Pleasant View Mine - Office of Surface Mining (OSM) National Award Winner.
In February 1998, the Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) initiated the largest reclamation project ever conducted by the commonwealth.
The Pleasant View reclamation site, located in the western Kentucky coal field near Madisonville in Hopkins County, was approximately 250 acres of strip-mined land containing a 60-foot-deep, 32-acre impoundment of highly acidic water. The site was also used as a waste area for refuse from nearby underground mines and washer plants. The waste from the mines was the acid generator that created what was known as "Ketchup Lake." Runoff from the lake devastated aquatic life for miles downstream in Greasy Creek. The objective of the reclamation project was to treat and release the water in the lake, bury the acid spoil in the impoundment, cover with soil material and revegetate.
The contractor, Rust of Kentucky, began the project in March 1998. In order to make the acidic water suitable for release, Rust fabricated a proprietary lime slurry mixing station and a large air lift pump, reducing the cost of the water treatment. As the water was treated and released, Rust filled the lake void with coal refuse, then covered it with a lime barrier and a minimum of 2 feet of earth cover.
The property owner, Consol Coal Co., donated the entire site to the city of Madisonville in October 1999. Vegetation has grown on the property and Greasy Creek has aquatic life in it again. For the first time in decades, minnows are observed in the drainage ditches on the project area.
The Pleasant View AML project was a success on several levels. The site that had been a wasteland for decades was not only restored but was dedicated to public use. The investment in this project continues to produce results far beyond the project boundaries. This project received the Office of Surface Mining National Reclamation Award for 2000.
Rust of Kentucky completed the project five months ahead of schedule at a final cost of $4 million.
