Jurisdiction: Abandoned Mine Lands
2001 Completed Projects Archive
Lehigh Road Phase VI AML Project Summary
Project Type: Underground, pressurized grout injection
Location: E ½ of Section 7, W ½ of Section 8, W ½ of Section 17 and NE ¼ of Section 18,
T139N, R95W, approx. 2.5 miles Southeast of Dickinson, North Dakota
Grout Placement: Under roads and ditches of Lehigh Road and Lehigh Drive
Project Dates: May 31, 2001 to August 15, 2001
General Contractor: Thiem Drilling, Inc., Williston, ND
Drilling Contractor: S & S Drilling, Williston, ND
Material Testing: Geoserv Inc., Bismarck, ND
Project Cost: $275,395.50
At least seven, and possibly more underground mines make up what was once a prominent mining district around the old town site of Lehigh, North Dakota. Approximately 2.4 million tons of lignite coal was removed by underground extraction methods in this area encompassing approximately 1,100 acres.
Much of the coal was used for the production of charcoal briquettes at the nearby Royal Oak (formerly Husky) plant located in the NW ¼ of Section 17. A large portion of the coal was also used as home heating fuel, and also sold as fuel to the Dickinson Power Plant and the Dickinson Pressed Brick Company. Mining underground for coal began in this area in 1890 and continued until around 1949.
Depth below surface to the underground workings varies between 30 feet and 130 feet depending upon topographic location, although most workings average around 65 feet below surface. Most of the coal extraction was from the 10-13 foot thick Lehigh Bed, although a limited amount of extraction from the shallower (4 feet thick) Dickinson bed was also reported.
Over the years, the underground mines have begun a deterioration and collapsing process, which results in large and dangerous sinkholes on surface. Pressurized grouting is a reclamation procedure in which holes that are drilled from surface intercept the abandoned underground workings and a grout mixture is pumped into the mine to fill void spaces left by the underground rooms and tunnels.
Over the last 6 years, a total of 31,000 cubic yards of grout were injected into abandoned mine workings under Lehigh Road, Lehigh Drive and several other township and private roads in the area. The Lehigh Road Phase VI project is a continuation of grout injection projects in this area in which 4,000 cubic yards of grout were injected under the above-mentioned roads. Over the past 20 years, at least 12 instances of sinkholes opening up on roadways and within ditches in this area have been documented. The goal of these underground grouting projects is to minimize the possibility of additional sinkhole development within roadways and ditches and to make the area as safe as possible for the driving public and local residents.
- Lehigh Road Phase VI Photo1 (75kb pdf)
- Lehigh Road Phase VI Photo2 (101kb pdf)
- Lehigh Road Phase VI Photo3 (68kb pdf)
Noonan A (6)
The Noonan A (6) Problem Area is composed of an extensive surface and underground coal mine located in Divide County, T162N, R95W, Sections 3 and 10. The AML site is within one mile of the corporate limits of Noonan, North Dakota, and encompasses approximately 1,400 acres. Mining was conducted from the 1920's to the 1960's. This AML site was characterized by a dangerous highwall located within a few feet of a recreation road. The sinkholes within the mine were also a hazard.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, landowners and regional landfill personnel had indicated that they wanted some reclamation work done on this site. The regional landfill is located in the southwest corner of the mine. A party area in the spoil piles in the northwest portion of the site had been used throughout the year by teens. The Noonan's Recreation Area, on the east side of the site, is also heavily used throughout the year by campers and fishermen.
On a portion of the north edges of the surface mine, there were steep final pit highwalls ranging in height up to approximately 30 feet. Slides, erosional back cutting and sloughing along the highwall were good indications of its instability. Dangerous sinkholes from past underground mining operations were also located in the west portion of the site.
Reclamation work on this site started on July 9, 2001. Project Manager and Engineer for the project was Mark Knell. The contractor, Martin Construction Inc., moved approximately 90,000 cubic yards of soil material to eliminate the 3,200 linear feet of hazardous highwalls from the 20-acre area located along the west and north edge of the mine. The contractor utilized a fleet of construction equipment, which included scrapers, dozers and motorgader. Topsoil material was salvaged prior to spoil dirt work operations then respread following completion of the dirt work. An additional 190 acres of steep sided spoil piles were reshaped to gentle slopes. On September 28, 2001 the dirt work at the Noonan A(6) Project was completed. The project area was fertilized and seeded during October 2001. Revegetation was done with a seed mixture compatible to the quality of available plant growth material. Larry Reisenauer inspected the project. Trees will be planted on the site next spring. The attached photographs show a small portion of the reclamation area. Photos:
- highwall elimination in northwest area (504kb pdf)
- reshaping of spoil piles (313kb pdf)
- reshaping of steep-sided spoil piles (590kb pdf)
- highwall reclamation at landfill area (293kb pdf)
