COLUMBUS — State Rep. Clyde Evans (R-Rio Grande), chairman of the state’s Council on Unreclaimed Strip Mined Lands, has announced that three grant proposals, all benefiting Gallia County, have been approved for funding through the state’s Abandoned Mined Lands Grants.

“I am pleased that these three grant proposals have been approved for funding,” Evans said. “These projects seek to rectify damage done by mining in Gallia County.”

In Cheshire Township, the Hood Reclamation Project will provide reclamation of a barren strip mine and gob pile. The work will include earthwork, rock channel installation and vegetating the site.

In the 1980s, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral and Resources Management planted trees on the barren surface mined areas in the Storys Run Watershed rather than perform reclamation to address sediment sources that created a clogged stream problem. Sediment from a gob pile and approximately five to ten acres of barren and erosive mine spoil continues to contribute to the periodic flooding of Storys Run Road and localized blockage of culverts. The Hood Reclamation project will work to rectify these issues.

The Silver Run project, also in Cheshire Township, will provide reclamation of a barren strip mine and gob pile, stabilization of a landslide, conveyance of mine drainage away from impacted homes, and closure of accessible mine entries and auger holes.

Approximately 20 acres of barren erosive mine spoil and coal refuse, located within the Silver Run Basin, contributes to the periodic flooding of Zuspan Hollow Road and nearby residences. Several mine entries associated with the Red Bird underground mine are either accessible to the public, thus posing a safety hazard, or discharge acid mine drainage into Silver Run. Seepage from these openings, along with seepage from auger holes and pits associated with the surface mines, have also saturated slopes above two residences, creating one landslide and increasing the risk for another. The Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation previously completed an emergency landslide stabilization project in this watershed.

In Harrison Township, The Teens Run Reclamation Project will include draining and backfilling of two pits, grading of spoil, installing rock channel protection, utilizing on-site borrow, and establishing vegetation.

Approximately five acres of barren and eroding mine spoil is creating a localized flooding problem and ongoing maintenance expenses for the county and landowner. Sediment from the site periodically blocks the road culvert causing drainage to flood and damage Teens Run Road (C-100). The Teens Run Reclamation Project will work to resolve these problems.

The Teens Run Reclamation Project is currently under design and will likely be bid in the summer of 2011. The Hood and Silver Run Reclamation Projects will be designed during the duration of the 2010 grant. Construction funds will be sought in a later grant upon completion of the designs. The duration of the 2010 grant is five years.

Evans may be reached by calling his office at (614) 466-1366 or by writing, State Rep. Clyde Evans, at 77 S. High St., 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.

The mission of the Council is to provide leadership in the reclamation of abandoned mine lands in Ohio, to insure the dedication of sustainable funding sources for the restoration of land and water resources impaired by abandoned mines, and to approve funding to address the highest priority environmental and public health and safety problems associated with abandoned mines.

The Council on Unreclaimed Strip Mined Lands was created in 1972 with the passage of the Ohio Strip Mine Law, and is comprised of 11 council members including legislators, public agency staff and citizens. The council sets expenditure limits and directs expenditures from the Unreclaimed Lands Fund toward abandoned mined reclamation projects that fulfill priority environmental needs and provide the greatest benefit to the public.

The council reviews and approves grant applications for funding to address abandoned mine-related public health and safety issues due to acid mine drainage prior to each grant’s submittal to the Office of Surface mining. Recommendations from the council are presented to the Governor and the General Assembly on a biennial basis.