The Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday announced it has awarded a $1,454,000 contract to Earthmovers Unlimited of Kylertown for an abandoned mine reclamation project on the Pittsburgh International Airport property in Findlay Township. Work on the site is expected to begin in September and take one year to complete.

The project will extinguish an underground fire of a large coal waste pile that has been burning for several years.

The site of the fire is located close to airport runways and is bound on three sides by U.S. Route 30, PA Route 576 and I-376. Smoke from the fire has threatened visibility for air traffic. The fire also poses a risk to a nearby airport radar facility and to a major underground gas pipeline.

The coal waste pile is the result of mining that occurred on the property between 1906 and 1939 when the mine was abandoned.

Two years ago, in an effort to keep the fire from spreading to another large coal waste pile, DEP authorized an Accelerated Response Contract to dig an isolation trench that provided a temporary barrier. To finally extinguish the pile, workers will dig out the fire and use several million gallons of water and 200 gallons of firefighting foam.

The project will include for the excavation of 429,000 cubic yards of coal waste.  Excavated material will be used to backfill a steep drop-off, often called a highwall, which was left from the mining operation and temporary isolation trench.

The 10 acre site will be graded and planted to prevent erosion, and a gravel roadway will be built to replace an access across the area.

Subsidized by fees paid by the coal industry on each ton of coal mined in the state, The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund will fund the project.

For more information call 412-442-4000.

NewsClips:

DEP To Extinguish Coal Waste Pile Near Pittsburgh Airport

DEP To Spend $1.45M To Snuff Coal Mine Fire

State Awards Contract To Extinguish Mine Fire Near Airport

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8/25/2014