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Drilling to extinguish Percy Mine Fire starts today

By Angie Santello 3 min read

NORTH UNION TWP. – Drilling to extinguish the underground Percy Mine Fire will begin today, as the township supervisors granted the go-ahead to enter the village at the regular meeting Tuesday. “We’ll start pumping when we’re done drilling,” said Fred Bickerton Jr. of GAI Consultants, the contractor hired by the state to perform the work.

Bickerton said the project could last up to year, while Donald Murray, real estate specialist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said 16 months is the expanded timeframe the contractor will be on the property.

The section of the contractor’s work area is outlined on a map inside the township building.

Murray said the majority of 71 needed property easements have been secured. The easements grant workers permission to enter residential property in order to drill boreholes in the yards.

“The benefit to homeowners is to put out the mine fire. I can’t guarantee we will,” Murray said.

Project officials noted mine subsidence would not occur at the site if the project is successful.

Murray said the supervisors signed a similar agreement to extinguish the 30-year-old underground mine fire in 1997. Although past attempts have failed, GAI officials are confident that a new grout material similar to cement will cut off the fire’s oxygen supply and extinguish the flames.

“You signed last time and had no problem with that one, so I am asking you to do the same thing,” Murray said.

“It’s to help the community,” he added.

Project officials assured the supervisors that township roads outside the boundaries of the project will be repaired if damaged and the project will not affect the current sewage project meant to serve Percy-area residents.

“We hope you get it out this time,” Supervisor Rob Tupta said.

“We’re pretty confident we can,” said Bickerton.

Jerry Hritz, project superintendent with Howard Concrete Pumping Company Inc. from Pittsburgh, also attended the meeting.

Howard Concrete was subcontracted to supply the material.

Bickerton said the material batch plant will be located at the center of the work area, and workers will construct north and south barriers before pumping the material into the ground through pipes placed in the drilled boreholes.

The holes shouldn’t prove to be a safety hazard for residents.

Bickerton said the pipes will be cut three feet below the surface level and the holes will be filled to the top with the same material used to extinguish the fire.

In other business, the supervisors adopted a resolution authorizing the towing of junk vehicles if the code violation is not corrected within a reasonable period of time after a warning is issued.

The ordinance can be enforced if it is adopted at the next township meeting at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 9.

Township solicitor Donald McCue said the ordinance would tie into the international property maintenance code, and pointed out that it will not prohibit residents from working on vehicles on their property.

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