County continues working through reclamation efforts at Shamrock Mine
The county continues efforts to mitigate the impact of Solar Source’s abrupt closing of the Shamrock Coal mine north of Ireland in 2020.
Highway Superintendent Steve Berg told the commissioner last week that he is meeting with Michael Costello to discuss the finalized plans for the county’s roads. Costello, an independent consultant for the insurance company overseeing the situation, was hired to work through the aftermath of White Stallion Energy’s 2020 bankruptcy, which closed Shamrock Mine.
A reclamation plan was submitted to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources last spring, and according to Berg, parts are still being “ironed out” before final approval.
The mine is bordered by Portersville Road West to the north, Country Road 800 West to the west, and County Road 580 North to the south. Two large pits exist. One is near the intersection of County Road 750 West and Country Road 580 North, and the other is south of Portersville Road West, between the intersection of County Road 750 West and County Road 700 West.
The bankruptcy and closure left landowners and the county with little recourse for returning their properties to a usable condition. Costello has stated in previous meetings that about $6.5 to $7 million is available for what he estimates is a $30 million cleanup.
According to Berg, Costello has been meeting with landowners to discuss reclamation efforts and will be meeting with him on Wednesday to hopefully discuss the county roads impacted by the mine.
He told commissioners that according to the mitigation plan, County Road 700, which runs through a large portion of the mine and has been widened to accommodate the large mining equipment, will be returned to its previous width. However, the large drainage ditches on either side will be left alone.
“The plan was to put back the roadway at our standard, which, basically, they said they would comply with,” he explained.
The plan calls for the roadway to be returned to the county standard 22-foot width, but the ditches will be left where they are now. Berg told the commissioners that there wasn’t money to move the ditches in the mitigation plan.
This will leave a swath of land about 25 feet wide on each side of the roadway for nearly two miles, which the county will likely have to maintain to prevent erosion. Plus, the area up to the ditches will take up more of the private ground on which the mine is built.
Berg is hopeful that once these pieces are in place, work can begin on the collapsing banks impacting Portersville Road West and County Road 750 West within a couple of months.