Mine Water Geyser in Elizabeth No Danger, DEP Says
Pittsburgh Tribune
Review
22 March 2011
By Michael Hasch
Water from an abandoned mine that spewed yesterday into a creek in
Elizabeth Township should not pose any danger to drinking water
supplies or plant and aquatic life in the Youghiogheny and Monongahela
rivers, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said.
Drainage water continually flows from the old Warden Mine into Douglas
Run, a tributary to the Yough, but not at the high volume prompted when
a crew cleared a clogged 24-inch pipe, unleashing an underground lake
that had built up in the tunnels that honeycomb the hillside, DEP
workers said.
The geyser, spewing from a manhole and rising several feet into the
air, flooded one basement and forced authorities to close Douglas Run
Road near Sutersville for much of the day.
"All the downstream water supplies are set up to treat abandoned mine
water," DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said. "We have notified them to be
prepared."
"Although the recent rains increased the volume of water in the mine
and the turbidity of the water, it also helps in diluting it in the
river," Gresh said. "Also, it's an alkaline discharge, rather than
acidic, which is likely to mitigate any harm to aquatic or plant life."
Ned Mulcahy of Three Rivers Waterkeeper, part of a worldwide alliance
of environmentalists dedicated to clean water, said he feared the
volume of the discharge could create "a health hazard to people and to
aquatic life."
Richard Balogh, a manager for the federal Office of Surface Mining,
said the mine, which closed in the mid-1930s, "used to be the largest
underground (bituminous coal) mine in the United States."
After there was a "blowout" of built-up mine water in the area in the
1980s, the drainage pipe was replaced and has been cleared every year
or two, said Dave Hochstein of the DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine
Reclamation.
Hochstein and his crew were in the process of clearing the pipe when
they broke through the clog, unleashing the torrent of water.
"What can you say?" said Bill Hinerman, who returned home to find water
knee deep in his basement. He said he was heartened to hear Hochstein
say DEP would pay the costs of cleanup and repairs.
Michael Hasch can be reached at mhasch@tribweb.com or 412-320-7820.