Right now, the mine reclamation site just off Hickman Avenue in Fulton is an 8-acre swath of mud.
That’s a big improvement over its previous unsafe state, said Austin Rehagen, of the Department of Natural Resources’ Land Reclamation Program.
Mere weeks ago, the landowner’s vegetable garden ended in a sheer cliff — the mine’s former highwall — dropping into a water-filled gulch. Large chunks of dirt and rock regularly broke free of the highwall, bringing the brink ever closer to the landowner’s garden. DNR rated the highwall and pond as Priority 2 hazards — not as dangerous as, say, an open mine shaft right next to a home, but still potentially able to cause injury.
Now, the site gradually slopes up to what formerly was the lip of the highwall. Farther down the hill, there’s a new pond (currently more like a giant puddle) with less-precipitous sides. Two terraces run from the treeline on either side of the site down, preventing run-off by directing water and sediment into the pond.
Rehagen said the contractor, Carl R. Jones Excavating and Hauling of Fredericktown, encountered no surprises during the site improvements.
“We were just a little short on fill because the water below the highwall was deeper than we expected,” he said.
That necessitated bringing in some extra dirt and making the new pond slightly deeper than planned, neither of which was a serious setback, he said.
Next, the LRP will treat the soil with agricultural lime to neutralize acidity from the former coal operation. Then they’ll disk the soil, seed it with native warm-season grasses and flowers (including milkweed for monarchs) and cover it in straw for erosion control.
“It’s late in the growing season, so we’ll keep an eye on it next summer and fall to make sure they have good vegetation,” Rehagen said.
The DNR estimated the project to cost about $205,000, though Rehagen said it’s too early to tell whether that will be the final total.
“There’s always something that comes in under, but we’re adding extra fill, so it should even out,” he said.
The project is the LRP’s 12th in Callaway County since 1985. Projects have included cleaning up coal waste areas and mine dumps along Cedar Creek, Middle River, Stinson Creek and Miller’s Creek. Additionally, 20 underground mine openings have been sealed and closed near Fulton and Holts Summit, Mueller said.
Funds for this and previous projects come from a surcharge on each ton of coal mined in the United States, as authorized by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Through the program, the DNR ameliorates hazardous mining sites abandoned before 1977. The 1977 law requires modern mining operations to do their own reclamation after ending operations at a site.