John Curley, et al., PA DEP, "Emergency Projects to Extinguish Coal Refuse Bank Fires in Northeast Pennsylvania"
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This presentation will describe and discuss two Accelerated Response Projects that extinguished coal refuse bank fires in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Highlighted will be the efforts to design, obtain permits and environmental clearances, and extinguish the fire in a fast manner to prevent these fires from getting larger. Also included will be the methods used and issues encountered to extinguish the fires. Gases, odors, and smoke associated with the fires were a major concern to local residents. Local and state politicians, along with the media, showed a high level of interest with both projects.
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John Curley, et al., PA DEP, "Emergency Projects to Extinguish Coal Refuse Bank Fires in Northeast Pennsylvania"
- 1. EXTINGUISHMENT OF A COAL REFUSE BANK FIRE IN NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA 2015 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference June 26, 2015 PA DEP BUREAU OF ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION
- 2. • INQUIRY/INVESTIGATION • DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT/PERMITTING • CONSTRUCTION/EXTINGUISHMENT • CHANGES/ISSUES • RETROSPECT/MONITORING PRESENTATION BREAKDOWN
- 3. December 15, 2013 Incident Reported
- 6. Bank estimated to cover 4 acres and 80-100 feet in height Dec. 18,2013 Initial Investigation
- 7. Fire Surface Expression 120’ X 120’
- 9. Project Area Mine Maps
- 10. Investigation Recommendation Based on the following information: • Incident happened suddenly • AML Related SB (Surface Burning, gob on fire) • Eligible for Title IV Funding • Priority (threat to Health, Safety and welfare. • Unknown site characteristics (lack of mine maps and how much gob is out there) Investigation unit recommends and “Accelerated response Project” on December 18, 2013.
- 11. PA 4294 SIMPSON NORTHEAST
- 12. Environmental Assessment Process • Site analysis & Proposal • Resource agencies & Consultations • Environmental Impacts • Authorization to proceed request
- 13. Site analysis & Proposal s • Full site view • Site delineation • GPS locations 1. Water bodies 2. Wet land 3. Structures or foundations 4. Site access.
- 15. Project Area and Access Map
- 16. Project Area and Access Map
- 17. Resource agencies & consultations • A Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) Environmental Review • Historic and Cultural Resources • The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wetland Inventory • The U.S Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) • The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
- 18. Environmental Impacts The Major impact of this project will be to the following • Hydrology • Vegetation • Fish and Wildlife Resources • Air Quality • Historic and Cultural Resources
- 20. Lackawanna River HQCWF 1/2/13
- 21. Lackawanna River as a source of water
- 22. Effected Water Body A and Stream
- 23. Effected Water Body B
- 24. Unnamed Stream
- 25. Environmental Impacts • Hydrology • Vegetation • Fish and Wildlife Resources • Air Quality • Historic and Cultural Resources
- 26. Historic and Cultural Resources
- 27. SHPO
- 28. Project plan
- 29. PROJECT BEGAN JANUARY 20, 2014
- 30. EARLY STAGE – FEBRUARY 10, 2014
- 32. VIDEO OF FIRE – FEB. 24, 2014
- 33. WATER RUNOFF – FEB. 24, 2014
- 34. BATTLE CONTINUES– MARCH 26, 2014
- 35. FOAM ADDED TO FIGHT FIRE
- 36. CUTTING OFF FIRE– APRIL 3, 2014
- 37. SHRINKING PILE – APRIL 12, 2014
- 38. FIRE EXTINGUISHED – MAY 9, 2014
- 39. Timeframe ≈ 2 Months Jan 20 - May 28 *Fire Extinguished May 8 (109 days) Fire Excavation 50,000 CY 285,000 CY Water Used 20 Mil. Gal. 164 Mil. Gal. Foam Used 10,000 Gal. 35,000 Gal. Area of Site 7.0 Acres 17.6 Acres Total Cost $741,000 $2,214,618 FINAL QUANTITIES ORIGINAL FINAL
- 40. ED STABACK PARK REFUSE FIRE
- 42. • Assume larger than appears. • Plenty of E & S controls. • Boreholes and Monitoring • Plan for potential fires before they happen. • Complaints • Media RETROSPECT
- 43. Further information regarding this presentation please contact: Riyad Barkawi rbarkawi@pa.gov John Curley jcurley@pa.gov David Jansson djansson@pa.gov Bernard Walko bwalko@pa.gov
Editor's Notes
- The project site is located within 1000 feet of the Lackawanna River, a tributary to the Susquehanna River Basin. Directly east of the Simpson Northeast - Coal Refuse Bank Mine Fire Project Area the Lackawanna River is classified by the Lackawanna River Watershed TMDL, March 9, 2005, as an attaining High Quality Cold Water Fishery. The volume of water withdrawal from the River , the Runoff from the firefighting process will carry sediment. and may alter the chemistry and temperature of the River. Erosion and sedimentation control will be installed in addition to water sampling and daily temperature log. To extinguish the fire during this will result in the destruction of the existing vegetative cover within the grading limits. A moderate local short-term impact will result during fire fighting while each individual grading area will be completely devoid of vegetation. However . A long-term beneficial impact will result following grading as the vegetation is re-established. In addition, the new vegetation should provide a wildlife food source and habitat.
