For flood victims, Ky. looks at reclaimed strip mines, but faces obstacles: coal firms, infrastructure, subsidence

This subdivision on a reclaimed strip mine has had no problems with home foundations because they were properly engineered, the developer said. (Photo by Ryan C. Hermens, Lexington Herald-Leader)

Reclaimed strip mines may become new neighborhoods for some Eastern Kentucky residents whose homes were destroyed or ravaged by record flooding this summer, but obstacles remain.

"There has been relatively little residential development on old surface mines in Eastern Kentucky. The projects being contemplated could hold several hundred houses, dwarfing prior development on mined land in the region," reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "It can be expensive to develop such sites, however, and in one case local and state officials have not been able to work out a deal to buy an attractive piece of land from a land-holding company. . . . Coal companies, or companies that hold land to lease for mining, are among the largest landowners in the counties most affected."

Another obstacle: The sites are largely removed from utilities and major roads. “If you’ve gotta run infrastructure very far it’s gonna get really expensive really fast,” Scott McReyolds, executive director of the Housing Development Alliance, which builds affordable housing in Perry, Knott, Breathitt and Leslie counties and does home repairs, told Estep. “Roads and water are expensive.”

Also, some buildings on reclaimed mines have been damaged by subsidence, or settlement of underground layers. Estep notes a 2018 Virginia Tech report that said, “Modern reclamation rarely prepares mined areas for building-support purposes.” He reports, "State and local officials said they’ll make sure any mined land used to develop subdivisions is stable enough to support the houses and other structures. Kristin Voskuhl, spokeswoman for the state Public Protection Cabinet, said in an email, “Extensive geotechnical testing will be conducted to determine the safety and stability of potential building sites at appropriate times in the planning and construction process.”

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday that a 75-acre site in Knott County will soon be developed for housing. "Beshear said the Knott County project is the first of several communities that are part of his administration’s long-term housing plan," reports McKenna Horsley of Kentucky Lantern.