Introduction - Coal Waste Impoundments: Risks, Responses, and Alternatives - page 14

SIDEBAR 1.11 NOVEMBER 26, 1996: CONSOLIDATION
COAL COMPANY, OAKWOOD, VIRGINIA
On November 26, 1996, the Buchanan No.1 impoundment in
Buchanan County, Virginia, failed. In the 1960s, the Kennedy coal seam
at the site had been excavated by both surface area mining and
underground auger mining. After the impoundment was constructed
(1984), another company mining underground in the adjacent drainage
area apparently intersected the historic auger mine workings, providing a
conduit for the slurry.
Coal refuse and slurry from the impoundment broke into an
abandoned underground mine and discharged about 1,000 gallons per
minute at its peak through two mine portals into the adjacent North Branch
Hollow of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. There was no
detrimental impact on the embankment, and no one was killed or injured.
SOURCE: Michalek et al., 1996.
SIDEBAR 1.12 OCTOBER 11, 2000: MARTIN COUNTY COAL
CORPORATION, INEZ, KENTUCKY
On October 11, 2000, a coal waste impoundment of the Martin
County Coal's preparation plant near Inez, Kentucky, released slurry
containing an estimated 250 million gallons of water and 31 million gallons
of coal waste into local streams. Reportedly, the failure was caused by the
collapse of the slurry pond into underground coal mine workings next to
the impoundment. The slurry broke through an underground mine seal
and discharged from mine entrances 2 miles apart into two different
watersheds (Wolf Creek and Coldwater Fork).
Although no human life was lost, the release killed aquatic life along
the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River and its tributaries. Public water
supplies were disrupted when communities along the rivers in both
Kentucky and West Virginia shut down water plants to prevent
contamination with black water. American Electric Power had to close its
massive generating plant, and numerous properties and residences were
damaged.
SOURCE: Various issues of the Herald Leader, the Courier-Journal,
and the Charleston Gazette (2000, 2001); Dennis Hatfield, Martin County
Coal Corporation, personal communication, 2001.
Two of the events resulted from leaks or failures of drainage pipes.
However, the majority of the incidents involved failures in the basin area.
Inaccurate mine maps and inadequate characterization of the basin area most