Ryerson Park Dam Still Shifting

Due to earth movement, state rescinds order for Consol Energy to fix dam, lake

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
19 April 2011
By Don Hopey,

The state has withdrawn its order requiring Consol Energy to repair the damaged Ryerson Station State Park Dam and refill and restore Duke Lake because land around the Greene County dam continues to shift and move.

According to a Department of Environmental Protection letter to Consol, the recently discovered earth movement around the cracked and unstable park dam precludes repairs at this time.

As a result, the DEP said it was pulling its November order, which would have required Consol to fix the dam and the lake, "in order to properly evaluate and understand this new significant development."

The cost of those repairs to the dam, lake and park have been estimated at $58 million.

Consol said the continued earth movements mean that its longwall mine, operating in the area in 2005 but not now, didn't cause the damage to the dam.

But an environmental organization that has intervened in a state DEP lawsuit against the mining company for damaging the dam said the ongoing ground movement didn't negate the company's responsibility for damaging the dam in 2005.

Consol conducted longwall mining at its Bailey Mine near the dam from December 2004 through 2006. By summer 2005, the 515-foot concrete structure was damaged and its integrity in jeopardy. The state was forced to breach the dam and drain Duke Lake.

Jerry Richey, Consol executive vice president for corporate affairs and chief legal officer, said in a statement that the continuing earth movement lets the company off the hook.

"We believe that the DEP's recent determination that the Ryerson park dam site is still moving supports our position in this case from the beginning: The damage to the Ryerson park dam was not subsidence related," Mr. Richey said.

Cracks were discovered in the dam in April 2005, when Consol was operating 1,850 feet away from the dam and 350 feet below the surface. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources drained the 62-acre lake for safety reasons in July 2005. At the time the lake was drained, Consol's mining machines were operating 1,000 feet away and moving toward the dam.

In January 2008, the DCNR, which manages the state's parks and investigated the cracks in the dam, filed a civil lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleging the company lied about the risks of mining under the state park and caused the damage.

In February 2010, the Department of Environmental Resources said its investigation had determined that subsidence caused the failure of the dam, which was built across the Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek in 1960. The dam created Duke Lake, the centerpiece of the park and a popular fishing, boating and swimming impoundment until the dam failed.

Raina Ripple, executive director for the Center for Coalfield Justice, which intervened in the state lawsuit, said the continuing ground movement increased her concern about the effects of subsidence from longwall mining.

"DEP's decision to withdraw its dam rebuilding order does nothing to raise questions about the [DCNR] report findings," Ms. Ripple said. "We don't believe that Consol's argument on this holds water."

Katy Gresh, a DEP spokeswoman, declined to discuss the department's ongoing evaluation or Consol's denial of blame because "we are in litigation and cannot comment at this time." Christina Novak, a DCNR spokeswoman, also declined to comment because of the ongoing legal case.

Longwall mining is a highly mechanized technique that Consol was using in its Bailey Mine to fully extract all of the coal from the 4- to 8-foot-thick Pittsburgh coal seam. The technique causes surface subsidence of up to 4 feet directly above the mined area and extending into adjacent surface lands, similar to how a wider area of sand funnels through the narrow waist of an hourglass.

According to the state Mining Bureau, the dam was outside the area where the mine is presumed to cause surface subsidence, or outside the so-called "angle of influence."

But if mining caused the damage to the dam, it could mean that state mining regulators will need to expand the areas around mines for which mining companies are responsible for damages to surface properties and structures.

The state's $1.2 million investigation of the dam failure, conducted by the consulting firm Gannett Fleming, ruled out natural causes.

"We hope this case moves forward after what we hope will be just a temporary delay due to the continuing land movement," Ms. Ripple said. "It's all about the accountability of Consol."

Mr. Richey said in his statement that the mining company would work with the DCNR to "find a creative solution that will allow this important community amenity to be restored as quickly as possible."

Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.