Engineering Matters

Engineering Matters


#177 The Abandoned Mine Lands of Wyoming

August 25, 2022

Founded in the late 1800s to supply coal to the Union Pacific Railroad, the town of Hanna, Wyoming has a proud place in the industrial story of the United States. It also has another legacy to contend with – Abandoned Mine Lands.



Historical mining activities have left the region with voided geology and subsidence issues. Fortunately, a well-funded state AML division has been working diligently for decades to mitigate the worst risks and incidents.



Now, with more funding available to other states with historical mining activities, all eyes are on Wyoming to understand best practice.



Guests



Dave Hibbard, Subsidence Mitigation Team Leader, Brierley Associates



Don Newton, AML Division Administrator, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality



Resources



To learn more about the good work done by Abandoned Mine Land programmes around the US, click here



For more information on the Federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program, click here



For more on the history of the town of Hanna, Wyoming, click here



To find the case study on the Hanna Elementary School football field, click here



Partner



Brierley Associates’ nationwide underground design and construction experience offers a different perspective of ground characterisation and behaviour. They combine robust subsurface investigations, historic mine workings information and GIS-based spatial analysis to develop evidence-based land subsidence mitigation solutions.