The Roger Cornett Slide HP AML Reclamation Project was completed near the historic coal camp town of Leatherwood, in Perry County, Kentucky. Leatherwood was home to the Blue Diamond Coal Corporation which mined extensively underground in the Leatherwood Coal Seam beginning in 1946. Historical research conducted by the KY AML determined that the section of the Leatherwood Coal Seam at the top of the Roger Cornett Slide was mined prior to September 30, 1960.
Leatherwood was a “modern” coal camp town, built in the wilderness, 10 miles from any existing highways or railroads. Development of the town began in 1944. From the main line at Dent, KY, the L&N Railroad built a 10.3 mile spur line up Leatherwood Creek and Clover Fork to the site of the new mining operation. Three large buildings of native stone comprised the center of the company-owned town. One building housed a retail store and offices. The second building acted as the supply house. The third, the Recreation Building, included a theater, post office, fountain and lunch counter, beauty shop, barber shop and poolroom. Roads were carved through the surrounding hillsides and houses for company officials and miners were constructed.
An article published in “Coal Age” magazine in 1951 stated that “Since 1945, the Blue Diamond Company has built 323 houses at Leatherwood.” Additionally, several other structures were built to facilitate the mining process. A tipple, repair shop and a mine building that included the tipple foreman’s office, coal analysis laboratory, lamp house and a bathhouse, that could accommodate 500 men, were constructed on the site.
The same “Coal Age” article said that “In the Leatherwood field, in Perry, Harlan, Leslie and Letcher Counties, there is available to Blue Diamond Coal Company 26,400 acres of the Leatherwood Seam. The seam is 5 feet thick and is without continuous partings. The coal is of hard, blocky structure, high in volatile (BTU’s) and low in ash and sulfur.”
On April 19, 2018, Roger Cornett reported to KYDAML that during a rain event on April 17, 2019, a landslide occurred near his home, his rental properties and a neighbor’s residence on Clover Fork Road in Leatherwood, KY. The slide brought down large trees, rock and slide debris. Multiple families were endangered.
AML reported that the landslide area was approximately 150’ long and 100’ high and appeared to originate at the level of the Hazard #5 coal seam, on extremely steep terrain. Three inhabited mobile homes were in the direct path of the landslide and that further saturation of the slide area could cause the unstable material to move down the hillside, disturbing or destroying everything in its path. These conditions posed an imminent danger to the residents of those homes. To further complicate the situation, an electric transmission line owned by American Electric Power ran across the top of the slide area. Additionally, approximately 400’ east of the top of the slide, on the same elevation, is a collection point for a water system that provides household water to four (4) residences.
Technical Staff at the KYDAML Emergency Branch expedited a project design to remove the slide material using the strip-to-rock method. A waste area was secured on property owned by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, approximately 3 miles away from the slide. Provisions were made in the design to handle drainage from the slide area and divert it away from the downslope residences to avert future problems.
The slide area had remained relatively stable since the initial event was reported on April 19, 2018 as KYDAML waited for a finalized contract from the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, so that work could begin. But, all of that changed…
A severe rain event on Saturday, May 19, 2018 brought mud, trees and slide debris down the mountainside with a vengeance. A large tree fell across the end of the mobile home nearest the toe of the slide and mud pushed an outbuilding off the foundation and over a bank.
Mud and debris covered Clover Branch Road, blocking access to two homes. Additionally, there was a very large beech tree that was precariously overhanging the electric line along Clover Fork Road. Three residences were evacuated.
On Monday, May 21, 2018, the contract was expedited and Triple H Excavating mobilized a crew to the site immediately. Environmental Scientist Ray Shepherd, the resident inspector assigned to the project, met the Triple H crew on the Roger Cornett site. The contractor established silt control below the slide area and reinforced the concrete bridge across Clover Fork with cribbing blocks before taking an excavator to the toe of the slide. Then began the process of removing mud and debris blocking access to the homes.
The next morning, Charles Henson of Triple H Excavating again cleared slide material that had covered the road overnight, and worked his way to the base of the problematic beech tree with an excavator. He carefully dug around the bottom of the tree and was able to push it over in a safe direction, avoiding the power lines and the residence below. With that dangerous situation averted, more debris was excavated and a temporary debris barrier wall was constructed to protect the residence.
Intermittent heavy rains during the first few weeks of the project required the contractor to be vigilant in keeping the only access road to the Roger Cornett residence passable. A loading pad was established at the toe of the slide area and the crew worked constantly just to keep pace with the material flowing down the hillside.
Finally, during the third week of work, Triple H was able to take an excavator up the steep face of the slide. As the equipment operator stripped away the mud and debris near the top of the slide, a rock face was exposed at the level of the Hazard #5 Coal Seam where water had been emanating and saturating the slide area. A diversion ditch was hammered and dug, below the water source, to divert the water from the slide area and allow the soupy material to dry out. The dryer conditions allowed the contractor to establish a bulldozer road to the top of the slide and begin to push material down to the loading area.
A catch basin and headwall were installed at the toe of the slide. New culverts were installed under Clover Fork Road and drainage ditches were armored. The existing main drainage channel was moved to divert water from a residence downslope and the new channel was armored with 2,300 square feet of Concrete Block Tied Mat. This channel terminated into a second catch basin/headwall at a gravel road located on the old railroad bed. The water was piped under this road and allowed to empty into Clover Fork.
During an unusually wet period of time at a location with tremendous access difficulties, Triple H Excavating LLC and the staff of the KYDAML Hazard Emergency Branch persevered and abated a significant and dangerous Abandoned Mine Lands problem. They overcame continuing challenges posed by the weather and terrain, completing the project quickly and safely, positively impacting a community in the heart of the East Kentucky coal fields.
Work was completed on August 24, 2018 and a final inspection was held on September 6, 2018. The total expended on the project was $277,682.88.
