On January 24, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it will host a public information session on January 30 on the final efforts to extinguish the Jeansville Mine Fire located in Banks Township, Carbon County and Hazle Township, Luzerne County.

The meeting will take place from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Tresckow Volunteer Fire Company #1, 26 East Oak Street, Tresckow, in Carbon County..

Representatives from DEP’s Pottsville District Mining Office and Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation along with the contractor, Hazleton Shaft, will be on hand to present information on the work needed to complete the project and to answer questions.

The 29-acre fire, which was discovered in 2012, was addressed primarily by the contractor constructing an isolation trench and quenching the burning material. Monitoring wells were also placed at the site to determine the depths of the fire.

In early 2016, at the request of residents, the department’s Air Quality Program monitored the air in a residential area near the fire. The monitoring showed no dangerous levels of gases were present.

Some additional grading and revegetation needs to be undertaken to complete work at the site as well as a project to mitigate for the loss of bat habitat impacted by the work on the project with guidance from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 

Questions should be directed to Colleen Connolly, DEP Northeast Regional Office, 570-826-2035 or send email to: coconnolly@pa.gov.

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[Posted: Jan. 24, 2019]

1/28/2019