DEP working on opening in Toby Creek

The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is working on a more permanent fix to an opening in Toby Creek that was the result of a previous mine subsidence, according to DEP Regional Communications Manager Colleen Connolly.

Work to stabilize the creek bed behind Luzerne Lumber began this week after DEP was notified last Sunday of spaces that were found between a large rock, resulting in water loss, in the area where a massive sinkhole formed in April.

According to Connolly, a bentonite plug, an absorbent clay, was used during the remediation process over the weekend and is holding and water is flowing downstream.

The department anticipates that work on a more permanent fix should begin on the creek next week.

The initial mine subsidence occurred five months ago and took officials about a week to fill and stabilize.