State officials: Williamsburg mining company must stop blasting for now; had five violations with recent blast

Investigators say a Williamsburg mining company, responsible for a blast that jarred homes and sent debris flying into residential areas in western Knox County last Thursday evening, was in violation of numerous mining laws and must cease any further blasting until a "remediation plan" is approved by the state.

"It’s a fluke," Ken Sears, an engineering technician with Mountainside Coal of Williamsburg said of last Thursday’s incident. His company was responsible for the explosion that alarmed residents in the Dowis Chapel Road area and sent debris, often called "fly rock" into some resident’s yards.

"It’s a very rare thing that happens, but it does happen."

At around 5:00 p.m., the blast happened at a surface mine operated by Mountainside Coal located on Rapier Hollow Road near the Whitley County border.

The blast was heard by local residents nearly two miles away but no one was injured.

According to Linda Potter, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, the Office of Surface Mining, a federal agency and the Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement have conducted investigations of the blast.
Potter said that the permit issued to Mountainside Coal allows debris from blasts to come within 77 acres of the blast area. However, after investigation, the debris that resulted from Thursday’s blast exceeded the regulatory limit allowed by the state, officials said.

Potter said that investigators discovered that nearby residents had found after effects caused by the debris including small rocks found in a nearby yard, a damaged mobile home and a damaged car. 

Currently, Maxam Appalachia of Jacksboro, Tenn. is contracted by Mountainside Coal to perform blasting operations. Maxam Appalachia uses an advanced explosive system based on High Energy Fuel (HEF) blended with dried ammonium nitrate spheres to form ANFO – a highly explosive mixture of chemicals. Maxam Appalachia has been noted as one of the key leaders in introducing Heavy ANFO to the world. Along with the blasting caps Maxam Appalachia uses ANFO to loosen soil.
According to Sears holes are drilled down vertically based on a drill plan that the company must adhere to.

"Possibly, a hole could have been blowed out," Sears said. "We’re uncertain at this time what actually caused the explosion."
"Some things you just can’t prevent," Sears added. "Because you can’t see underground."

Sears claimed the explosion could have been caused by possibilities he called "cracked rock" or "hill seams."

Potter said that investigators concluded that five violations had been noted during their investigation. The violations included off-permit disturbance, fly rock, improper use of explosives, unsafe practices and disturbance within 100 feet of a cemetery.
As a result of the violations Mountainside Coal will be required to conduct and adhere to a ‘Blast Remediation Plan’ that must be approved by the state of Kentucky.

"The Blast Remediation Plan will address this issue," Sears said. "The plan will help prevent explosions from happening in the future."

No blasting can be performed until the Blast Remediation Plan is approved and the cause of the explosion is determined. If the cause is determined a plan will be created to prevent the after effects from blasts of this magnitude.

"Fortunately no one was hurt," Sears concluded. "If there was any way we could have prevented this happening of course we would have."