The Excellence in Reclamation Award, given by the Division of Reclamation and Enforcement, honors a reclamation project that demonstrates that mining can be completed and the area returned to a condition that is equal to or better than what existed before.
It was awarded to the Peter Cave Mining Company.
Engineer Teresa O’Daniel, Manager John Cline, Project Superintendent Bobby Issac,
and Lead Foreman Will Daniel accepted the award for Peter Cave Mining Company.
By eliminating 9,000 feet of highwall, Peter Cave Mining removed a safety and environmental hazard at the Holty Branch Slurry Impoundment, located in Martin County. Two hundred (200) plus acres of pastureland were created, which not only greatly increased the visual aesthetic of the watershed but may provide an opportunity for future economic development in areas such as cattle and horse farming.
The impoundment also has the unique designation of being one of the first in the Prestonsburg region to be successfully abandoned. Information gleaned from this closure will be helpful with future closure operations at other slurry impoundments in the region.
The images below reflect before reclamation, and after.
