North Belle Vernon mine subsidence prevention project to begin

The state will pump almost $12 million into an abandoned mine subsidence program in North Belle Vernon beginning next week.

A slurry mixture of grout will be injected under about 140 homes in the neighborhood, which lies atop an old coal vein and the voids that were caused by mining decades ago.

The stabilization work is scheduled to start Tuesday, with residences along Ella Street and Sycamore Alley among the first to have holes drilled into the yards to start the process, said Bryan Berkebile, project manager for Ligonier Construction Co., contractor for the project.

The project is free to the residents and is funded by the 2021 Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the Department of Environmental Protection said. More than 140 property owners within the project area containing 233 buildings gave the state permission for the drilling.

The mine subsidence prevention work in a 50-block area south of Broad Avenue, the main street in North Belle Vernon, to Blind Lane is expected to be finished by the end of 2027. The state has plans to conduct a mine subsidence prevention project north of Broad Avenue, but there is no time frame for that phase of the project, said Brandon Glass, a DEP spokesman.

Two abandoned mines in North Belle Vernon have yet to be remediated, according to maps based on data from the DEP. Those maps from Millersville University show one abandoned mine near the Belle Vernon border as having crop falls and a subsidence opening. Both abandoned mines, two of the 255 abandoned mines in the county, are designated as having a health and safety impact.

Tom and Trina Wilson’s house in the 700 block of Green Street is part of the project. Tom Wilson said he wants to make sure the drillers avoid hitting a well that is in his backyard.

Belle Vernon officials, whose Fayette County municipality borders North Belle Vernon in Westmoreland County, are concerned about the potential impact on homes and infrastructure in their community, which is downhill from the drilling sites.

Gerald Jackson, Belle Vernon mayor and chairman of the municipal authority, said he is concerned about the slurry leaching into the sewer lines and treatment plant.

Belle Vernon fire Chief Rich Saxberg said he is concerned that the old mine portals could be opened up by the force of the slurry. There are at least four abandoned mines with portals in the community and some of the portals are covered by only a few inches of soil, he said.

The stability of the mines also could be compromised because, in the days of coal furnaces and stoves, some residents would go into the mines and dig their own coal, Saxberg said. And as environmentally unsavory as it sounds, Saxberg said, years ago some residents had their sewer pipes empty into the mine voids.

For those who did not register to be part of the project, property owners within the footprint of the designated area can still register with the state, Glass said. More information is available by emailing RA-EP-BAMR@pa.gov or by calling 814-472-1800.