State prepares for North Belle Vernon mine subsidence relief project

Informational programs are being held for borough residents who are interested in participating.

Nearly all of North Belle Vernon sits on top of an underground mining area, which means a lot of homes and business are at risk for mine subsidence.

The risk isn’t new for homeowners, but exploratory drilling in the area by the Department of Environmental Protection and Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation confirmed what many residents already knew — they are susceptible to the risk of mine subsidence. To minimize that risk moving forward, agencies have decided to take on a mine stabilization project.

Residents with homes in the project area were invited to two information sessions this week to learn more about the project and how it will affect their properties.

The first session was held Tuesday at the Fairhope Rod & Gun Club.

About 50 residents attended and were given the opportunity to speak one-onone with project engineers and real estate staff.

Due to the risk of subsidence damage to homes in the area, DEP is planning to drill and pump cementitious grout into the historic abandoned mines to stabilize them.

The $10.5 million project is the first of several planned mine stabilization efforts in the surrounding area through the Pennsylvania Abandon Mine Land Reclamation program and federal money from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act.

It will be completed at no cost to residents or taxpayers.

The project, the first of its kind in the Mon Valley area, includes 223 properties across 48.5 acres from Broad Avenue to Blind Lane, between Arch and Locust streets, and south of May Street to Oak Alley and Ella Street, between Blind Lane and April Way.

The goal is to help stabilize voids within the mines by drilling and filling them with a cement grout mixture to provide stabilization.

It’ difficult, if not impossible, to predict if or when failure in an abandoned mine might occur. Abandoned mines may collapse many decades after the mining is completed if the mine workings were not designed to provide long-term support.

Property owners who agree to sign a Right of Entry agreement will have holes drilled around certain points of their homes.

If all 223 homes sign on to the project, around 844 holes will be drilled and filled with more than 61,000 cubic yards of grout.

Each hole is about 6 inches in diameter, and engineers estimate each property will require four to six holes to be drilled, depending on the size.

The NBV borough building is one of the largest structures in the project area and is estimated to need 10 holes drilled and filled around it.

Engineers said it will take two to seven days to drill holes on each property, depending on how many are needed and how deep they have to drill. They will also need an additional time to fill the holes, which will also vary from two to seven days depending on how much grout has to be used.

Any disturbances to property caused by the contractor when drilling must be restored within three days and has to be in the same or better condition than it was prior to the drilling.

Contracting teams will use plywood to stabilize the drills to minimize disruptions, will have mufflers on the drills to minimize the sound and have machines to collect dust and other debris.

Typically work is completed during daylight hours during the week to minimize the disruption to property owners and neighbors.

Gene Trio, mining engineer consultant for the Bureau of Mine Reclamation, said the goal is to stabilize the footprint of homes in the area to hopefully avoid future incidents because of mine subsidence, which can be catastrophic especially for residents who do not have the proper mine subsidence insurance.

There have been five substantial incidents in the project area within the past 15 years, with the most recent happening last summer.

Residents do not have to sign an ROE, and the project will move forward either way.

“The more people who sign up, the better it will be for everyone,” Trio said. “That’s important, so take this information, talk to your neighbors if they can’t be here. This will be more successful the more people get involved.”

Trio said the sooner residents sign the ROE, the faster the project can get started, but designs and the scope of work can’t be finalized and put out for bid until all ROEs are completed.

They hope anyone who wants to be included will fill out the necessary forms within the next few weeks.

Work will start about four months after the project is put out to bid and will take 36 months to complete from start to finish.

Residents in the audience asked questions about some language within the contract, the location of where holes will be drilled and the restoration of disruptions caused on their properties. They also asked about the process.

NBV Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Shelby Ferguson, who owns Ferguson Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. along Broad Avenue, said he remembered drilling being done in the late 1970s. He asked why that work didn’t hold up.

The explanation is that work was hydraulic flushing and used a filler of water and refuse. It didn’t have any concrete or other material that would eventually harden.

That work was also done under the streets, and did not impact homes.

“There is still a risk and that’s why we are back here,” Trio said. “This grout will have nearly the same strength as the coal that was taken out of the mines.”

