Narrative for Fitz Henry 084

Narrative for Fitz Henry 084

Project Gob Pile Ranking 10th as to site 17th as to pile

The 10th ranked site (17th ranked pile) contains one pile 65-084 near the very small community of Fitz Henry, PA This site (longitude 79/45/30 latitude 40/10/30) scored a 102 out of a possible 150, and sits in a heavily wooded area.

The site is owned by Adam Skokut, a private landowner of Fitz Henry, PA. The site sits off of Fitz Henry and Reduction Road, and lies adjacent to farmland, in the small community of Fitz Henry, in South Huntington Township, in the Youghiogheny River watershed.

Access to this site would be a problem; the only way into the pile is an old dirt road that is barely big enough for a car to use; to access the pile a new road would have to be built. The pile is made up of Pittsburgh Bituminous coal, and the site has become a dump for the town of Fitz Henry. The site is very isolated and is not adjacent to any homes. However, the site is covered in decades of garbage, and is a safety hazard to the community, due to the steep slopes and highwall. The owner showed support for reclamation and was concerned with the level of dumping and trespassing that was occurring on the property. A stream flows around the site and is heavily impacted by runoff from the pile, large gullies from the pile run directly into the stream, which flows into the Yough River. The stream had a yellow precipitate on the bottom and a pH reading of 8.2.

The pile was created in the early 1900s and stopped in 1948 when the Yough River flooded the mine tunnels. The content of the pile is unknown, with a volume of 145,000 tons. The site contains red dog as well as large red dog boulders. The township has taken red dog the past for roads, and many people in Fitz Henry have red dog driveways. The area around the pile is wooded and the pile itself has some tree growth on it, as well as grasses.

The site’s major problem is trespassing by dumpers, ATV enthusiasts, underage drinkers, and target shooters. These trespassers are putting themselves in danger by visiting the site, which has a vertical highwall. The site is covered with garbage, beer cans, and spent shells, all evidence of heavy visitation. Due to the site’s isolation trespassers can visit the site with out anyone seeing them, which makes the site a hotspot for these activities.

The adjacent land around the pile is forest and farmland and there is space and topography that would allow the pile to be spread out. This site got its highest rankings in environmental and health and safety issues, due to proximity of the stream, and the dangers to people trespassing on the site. The site did not score as high socio-economically as well as developmentally, because of the piles isolated location, and the unknown BTU values.

The owner would like to see the pile removed because of safety reasons. Early estimates set the cost of reclamation at $80,000.