Press Release
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program (AMRP), plans to safeguard a subsidence hole in Spring Canyon and extinguish four small burning coal waste piles in Storrs, Peerless and Hardscrabble canyons ignited by the Bear Wildfire in June 2021. All projects are located on privately owned land.
The work will consist of backfilling the subsidence hole, a remnant of historic mining, with imported clean fill material. The fires will be extinguished by mixing the coal waste with cool soil and then quenching the mixture with a solution of water and firefighting foam.
AMRP will prepare an Environmental Assessment to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The public is invited to comment as part of the NEPA compliance process and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) compliance process. Submit comments or questions to NEPA Coordinator Jan Morse at janmorse@utah.gov or (385) 799-0028 by June 30.
The work is funded by the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, through an Abandoned Mine Land reclamation fee paid by Utah coal producers.