PENNSYLVANIA State gets $1M federal grant to map underground mines

The goal is to avoid accidents like last year's at Quecreek.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The federal government has given Pennsylvania $1 million to boost efforts to map underground mines.
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration grant will be used by the state Department of Environmental Protection to develop an electronic database of mines.
The money is part of nearly $4 million being given to 13 states to establish a digital record of abandoned mine maps.
The goal is to avoid accidents like the one last year that trapped nine miners underground for more than three days.
The Quecreek miners were trapped when they accidentally dug into the wall of a flooded, abandoned mine that they thought was hundreds of feet away due to an outdated map they were using.
"Our job is to help make sure miners can return home safely at the end of the day, and this grant will help us do that," DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty said.
The department has scanned about 3,900 maps from its repositories and other sources and logged 9,000 entries into the database of map locations and contact information. The contact information can be used to access the information during the permit application review process.
Database
Officials are also using mine data collected from mining reports over the past 130 years to create a database that will provide a more accurate picture of mine voids and mine workings, the department said.
Mine maps are currently held by various private and public entities. The DEP is working with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to build a repository for all mine maps and treat them as historical resources.
"Ensuring the safety of Pennsylvania miners is a chief concern," McGinty said.