HARRISBURG – State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Houtzdale, said a century-old abandoned mine east of Brisbin will be reclaimed at no cost to taxpayers.
“The Fair Coal Company of Coalport won the no-cost construction contract to reclaim the 3.5-acre Fahr Operation site in Decatur Township,” George said. “The company will be allowed to recover about 4,000 tons of coal from the site in return for the reclamation work.
According to the Moshannon District Office of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which awarded the contract, the site has extensive deep-mine subsidence left behind when the Berwind White Coal Mining Company abandoned the site in the early 1900s.
Fair Coal Co. will regrade the site close to original contours and apply waste lime at a rate of 50 tons an acre — work valued at $21,000. No blasting or coal reprocessing is permitted at the site, which is in the Beaver Run and Moshannon Creek watersheds.