Federal funds to help Ohio clean up mines

August 16, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Officials say an extra million dollars in federal funding next year will help them clean up more abandoned coal mines in southeastern Ohio.

The state expects to receive $12.6 million from the federal government next year, up from $11.5 million this year, officials said. That money comes from fees imposed on coal-mining operators.

Officials from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources plan to discuss projects to clean up abandoned mines at a meeting in Athens on Tuesday.

Projects proposed for next year include an estimated $15,000 to secure entrances to abandoned mines near the Ohio-West Virginia border, $800,000 to clean up a watershed and $250,000 to tackle an eroding pile of coal.

A $20,000 project in Pomeroy, Ohio, aims to stop stinky water from leaking out from an abandoned mine onto a building that houses a beauty salon, real-estate company and an apartment.

Bruce Teaford lives there and says the water — sometimes milky white and other times slimy green — smells like eau de rotten eggs and rancid cabbage.

“I can’t remove the whole hillside behind me,” he said. “I’m between a rock, a street and a whole lot of mine drainage.”

But while people like Teaford are glad to have help, some environmentalists say the boost in funding isn’t enough as Ohio tries to clean up abandoned coal mines that have caused an estimated $300 million in health, safety and pollution problems.

Ohio Environmental Council staff attorney Trent Dougherty says the state’s department of natural resources is crippled by a legacy of coal-mining companies who reaped the benefits of the state’s resources and then left.

“There is no way the state and federal government can clean up that legacy in any short amount of time,” he said.