More than 5,000 feet of dangerous highwalls that scar an abandoned mine site in Beaver County will be removed under a reclamation project funded by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The highwalls, some of which are 80 feet in height, pose a threat to public safety DEP said in announcing the $1.7 million project at the Darlington Lake Northwest site, which was abandoned around 1952.

Approximately 107 acres of abandoned mine land will be planted with a mixture of tall fescue, red top, birdsfoot trefoil and perennial ryegrass on the shallow slopes. A mixture of tall fescue, crown vetch and perennial ryegrass will be planted on the steeper slopes.

Nearly 7,000 trees will be planted on the site, including black cherry, northern red oak, white ash, red maple and eastern white pine. The reclamation work also will replace a 0.6-acre wetland, and build a 2,100-foot permanent swale to handle stormwater runoff in the Little Beaver Creek watershed.

The watershed contains McCautry Run and the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek, both rated as high-quality cold water fisheries. The grasses and trees planted on this site will prevent erosion from damaging the streams.

The Darlington Lake Northwest abandoned mine reclamation project is funded by $950,000 from the state's Growing Greener II program. The remaining $750,000 comes from Pennsylvania's share of the federal Abandoned Mine Lands program. The program directs money to states that have abandoned mine lands to reclaim, and is funded by a tax on current mining activities.

Pennsylvania will receive $27.6 million from the program for 2008, up to 30 percent of which can be used for treating abandoned mine drainage that makes streams uninhabitable for fish and other aquatic life.

NewsClip: Beaver County Mine Reclamation to Cost $1.7 Million

3/14/2008