And the underground mines cause concern for what may be built above the surface
A core hole in eastern Henderson County made by a now defunct mining company is emitting methane, which is causing concern about the dangers regarding that and any potential development of wind turbines across the county.
The core hole in question is on the Middle Delaware Road property of Becky and Steven Deutsch.
Steve Deutsch at a Wednesday press event said he first noticed the escaping gas in November, when he saw bubbles coming from a puddle down a hill and near wood’s edge about 30 yards from his home.
“We thought it was water seeping,” he said, adding that there are other seepage points on the 50-plus acres he owns.
Early this year, Steve Deutsch again noticed the escaping air via bubbling water at the location. In mid-June, he began reaching out to local and state officials searching for the best way to deal with the methane escaping into the air.
Both Steve Deutsch and Sharon Bumb, who is Deutsch’s sister and lives nearby, describe the underground mine as being abandoned and sealed at former entrances. The remaining coal in the ground produces methane gas, and when the pressure builds up, the gas finds a place to escape, Bumb said. In this case, it is the Deutsches’ yard.
On Wednesday, Bumb spread maps of some abandoned mines in Henderson County, specifically those in the eastern part of the county where both Bumb and the Deutsches live.
Steve Deutsch said that he’s looking for the best way to remediate the bore hole and told the Hendersonian that a state official has told him there might be some money with the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands to fund the work.
He holds no ill will towards the state and local officials who have come out to look at the bore hole—”They’ve all been very helpful,” he said—but he’s concerned about the price tag that might be associated with the fix. Both Becky and Steve Deutsch said the cost could be $10,000 or more.
In the meantime, no fire, no smoke and no sparks near the bore hole, Steve Deutsch said.
According to information he received, he learned that the area under his property was mined by Patriot Coal, a company which in 2012 sealed the mine vent located in the area. In 2023, any bonds held against Patriot were released, and now there’s no money available to the Desutsches to fix the bore hole, Deutsch wrote in an informational timeline he has compiled.
The amount of underground mining that occurred in the past in this area of eastern Henderson County offers—in addition to methane escaping through bore holes—another concern for these residents.
The possibility of wind turbines being erected in the area is something that has Bumb thinking. A proposed Rock Bluff Energy Park, which would be located in the area, would contain between 40-50 wind turbines, said a representative of Cordelio Power last summer. That’s down from 93 possible sites listed in a Federal Aviation Administration study in spring 2025 that Cordelio reps said contained many more than what the park would contain.
Currently the future of the Rock Bluff Energy Park is unclear. Cordelio, the company that had been working on it, has been bought out by another company, Pattern Energy Group. Additionally, the Henderson City-County Planning Commission continues to hold public hearings to gather information and public comment that will lead to a wind energy conversion systems ordinance recommendation that will be sent to the Henderson Fiscal Court for consideration.
Furthermore, the planning commission staff recommendations made thus far in the process include setting a height limit on wind turbines at 200 feet, which is much less than the Rock Bluff proposal of around 700 feet. A 200 feet height limit would not allow wind turbines to catch enough wind in this county to be viable, according to project reps at a previous meeting.
Bumb and the Deutsches are concerned about the depth needed to drill down to build a secure foundation for a wind turbine. Bumb said the amount of underground mining in the area and in the county as a whole would need to be studied before any wind turbine above the ground could be built. She wondered if holes drilled for reinforced concrete would reach the mine shafts, which could release methane and perhaps not allow for a stable foundation for a wind turbine.
“People have to realize what’s underneath is concerning,” she said.
