP employees from the Wilkes-Barre District of the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation were recognized for their efforts in completing the ongoing work at the Boyers Knob Lookout Abandoned Mine Reclamation Project at a recent meeting of the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area Authority in Northumberland County.

John Curley, chief of the Design Section, and Larry Dobash, chief of the Southern Construction Section, were both lauded for their hard work in getting the project off the ground.  A representative from AOAA said the group appreciates the reclamation and views the restoration effort as a great step in a very positive direction.

The Boyers Knob Lookout project, started in March 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in March 2014.  The work site is located between the Villages of Excelsior and Gowen City in Coal Township, Northumberland County.  The project access road is on the east side of State Route 125, approximately 1.1 miles north of the intersection of SR 2044 and SR 125.

This site was part of the Enterprise Colliery and had been deep-mined from the late 1800s to the 1950s.  Strip mining occurred in the 1950s to 1960s.  The mining left behind a number of abandoned strip pits and mine openings. The pits and mine openings are being reclaimed by backfilling with on-site material, grading the land back to its approximate pre-mining contours and then replanting the disturbed area with grass, legume and tree seed mixtures. 

Also, certain areas of the final graded project site will be prepared for future planting of American Chestnut trees.  Thus far, about two-thirds of the project is complete, over 30 acres have been revegetated, the nine mine openings reclaimed and several small hazardous structures removed.

The contract work is being performed by Morgan’s Excavating of Mount Union, at the bid price of $1.2 million.  The project is being funded by The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund which is subsidized by the coal industry via fees paid on each ton of coal mined.

(Reprinted from the December 26 issue of DEP News.)

1/6/2014