Here are two examples in Westmoreland County of how today’s coal mining industry finds it profitable to reclaim previously mined areas at no expense to taxpayers.

Back in the old, unregulated days of coal mining, extracting coal from the ground at the least possible cost was the top concern of coal operators. But cheap ways too often turned out to be the most expensive in the long run.

The legacy of hazardous, scarred landscapes and polluted water that resulted from those “bad old days” of coal mining lives on today, exacting a cost in both local environmental quality and economic potential.

Current coal mining practices are a vast improvement over the old ways. So much so, that today one of the best ways of cleaning up old problems is to actually mine the coal again, using these up-to-date methods.

“Remining” is the term used for returning to an area that was previously mined, and using modern equipment and methods to surface mine the very same site to retrieve the coal left behind.

Remining can be profitable for the coal operator and the landowner. It also is beneficial for the environment and the community because, in the process of removing more coal, the remining operator often cleans up the pollution and reclaims the land to modern standards.

Some coal operators such as Coal Loaders, Inc. of Ligonier have embraced remining into their business strategy.

General Manager Don Lupyan said, “Of course we’re here to make a profit, but we also believe in being a good corporate citizen and a good neighbor in the communities where we work. Remining allows us to do that. It’s our best advertisement.” Roughly half of Coal Loader’s business is now remining projects.

One such project is the former Marguerite mine in Unity Township. Up through World War II, coal was mined at this site, using the underground room and pillar method. A labyrinth of tunnels was created throughout the seam as coal was extracted.

After mining ceased and the site was abandoned, roof-falls became common. The ground surface above the mine began to look like a moonscape of sink holes and subsidence. Making matters worse, former passageways in the underground mine complex acted as efficient conduits of water and air resulting in numerous discharges of rust-colored polluted mine water.

The property owners were interested in using the land for a residential development, but couldn’t do so because of the subsidence. Lupyan recognized an opportunity and a solution.

Enough coal remained on the 48-acre tract to profitably surface mine it, so he entered into an agreement with the landowners to remove the remaining coal. In return, Coal Loaders paid a royalty, installed measures to reduce the water pollution, re-graded the land, and planted grass on the entire site. A year later, the former eyesore is now an attractive field with high grass and flowers. And the polluted water has all but been eliminated.

The Department of Environmental Protection also was instrumental in moving this project forward. Mine operators are often reluctant to get involved with a previously mined site because they inherit the full and often costly responsibility for the problems created by former operators.

However, because of the environmental benefits re-mining can provide, a special DEP program called a Government Financed Reclamation Contract (GFRC) relaxes some of the permitting requirements and waives some fees. This includes the usual requirement that water emanating from the site meet very strict pollution standards.

With a GFRC, DEP requires the coal operator to reclaim the land in ways likely to reduce the quantity of water while improving its quality, but without holding the operator to the strict pollution-cleanup standards. Nonetheless, a significant environmental improvement usually results. Such was the case with the site at Marguerite.

Lupyan confirmed that, without the GFRC, his company would not have worked at the site. He said that once the DEP was convinced that the site was suitable for remining, they issued the GFRC and worked cooperatively ensuring a good final product.

He did, however, have one minor complaint. “I’m not sure why it’s called a Government Financed Reclamation Contract. It gives the impression we received tax dollars to do this. We didn’t. Our primary benefit was the waiver of some permitting requirements.” But Lupyan was quick to add that “GFRCs are valuable by any name” and that “the key to success is cooperation. In the end, everyone wins!”

Lupyan took special pride in showing off another of his pet projects: a remining site that is the home of a shooting range owned by the Sportsman’s Association of Greensburg in Mt. Pleasant Township. The range originally was placed on land that club president Dave Demangone said “was a mess”.

He admitted that when Lupyan first approached the club in 2002 with a proposal to improve the range and to put money in the club’s pocket, it was met with some skepticism. “I’m sure glad Don convinced us. It really worked out,” said Demangone.

The 20 acre site was surface mined to remove the remaining coal, then regraded to fit the needs of the club. One range was lengthened and made safer with higher bunkers. Another completely new range was added near by. Demangone added that “the royalties we received were a real blessing, club membership is up, and because of the longer range, we can now hold sanctioned shooting meets.”

In addition to the work done, Lupyan is very proud of national recognition the job has received. The federal Office of Surface Mining awarded the job the 2004 National Reclamation Award.

“It just makes you feel good about the whole process,” Lupyan said

Greg Phillips, district manager/CEO of the Westmoreland Conservation District, noted the important role industry can play in the state’s reclamation effort.

“The job of reclaiming all the abandoned mine sites and cleaning up all the abandoned mine drainage just in Westmoreland County is enormous,” said Phillips. “It’s realistically not possible for government to pick up the entire tab of doing the job. Having industry as a partner, as with the remining program, is a great way to get more reclamation done quicker while not using taxpayer dollars.”

He added that “it allows us to do more with the limited grant dollars we receive and it has the advantage of contributing to our local economy.”

(Contributed by Bruce Golden, Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation)

9/2/2005