BANKS TOWNSHIP -- Residents in a community in Carbon County now know how the state plans to tackle a mine fire that's been burning for years.
At a meeting Thursday night, they learned it will likely take two more years to douse the underground fire inside the Jeansville Mine near Tresckow.
Smoke billows up from the ground as a fire down inside the mine has been burning for years. For residents living around the mine, in the past few years the smell from the mine fire has become sometimes unbearable.
“Putting up with the smell and everything else, and we don't want to be another Centralia and that's why we're asking will we or will we not be?” said Walter Bobowski.
“Sulfur, smells awful, sometimes I smell a little wood burning too scent of that, too,” said Cheryl Pacelli.
Now after several public meetings and studies, environmental officials say they now have a plan to put that fire out that they expect will take up to two years.
DEP plans to hire a contractor to dig trenches around the fire to contain it. Once that is done, crews will hook up to a local water supply and run hoses to the fire site.
“We haven't heard any complaints from residents from using too much water. We've contacted the Hazleton City Authority. They've looked into our plans and they've agreed that it will be okay to proceed. They don't see much of an impact on residents,” said Colleen Connolly with DEP.
DEP says while it's not clear exactly how far the fire has spread, it is concentrating on 29 acres on that mine site. It says despite the fact that federally protected endangered bats live in the mine, it still has the OK from the federal government to continue.
Residents say they still have concerns and plan to keep a close watch on progress.
“Hopefully they can get it out. It's not going to turn into another Centralia, take it from there I guess,” said Joe Pacelli.
“We are trying our very best to put up with what we have to put up with, but we don't want it to be a really long term because the property values again are decreasing. What do we advertise it as, a heated basement?” said Bobowski.
DEP hopes to have the trench work contracted out by November 17 and with work starting at the earliest just before Thanksgiving.
