Report on October 2000: Breakthrough at the Big Branch Slurry Impoundment, Martin County Coal Corporation, Big Branch Slurry Impoundment, Martin County, Kentucky.

摘要

On October 11, 2000, a combination of coal slurry and water from the Martin County Coal Corporation (MCCC) Big Branch slurry impoundment in Martin County, Kentucky, broke through into an underground mine adjacent to the impoundment, consequently discharging into the receiving streams. The purpose of this study, performed by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), U.S. Department of the Interior, was to evaluate the conditions and sequence of prior events primarily to determine the probable breakthrough mechanism. Also, OSM evaluated other factors, such as designs and approvals, which could have contributed to the 2000 breakthrough. To achieve this, OSM examined documentary evidence of MCCC's activities in and near the impoundment over a period of 30 years.