COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

01/24/2019

CONTACT:
Colleen Connolly, DEP
570-826-2035
ADVISORY – TRESCKOW – WEDNESDAY – DEP to Host Public Information Session on the Final Stages to Extinguish Jeansville Mine Fire on January 30, 2019

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will host a public information session regarding the final efforts to extinguish the Jeansville Mine Fire located in Banks Township, Carbon County and Hazle Township, Luzerne County. The session will take place on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, from 6:00-9:00 PM at the Tresckow Volunteer Fire Company #1, 26 East Oak Street, Tresckow, PA 18254.

Representatives from DEP’s Pottsville District Mining Office and Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation along with the contractor, Hazleton Shaft, will be on hand to present information on the work needed to complete the project and to answer questions.
The 29-acre fire, which was discovered in 2012, was addressed primarily by the contractor constructing an isolation trench and quenching the burning material. Monitoring wells were also placed at the site to determine the depths of the fire.
In early 2016, at the request of residents, the department’s Air Quality Program monitored the air in a residential area near the fire. The monitoring showed no dangerous levels of gases were present.
Some additional grading and revegetation needs to be undertaken to complete work at the site as well as a project to mitigate for the loss of bat habitat impacted by the work on the project with guidance from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
WHAT: Public Information Session, Jeansville Mine Fire
WHEN: Wednesday, January 30, 2019, 6:00-9:00 PM
WHERE: Tresckow Volunteer Fire Company #1, 26 East Oak St., Tresckow, PA 18254