COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) will hold a public meeting in New Philadelphia from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 26 to discuss proposed abandoned mine land projects being considered in eight northeastern Ohio counties.
Meeting
The meeting will be held in the business conference room of the Kent State University-Tuscarawas Campus, located at 330 University Drive in New Philadelphia.
Staff from the ODNR Division of Mineral Resources Management will be on hand to discuss environmental and public health and safety issues associated with Ohio mines that were abandoned prior to Aug. 3, 1977, when legislation addressing the problem went into effect.
Projects
Other topics include the policies and procedures of Ohio’s Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program and the proposed projects for Columbiana, Coshocton, Jefferson, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties.
Meeting attendees are encouraged to present details of their own abandoned mine problems and check on funding eligibility in these counties as well as Carroll, Harrison, Holmes, Medina, Summit and Trumbull counties.
In November, ODNR will apply for federal construction grant money from the U.S. Department of the Interior to fund abandoned mine clean-ups during the next year throughout the northeastern and southeastern Ohio coal-mining region.
A portion of these funds, about $1.56 million, is earmarked for 16 nonemergency public health and safety projects in northeastern Ohio. The grant also includes $2.67 million to improve streams impacted by acid mine drainage problems in the entire coal region.
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