PUBLIC NOTICE The Maryland Department of The Environment, Abandoned Mine Land Division will be submitting an application for approval of funds to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining for the reclamation of three abandoned coal mining sites throughout Garrett and Allegany Counties. All funding will be obtained in accordance with Title IV, Section 405 of Public Law 95-87, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. An agency must have an approved State Surface Coal Mining Regulatory Program and a State Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan to qualify for funding under Title IV. Maryland has had approval of both programs since February 17, 1982. Funding for each project will originate from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, which is administered by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). It is the goal of the Maryland Abandoned Mine Land Division to promote the reclamation of abandoned coal mine areas in Maryland that are inadequately reclaimed or pose a public health and safety concern, degrade the quality of the environment, and/or diminish the beneficial use of land and water resources. The Abandoned Mine Land Division would like to gather comments on the following listed projects and/or any other abandoned mine problems in the Maryland Coal Region. A public informational meeting concerning the proposed projects will be held as follows: Wednesday, Jan 14, 2015 5:00 P.M. Maryland Department of the Environment Land Management Administration Abandoned Mine Land Division 160 South Water Street, Room 107 Frostburg, MD 21532 Additional information concerning the proposed projects can be obtained by contacting Mr. Mike Garner, Abandoned Mine Land Division, 160 South Water St., Frostburg, MD 21532, (301) 689-1460. Written comments concerning these projects and the Maryland Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program will be received at the public hearing or by mail until Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Address all comments to the attention of Mr. Mike Garner at the address listed above. The construction of the following projects was completed under an emergency authorization provide by OSM. A general description of the reclamation projects, including the location, County, nearest town or physical feature, and nature of the problem is provided below. 1.Aarons Run Road Landslide Emergency Project Location: 1.6 miles WSW of Barton along Aarons Run Road, Garrett County, Maryland. 39°31'29"N 79°03'05.3"W Problem: The abandoned underground Ezra Michaels mine on the Barton Coal Seam collapsed causing the road surface to subside and slide towards Michael Run. History: The mine maps and records indicate that Ezra Michael mine operated on the Barton Coal Seam from 1922 to 1954 and produced a total of 75,228 tons of coal. Plan: Excavate the landslide and coal beneath the slide area. Install a rock toe key and backfill to the design elevations using a combination of shot rock and engineered fill. Once the rough backfill elevation is achieved, a suitable road base will be installed and the road surface paved. All the disturbed areas were revegetated and stabilized immediately upon completion. 2.Hardman Landslide Emergency Project Location: .5 miles NW of Moscow, Allegany County, Maryland. 39°32'51"N 79°0041.5"W Problem: The abandoned underground M. Myers Mine operated on the Barton Coal Seam from 1936 to 1938. The Hardman residence is located at the base of a steep slope immediately below the mine openings. Unconsolidated material around the mine opens has slide into the Hardman Residence damaging the back porch, which was removed by the landowner over concerns for damage to the house foundation. History: The mine maps and records indicate that M. Myers mine operated on the Barton Coal Seam from 1936 to 1938 and produced less then 10,000 tons of coal. Plan: Excavate a portion of the landslide and install a concrete block retaining wall at the base of the slide. The slope behind the wall will be flattened to a maximum slope of 2:1. All the disturbed areas will be revegetated and stabilized immediately upon completion. 3.Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Landslide Location: 1 mile NNW of Frostburg Allegany County, Maryland. 39°40'40"N 78°5430"W Problem: A small landslide located on the outslope of the railroad grade fill developed after several days of heavy rains. A culvert obstructed with coal waste from the adjacent Consol #9 Mine had caused the outlet end of the culvert to collapse and wash away. The fill above of the failed section of culvert slid into the stream further obstructing the intact portion of the culvert. The landslide was encroaching into the shoulder of the railway and was approximately 3 from the edge of the railroad ties. Further encroachment into the shoulder would have caused the Railway to be closed due to safety concerns. History: The Consol #9 Mine operated on the Tyson Coal Seam from 1904 to 1934 and produced over 2.4 million tons. Completed Work: Excavate the area around the outlet of the culvert to expose an intact section of culvert. Join the new and old culverts and extend the new culvert to the base of the fill slope. Install a concrete block wall around the outlet of the new culvert and place a rock fill to construct the new slope and to re-establish the railroad grade shoulder. All the disturbed areas will be revegetated and stabilized immediately upon completion.
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