Jurisdiction: Abandoned Mine Lands
1998 Emergency Projects Archive
This emergency abandoned mine reclamation project was conducted in the fall of 1998. The objective of this project was to repair a dangerous vertical opening (sinkhole) that surfaced suddenly from the collapse of underground mined workings. This sinkhole, approximately 8' diameter and 10' deep, occurred in the front yard of a home owned by Mrs. Lester Bauer at 410 First Avenue Northeast, in Beulah, North Dakota. The sinkhole was reported on November 25, 1998. Contract No. 373908 was issued to Litsey Construction, L.L.C, of Beulah on November 25. Litsey filled the sinkhole with approximately 30 cubic yards of dirt, using a backhoe and truck, the same day. On January 20, subsequent subsidence occurred severing a sewer line buried in the front yard of the Bauer residence. The contract was reopened and Litsey repaired the additional sinkhole and the sewer line. The total contract cost was $1045. A digital video clip (17.8Mb mpg) shows the severity of this emergency.
Noonan Fire Emergency
The objective of this project was to extinguish a fire on a coal fines refuse pile at the historic Baukol-Noonan Mine. This coal refuse fire was ignited by adjacent prairie fires and subsequently ignited more prairie fires and was a hazard to people living nearby. In addition, burning coal fines (screenings) were often overlain with gray-brown ash that was difficult to distinguish from minespoil. The subsurface below this ash was extremely hot and potentially dangerous to users of the area.
The site is located in the S1/2 of Section 3 and the N1/2 of Section 10, T162N, R95W, about ½ miles east of Noonan. The portion in Section 3 is privately owned and that in Section 10 is part of the Harris M. Baukol Wildlife Management Area owned and managed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. This site and surrounding areas are used for hunting, fishing, motorcycling and other recreational, fish and wildlife and agricultural uses. The coal fines pile covered an area of approximately 30 acres and about 10 acres were addressed by this emergency project.
This 1998 Noonan Fire AML Project was conducted between April 24 and May 29, 1998. The contractor was Walters Construction of Flaxton, ND. Walters isolated burning coal materials with a bulldozer and other earthmoving equipment and buried them with inert clay materials to smother the fire. The contract cost was $22,700.
- Photo 1 (33kb jpg) shows where the original fire began at the north edge of the coal refuse (fines) Pile. The burning coal fines were pushed into the pit at the left (east) side of the photo. The light colored material is ash overlying the burning coal fines.
- Photo 2 (30kb jpg) shows the same area after the burning coal fines were pushed into the pit and buried and the area was regraded.
- Photo 3 (25kb jpg) was taken from the northeast side of the coal fines pile looking westward. All of the coal fines in the foreground are burning. The dozer pushing burning materials caused the smoke billowing in the background. The city of Noonan is in the distant background.
- Photo 4 (29kb jpg) shows the same area after the burning coal fines were covered with clay spoil material.
- Photo 5 (34kb jpg) shows a grass fire ignited by the burning coal fines. It took the Noonan Fire Department about 2 hours to get this fire under control.
- Photo 6 (29kb jpg) is a picture of AML Project Manager, Bill Dodd, somewhat black-faced, after helping to extinguish the grass fire.
- Photo 7 (36kb jpg) and Photo 8 (36kb jpg) show the contractor, John Walters, pushing clay spoil over the burning coal fines to smother the fire.
- Photo 9 (37kb jpg) shows a "hot spot" of burning materials in an area where work had already been done. These hot spots, where the fire had not been completely extinguished, showed up all over the site and were often hard to identify. This project was conducted in an area of historic underground mining.
- Photo 10 (52kb jpg) shows a sinkhole, or collapse feature, on the site. Walters dropped one of the tracks of his bulldozer into a sinkhole like this one.
- Photo 11 (20kb jpg) shows how the smoldering coal fines ignite when exposed to air.
- Photo 12 (15kb jpg) shows some of the remainder of the coal fines pile. Only about 1/3 of the pile was covered during this project. The danger of fire will remain until the entire coal refuse pile is covered.
- Photo 13 (39kb jpg) shows a historic coal wagon. This old wagon, located at the north edge of the project area, was probably used in the early 1900s in conjunction with underground mines predating the Baukol-Noonan surface mine. Although weather worn and slightly damaged by the fire, it remains as a testament to the historic uses of these lands.