- The project site is located within 1000 feet of the Lackawanna River, a tributary to the Susquehanna River Basin. Directly east of the Simpson Northeast - Coal Refuse Bank Mine Fire Project Area the Lackawanna River is classified by the Lackawanna River Watershed TMDL, March 9, 2005, as an attaining High Quality Cold Water Fishery. The volume of water withdrawal from the River , the Runoff from the firefighting process will carry sediment. and may alter the chemistry and temperature of the River. Erosion and sedimentation control will be installed in addition to water sampling and daily temperature log. To extinguish the fire during this will result in the destruction of the existing vegetative cover within the grading limits. A moderate local short-term impact will result during fire fighting while each individual grading area will be completely devoid of vegetation. However . A long-term beneficial impact will result following grading as the vegetation is re-established. In addition, the new vegetation should provide a wildlife food source and habitat.
- The contractor began work on January 20th of this year.
- This is a picture about 2 weeks into the project. A long stretch of below normal temperatures caused lots of issues. From January 20th to March 6th there were only 9 days that got above freezing at the site. 12 days recording below 0 temperatures, many of which had brutal wind chills.
- Particularly there were problem with the pumping. If there was a problem with pressure of the pump, the whole system had to be shut down and pipes drained to prevent the hoses from freezing up. This would cause the pumping to be offline for hours at a time. There was ¼ mile of hose with a rise in elevation of 140 feet.
- This video shows multiple pieces of equipment working at once. Also multiple hoses hitting different parts of the fire. Each excavator worked the material in quenching areas before loading into the trucks. Temperatures were being taken to make sure the material trucked away was no longer burning.
- This image shows water as it flows out of the pile of burning refuse. We had a number of erosion and sedimentation controls. There were a number of ponding area the runoff was collected for re-use or cool off before seeping back into the Lackawanna River. Temperatures of the river were monitored to ensure we were not impacting the river.
- Not long after excavation of the burning refuse pile we realized that the fire was a lot larger and much older than anticipated. Large truck sized clinkers were being unearthed. The size and scope of the project increased.
- Fire fighting foam was used in mixture with water to better extinguish the fire. It was determined early on using the foam was much more effective than water alone. Ask Victor or Tom L. for more info.
- Beneath the noticeable large refuse pile, there was much more refuse material. The fire had spread beyond the pile and had to be cutoff. Monitoring boreholes were added to the contract to determine the limits of the fire and for future monitoring.
- The picture shows the once large pile shrunken to only a fraction.
- The fire now extinguished and fine graded to mature original contours. The project lasted a few more weeks to fine grade, remove erosion and sediment controls and seed.
- What originally appeared small, was only the tip of the iceberg. In designing a project like this, I recommend lots of line item costs because it will make it easier if the scope escalates. E & S will only be a fraction of your total cost so it is better to be safe and over-design for this item and expect issues with the runoff of water. Include monitoring boreholes, another small dollar item that will go a long way. Have an idea of what you may need if a mine fire emergency project occurs. Permits, funding approval, etc. Fires produces not only smoke, but odors. You will receive complaints. Be ready. Inform the media, do not let them guess because they make you look bad.