Great Reclamation Accomplishments and Awards
In addition to the significant environmental benefits of restoring a mine to future and long-term productive use, the successful reuse of mines can enhance communities in different ways. The following examples highlight mines that have completed excellent reclamation, won national awards or are successful post-mining sites that greatly improve New York's economic and ecological landscape.
Tilcon New York, Inc. - Suffern Quarry - Town of Suffern, Rockland County
38-acre Basalt Quarry - Mine ID 30036
The Tilcon New York, Inc., Suffern Quarry was historically known as the Union Hill Quarry. Diabase (Preakness Basalt) mining began in 1909. Plaza Materials, a subsidiary of Yonkers Contracting Company was issued a New York State Mined Land Reclamation Permit in 1978.
The site is located in a heavily populated area, and lies between the New York State Thruway to the north, the Mahwah River on the western flank of the property, Avon Laboratories to the east, and railroad tracks and residential areas to the south. The site is comprised of about 60 acres with 38 acres having been under the jurisdiction of the NYS Mined Land Reclamation Law.
A few years after Tilcon purchased the site, United Water expressed interest in obtaining the quarry to use as a reservoir to address the demands of a growing population in Rockland County and portions of New Jersey. However, the quarry's relatively small size was inadequate for an additional source of drinking water. During this time, the Town of Ramapo Supervisor expressed interest in using the quarry as green space and recreational use for town residents. Tilcon ultimately donated the property to the Town for recreational use. The Town was concerned that the basic reclamation depicted on the old reclamation plan would not meet their needs. Tilcon and the Town reached an agreement on the final reclamation objective that satisfied DEC's reclamation requirements and also provided the Town with a park and potential building site in the upland areas.
Tilcon received for their reclamation efforts the 2015 National Association of State Land Reclamationists Non-Coal Reclamation Award.
R. T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc. - No. 1 and 2 Mine - Town of Fowler, St. Lawrence County
184.7-acre Talc Quarry - Mine ID 60051
R. T. Vanderbilt is a talc/tremolite mine located in the Town of Fowler, St. Lawrence County. Presently the company owns 256.7 acres of land of which 184.7 acres have been affected by the mining operations.
The R. T. Vanderbilt Mines date back to the early 1900's which included small underground workings at both ends of the ore body. In the 1930's the mines were owned and operated by two of the major ore producers of the day, the Wight Mine of International Talc Company located at the southwestern end and the Loomis Talc Company's Arnold Mine positioned at the northeastern end. Wok was initiated in the early 1960's to develop and mine this ore body utilizing open pit mining practices with full production being realized within 5 years' time. This resulted in the largest mine operation located within the talc belt with several million tons of ore being removed. The actual pit is roughly 40 acres in size and approximately 350 feet deep with surrounding acreage used for ore storage and waste rock (low quality ore) stockpiles. It also has the distinction of being the last operational talc mine in the area employing roughly 125 people. The company ceased production in 2008.
After the closure of the Arnold Pit, reclamation plans were refined to address the millions of tons of waste and overburden that had been removed from the pit and stockpiled on the property. A majority of the work included grading efforts to keep most of the site drainage going into the main pit. Sloping of the stockpiles, covering the areas with topsoil and the seeding of these areas began in 2008. Consideration was also given to the uppermost benches of the pit (where accessible) as well as to the removal of many structures on the property including the Wight Mine head frame and hoist house. The work was challenging as some of the areas reclaimed required repeated applications of both topsoil and seeding due to both torrential rain storms and sever droughts. The open Arnold Pit was allowed to flood leaving a large, very deep pond with over 200 feet of water in the pit.
Vanderbilt received for their reclamation efforts the 2017 National Association of State Land Reclamationists Non-Coal Reclamation Award.
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