Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Director Brent Wahlquist praised the Kentucky Mine Mapping Information System on April 25 for winning the Best of Kentucky technology award for Best Online Service. The mapping system received the award in the Best Online Services category at the Kentucky Digital Government Summit, a conference where government-technology leaders share innovations and accomplishments.

“It is truly impressive how this dedicated team combined cutting-edge technology with know-how and vision to create a best-of-the-best solution in an area vital to public safety,” Wahlquist said.  “Proving easily accessible information concerning underground mines improves public safety, protects the environment, improves economic development and more.”

The Kentucky Mine Mapping Information System plays a vital public-safety role by providing an electronic repository for maps of the hundreds of abandoned and active underground mines that burrow under the state. Since underground mining began in Kentucky more than 150 years ago, many maps and mine locations have become lost or forgotten, making the online mapping-information system critical.

These mines pose a hazard in a number of ways.  Sometimes mines subside, where the ground above sinks down into mined-out areas below the surface. This can have a catastrophic affect on buildings, roads and other structures above the mine.  Modern mines, and their structures, can be jeopardized when they run too close — or even breach — an abandoned mine or one for which maps are inaccurate.

OSM works with Kentucky and other states building mine-map repositories by providing technology transfer, funding grants and technical expertise as needed. OSM’s National Mine Map Repository provides a national index of all such repositories, as well as providing critical backup capabilities for state efforts. Still, Wahlquist stresses that this win is a reflection of the drive and ingenuity of dedicated individuals.

“This is a wonderful example of the beauty of the Surface Mining Act’s vision of ‘primacy,’” he said. “We provide some seed money and technical support, but it is the vision and expertise of local officials and citizenry that builds a system that meets the needs of the local community.”

You can get more information and visit the Kentucky Mine Mapping Information System at http://minemaps.ky.gov/ .