SWEETWATER COUNTY — Sweetwater County could receive $67 million for Abandoned Mine Land (AML) projects, and potentially more funds specifically for the Bitter Creek reclamation project.
Rock Springs, Reliance and other surrounding areas lie on top of extensive abandoned mine shafts. AML projects are necessary to ensure community infrastructure, roads, and water lines are protected. Previously, utility lines have bent or snapped, foundations have cracked, and cave-ins have occurred.
Sen. Bernadine Craft, D-Sweetwater County, said of the $76 million-plus set aside for Wyoming reclamation projects, Sweetwater County could receive $67 million for AML projects and additional funds for the Bitter Creek reclamation project.
Sweetwater County projects that would receive funding if the $67 million is awarded to the county in the 2017 fiscal year include:
- Reliance grouting – $29 million
- Rock Springs grouting – $3.5 million
- JPB waterline grouting – $7 million
- Sweetwater fairgrounds grouting – $5.5 million
- Superior grouting – $3.5 million
- Superior drainage – $3.5 million
- Reliance and Sweetwater No. 1 Mine fires – $5 million
- Sweetwater County subsidence mitigation – $10 million
According to a New York Times article, geologists estimate that at least 35,000 acres of Wyoming land lies above abandoned mine tunnels. When the Union Pacific switched to diesel engines in the 1950’s, an estimated 50 million tons had been extracted from beneath 900 acres in Rock Springs.
Rep. Stan Blake, D-Sweetwater County, said he, along with several other politicians in Sweetwater County, appealed to the Department of Environmental Quality for funding for the Bitter Creek project. Representative Blake feels very positive that work on this project will move forward in the near future.
