The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has begun emergency repairs at the deep hole that opened Nov. 15 at a 19th century abandoned iron ore mine along Old Route 100 in Washington Township.
DEP agents with the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation have cleared trees and plan to begin filling in the hole next week, said Colleen Connolly, DEP spokeswoman.
The bureau oversees hazards resulting from mining operations.
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Connolly said the work will take several days to several weeks to complete. A cost estimate was unavailable.
The hole, initially about 25 feet wide, has grown several feet wider on the side closest to Old Route 100, said David D. Moyer, chairman of the township supervisors.
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Cyle Buxton, left, and Jake Slater, an engineer for Reaveley Engineers, tour a mine tunnel opening on property that Buxton owns in Cardiff Fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Buxton hired Slater to inspect his property, as well as a mine tunnel opening and structures that are on public land in the canyon.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS Cyle Buxton wanted to close an abandoned mine on his property in Cardiff Canyon because of what he said was a steady stream of trespassers and fears that someone could get hurt, despite his signs to stay out.
Abandoned mine lands in Northeast Pennsylvania are being surveyed as potential sites for solar energy projects.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation is working under a $7,000 mini grant to identify sites that could host massive solar panels.
âWe have to look at slopes. The land cannot be too steep. Another factor is the proximity to electrical power transmission substations,ââ said Bobby Hughes, executive director of EPCAMR.
No sites have been selected yet, Hughes said, but EPCAMR hopes to identify acreage âvery soon.ââ
Northeast Pennsylvania remains dotted with mining-related land sites, most often scarred by more than one century of anthracite mining and production. Thousands of acres have been reclaimed, but culm banks and sloping acreage remain.