Ferguson attended the first session Wednesday to learn more about the restoration after the process, specifically near his home and business.

“Where they plan to drill on my property I have electric and pipes for a heated sidewalk,” Ferguson said. “So that will be a hefty bill for them to repair.”

Property owners who have underground utilities, like electric or gas for grills, sidewalks or pools, need to identify them, particularly drains or wells that might be connected to the line. Of 900 holes drilled, there have been 17 lines that have been struck during drilling because they weren’t identified.

“That’s a low percentage, but it’s important to have that information if it’s available,” Trio said.

NBV council members Harry and Karen Jones attended on behalf of the borough to bring information back to council.

“We’re here about the borough building, just to get all of the information and report back to council,” Harry Jones said. “It’s seems to be a good project and I’m glad they decided to do it, especially because it did not work the last time.”

His wife, Karen Jones, wanted to be informed to share information with residents and fellow council members.

“I think it’s important for people to know that signing up benefits all of us, not just one person, but this is good for the entire town,” she said.

So far, 3,000 homes have been done across the state, and only five have experienced mine subsidence issues after the fact, which is why securing insurance and maintaining insurance after the project is completed is important.

Subsidence insurance

There are 93 homeowners within borough limits who have mine subsidence insurance through the DEP to provide financial compensation for losses caused by the movement of the earth’s surface that results from the collapse of underground coal and clay mines. Those who don’t are encouraged to get a policy, which can cost as little as $54 per year for $200,000 worth of coverage.

Under the terms of the Mine Subsidence Insuring Agreement, mine subsidence is the movement of the ground surface as a result of the collapse of underground coal or clay mine workings, which refers to the roof, floor or pillars within an underground coal or clay mine that are associated with the tunnels and voids that are made underground when coal and clay is extracted.

A mine subsidence insurance policy covers damage caused by mine subsidence.

Coverage also extends to losses that result from the movement of the ground surface resulting from a surface discharge due to a sudden and unexpected breakout of water, which is known as a mine water blowout.

Mine subsidence features usually take the form of either sinkholes or troughs.

Sinkhole subsidence is common in areas overlying shallow room-andpillar mines. Sinkholes occur from the collapse of the mine roof into a mine opening, resulting in caving of the overlying strata and an abrupt depression in the ground surface.

The majority of sinkholes usually develop where the amount of cover (vertical distance between the coal seam and the surface) is less than 50 feet. This type of subsidence is generally localized in extent, affecting a relatively small area on the overlying surface.

However, structures and surface features affected by sinkhole subsidence tend to experience extensive and costly damages, sometimes in a dramatic fashion. Sinkhole subsidence has been responsible for extensive damage to numerous homes and property throughout the years.

Sinkholes are typically associated with abandoned mine workings, since most active underground mines operate at depths sufficient to preclude the development of sinkhole subsidence. In accordance with the current regulations, the Department will not authorize underground mining beneath structures where the depth of overburden is less than 100 feet, unless the subsidence control plan demonstrates that proposed mine workings will be stable and that overlying structures will not suffer irreparable damage.

Subsidence troughs induced by room-and-pillar mining can occur over active or abandoned mines.

The resultant surface impacts and damages can be similar, however the mechanisms that trigger the subsidence are dramatically different.

In abandoned mines, troughs usually occur when the overburden sags downward due to the failure of remnant mine pillars, or by punching the pillars into a soft mine floor or roof.

Lauren Camarda, DEP southwest regional communications manager, said the coverage is usually not included in homeowners’ insurance and helps protect structures from ground movement caused by mine subsidence.

Property owners can go to www. dep.pa.gov/msi to check if their property is at risk and explore lowcost coverage options.

“For example, coverage for a $100k home costs less than $30 per year, with a 10% discount for seniors,” she said. “DEP recommends insuring homes for 20% more than their replacement value.”

DEP has canvassed the area to make sure residents are aware of the mine subsidence risk and the insurance program and should expect to receive additional information in the mail as the project moves forward.

A second information meeting was held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and a final meeting is set for 10 a.m. today at the Fairhope Rod & Gun Club, 1393 Fayette Ave. in Belle Vernon.

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