Narrative for Yukon piles 088, 089, 090, 091
Project Gob Pile rankings, 3 as to site, 4-7 as to piles
Four rather closely grouped piles dominate the village of Yukon in South Huntingdon
Township in the Sewickley watershed (Longitude 79/41/6 Latitude 40/13/12). All have
an adverse impact on the quality of life in the immediate surrounding area. All come from
the Pittsburgh bituminous seam with mining dating back into the early 1900s, ending in
the mid 1950s. There is fairly strong consensus in the community for their removal. All
are located fairly close to Route 70 and Yukon Road, providing above average access.
The following is a pile-by-pile report: The overall average ranking was 113 out of a
possible 150.
Pile 088, owned by Yukon Lumber, and was created in the 1930.s. Fire converted a good
portion of the 22,000-ton pile into red dog, leaving relative little burnable material. The
pile is an eyesore with some ATV /bike activity. Some space is available for leveling
work.
Pile 089, (129,000 tons) owned by Michael and Nicholas Babich is being removed by
Crow's Nest Synfuels, Bovard (apparently partnering with Richard Construction). The
firm is building a processing plant on the site. BTUs are estimated at above 5,000 BTUs.
About 25 percent of the pile is burnable. There is some ATV/bike use. Yukon's recreation
organization wants to buy a right of way near the pile. Water sampling was around 7.6
pH with above average ecological flora/fauna indicators. Considerable A TV activity
results in steady complaints, but Synfuels operation should reduce the problem.
Pile 090, (110,000 tons) owned by Stanley and Pamela Siegal of West Newton, is located
next to Yukon's ball fields off Route 3012 /Yukon Road. The eyesore is heavily used by
off-the-roaders. The 110,000 pile is very steep with about 25 percent burnable material.
There is very little space for reclamation that involves spreading the material out.
Pile 091, (130,000 tons on eight acres) owned by Richard Construction of New
Bethlehem, is located off Yukon Road, came up with initial disappointing BTU
assessments according to John Ross of Synfuels. Testing is continuing. The material
came from both deep and surface mining operations. Readings were around 7.6 pH.
There is heavy plant cover.
Ranking sheets on the four piles indicated very high community interest in removing the
piles and acceptance of truck traffic. Development potential is very high, of course,
because removal attempts are underway. Economic conditions in the coal patch village
are relatively good, but people claimed the piles adversely impacted property values and
the chance for commercial/tourism development.