COLUMBUS, OH -- A preliminary investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has revealed an abandoned underground coal mine in a City of Barberton neighborhood. Agency experts have determined the area poses no immediate threat to public safety.
Geologists and a technical team within ODNR's Division of Mineral Resources Management located the mine beneath a neighborhood bordered by the streets of Hagey Drive on the north, 31st Street to the east, Harden Drive and Alcorn Drive on the south, and Taylor Road on the west. There are approximately 56 homes, one church, and one school in the investigation area.
ODNR has determined that the area has a low-to-moderate risk of subsidence activity. A number of property owners in the neighborhood have experienced mine subsidence activity over the past 20 years.
With the preliminary work completed, ODNR will now conduct a detailed underground investigation to further evaluate subsidence potential. The detailed investigation should be completed by next summer. An engineering consulting firm will conduct a mine subsidence risk assessment study in the neighborhood. Prior to conducting this work, ODNR will coordinate activities with Barberton officials and affected property owners.
Copies of the investigation report or any questions concerning the exploratory drilling project should be directed to ODNR geologist Derek Collins at 614-265-1038. Questions regarding the proposed mine subsidence risk assessment study should be directed to project officer Jim Gue at 330-222-1527 or program manager Terry Van Offeren at 614-265-1094.
Ohio has about 6,000 abandoned underground coal mines, located mostly in the southern and eastern portions of the state. Most of these are the result of mining activity that occurred more than 50 years ago. Approximately 2,000 of the abandoned mines are unmapped and can pose a variety of problems to public health and safety, including subsidence, mine gas, acid mine drainage and open shafts and portals.
ODNR's Abandoned Mine Lands program has spent about $11.1 million since 1978 to address public safety problems associated with underground mines. The agency has identified another $8.4 million in deep-mine related problems that will be addressed in coming years.