TWO ABANDONED MINES IN POUND DECLARED EMERGENCIES

Abandoned land mine emergencies declared in Wise County. Recent heavy rainfall has caused two emergencies after problems with subsidence and drainage from historic coal mining operations. An underground mine subsided, causing a 15-foot-deep void close to two homes on Sunnydale Farm Road in Pound. A grant of $137,700 will help fill the void on Sunnydale Farm Road and stabilize the surrounding area. Concrete and gout will be used to fill the hole. The mine was active from 1950 to 1960. An access road to two homes on Bowser Hollow Road in Pound was washed out after erosion from a coal surface mine that operated in the 1970s. A crew is working to make the road accessible again and a $65,000 grant has been awarded to build drainage controls, add two culverts, and upgrade an existing ditch to better control erosion from the mine. Stone will be added along the streambank and the road will be graded and resurfaced, as well.

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