Wyoming DEQ Earns Abandoned Mine Reclamation Award
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) earned the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement award on October 17.
Wyoming won the award for reclamation work at Hanna Elementary School and the adjacent high school football field and track in Carbon County, Wyoming, where they addressed issues that caused subsidence shrinking on and around the area.
“The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards showcase exceptional reclamation projects done by our state and Tribal partners,” said David Berry, director of OSMRE’s Western Region.
The football field/track and the adjacent elementary school building and parking lot are located on top of the Hanna No. 4 Mine.
In 2020, the Abandoned Land Mine began to address the problem of "subsidence-sinking" on the football field and around the school that caused underground material movement.
They began void fill grouting that year, and approximately 42,500 cubic yards of void fill grout was injected to mine voids under the Hanna Elementary School, football field/track and surrounding areas, "enough to fill 13 Olympic swimming pools," according to a recent press release.
Upon completion of the mitigation, the football field, track, school parking lot and school playground were restored.
“This was a very difficult project due primarily to the strict, but necessary, time commitments made to the school district for completion prior to football season,” said Wyoming AML Administrator Don Newton.
“The coordinated efforts between the Town of Hanna, Carbon County School District #2, Howard Concrete Pumping Co., Inc. and its subcontractors, and Brierley Associates resulted in an excellent outcome for this small community.”