It's too early to tell how much state will pay for home repairs in subsidence zone, officials say
JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau | Posted: Sunday, February 24, 2008 12:00 am
ROCK SPRINGS - The damage claims are in, and most residents have signed up for new subsidence insurance.
Now it's up to state officials to determine which homes will qualify for repair payments resulting from a controversial ground-pounding subsidence project conducted last summer, known to locals as the "Big Drop."
Wyoming Abandoned Mine Lands Division engineers will begin reviewing claims submitted by residents for repairs for damage done to some Rock Springs homes affected by the mine subsidence project, officials said.
For several weeks beginning in July, the agency used a controversial process called dynamic compaction to collapse underground mine voids on a 61-acre tract of land near downtown Rock Springs. The process involved repeatedly dropping 25-ton weights over undermined areas located in a site known as Tract H.
The project was suspended, however, after residents complained to city officials about the vibrations and noise from the project. They said cracks were appearing in ceilings, walls, driveways and foundations of homes near the project site as a result of the dynamic compaction.
After the project was halted for good in mid-August, AML officials promised to pay for any damage to homes resulting from the project. Officials told residents repairs would be paid by the state through the AML's insurance program, which has a $150,000 limit per household on the coverage. The state also promised to pay premiums for two years on subsidence insurance for homes in the area to ensure against future damage.
AML spokesman Keith Guille said residents have filed their damage claims with the agency. Residents were expected to get their own damage estimates from local contractors to submit along with listings of the damage.
Guille said he didn't know how many claims were submitted by residents.
"I'm not certain on the number … I think in the area there are about 140 homes, and it certainly wasn't a majority of the homes there," Guille said in a phone interview.
"The first thing we wanted was to get these claims in, and now we have to make sure that (the homeowners) are going to get (paid for) everything they said they received damage to … So we're going to be taking a close look at that," he said.
"We also wanted was to get everybody on subsidence insurance for future projects … and I think we got the majority (of residents) signed up for that," Guille said.
He said he had "no idea" what the total amount of home repairs might end up costing the state. He said engineers are beginning the process of reviewing each damage claim with homeowners.
"What we'll be doing is looking at each of those claims individually to see what the homeowner has said about the damage they've received … and then we'll have engineers inspect homes" to determine if the claims are warranted, Guille said.
He said the agency is also waiting on a comprehensive report from engineers on a drilling project conducted last April in the damage-beset neighborhood. The report is expected to provide more information about what's happening underneath homes in the area.
Guille said the agency is excavating the dynamic compaction areas collapsed during the project. That work is expected to be completed within the next few months.
The agency plans to resume subsidence work on other tracts within the project area later this year.
Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.