Aug 28, 2014 4 min read

Removal of sediment from the dry lake bed of Duke Lake at Ryerson Station State Park to use as ground cover at the Mather coal refuse dump is expected to begin in October.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources received authorizations from both the state Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin removing sediment from the lake bed, DCNR spokeswoman Christine Novak said.

Removal of sediment is necessary for DCNR to proceed with construction of a new dam at Ryerson.

Construction of the dam will move forward once the department receives a dam permit from DEP’s Division of Dam Safety, Novak said.

DCNR Secretary Ellen Ferretti said last month the department still plans to have the dam completed by the summer 2017.

About 250,000 cubic yards of soil from Ryerson will be trucked to Mather and be used to complete the reclamation of the 70-acre coal refuse site.

The soil is expected to make an excellent ground cover, DEP spokesman John Poister said. The soil was tested by both DCNR and DEP. “It meets our standards for clean fill, so nothing in there could be deemed hazardous,” he said.

Using sediment from the lake bed to complete reclamation of the refuse dump, a plan that resolved issues for both projects, was announced at a ceremony last month at the Mather site attended by DCNR, DEP and local elected officials.

DEP announced then it awarded a $1,592,773 contract to reclaim the Mather site to Berner Construction Co. of Gap. DEP also will provide about $2 million to truck the sediment from Ryerson to Mather.

Soil removal at Duke Lake will be completed with money DCNR received from Consol Energy as part of a settlement to end litigation over damage to the Duke Lake dam. DCNR issued a contract to Alex E. Paris Contracting Inc. of Atlasburg for the work.

The sediment will be transported to Mather by trucks that will have their loads covered by tarpaulins, Poister said.

The Mather site will be graded, compacted and covered with two to three feet of the soil excavated from the lake. The bank of Ten Mile Creek, which runs along one side of the property, also will be stabilized.

DEP does not expect any problems with dust at the Mather site during the work, Poister said.

“If there is any dust stirred up, the contractor will be responsible for controlling it and keeping it down,” he said. Soil that will come from Ryerson also is “fairly moist,” and should not cause a dust problem, he said.

“We are certainly aware this (site) is adjacent to a residential area, so we are trying to use caution in dealing with dust,” Poister said. Work at the Mather site is expected to begin mid-October and will take about a year to complete, Poister said.

The Mather dump has been in existence for more than 95 years, taking into account the Mather Mine started operations in 1917. The property was abandoned 50 years ago,

The refuse dump has been an eyesore and safety hazard to the community. The dump also has areas where coal continues to burn or smolder. That will be extinguished during the project, Poister said.

Part of the refuse site was reclaimed by Greene County Industrial Development Authority starting in 2001. However, the project was halted several years later for lack of funding.

Duke Lake has been dry for nine years, since 2005, when inspections revealed cracks in the concrete dam.

DEP determined the damage was caused by subsidence from Consol’s Bailey Mine, an allegation the company denied. A settlement to end litigation before the state Environmental Hearing Board between DEP, DCNR and Consol was announced last year that will result in replacement of the dam.