2007 AMR Conference A Success
by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator
The 2007 Pennsylvania AMR Conference is now a memory. And a good one at that! Over 130 participants enjoyed the varied presentations and exhibits over the two day event and, as always, had a particularly good time reconnecting with other members of our “AMR family”.
John Dawes, Chairman of the AML Campaign and Director of the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program gave the keynote address with a recounting of the events and meetings that led up to the passing of the amended Title IV in the final moments of the last U. S. Congress.
Following his presentation, the AMR Conference Planning Committee bestowed upon John the first ever “Mayfly Award” in appreciation for all of his hard work as the chairman of the AML Campaign. The mayfly was selected as the symbol for this award because its presence in a stream signifies clean water.
The “SMCRA Title IV” track on Friday was very popular. One session of particular interest to the conferees attending this track was “Highlights of SMCRA Reauthorization”. During that session Pam Milavec, Bruce Golden, and Andy McAllister took you through the past, present, and future of Title IV. Part of the Title IV track included a session by Mike Hewitt on how to use the RAMLIS mapping tool to better understand how to use GIS to find out where those priority sites are. Another well-attended session was the Appalachian Region Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) presented by Patrick Angel of the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). ARRI is a great example of how thinking “outside the box” can result in higher-quality reclamation of our abandoned mine lands. The SMCRA Title IV discussion panel later in the day, featured OSMs George Rieger as well as Sue Wilson and Dave Strong from the Citizen’s Advisory Council for the DEP. The commentary from the audience will prove useful as the state continues to gather opinions for how Title IV funds should be used.
For the “Road Blocks and Limiting Factors” track, the prevailing wage panel also on Friday drew many participants. Alfred Risoliti, Pete Getzie, and Bob Hedin provided good commentary and important aspects to consider when getting involved in reclamation projects. During the Chapter 105 permitting discussion group, Rita Coleman, Troy Conrad, and Pam Milavec explained the DEPs efforts in trying to improve the permitting process for groups. Also as part of that track, Brent Means of OSM asked, “What defines success for a passive treatment system?” His thought provoking presentation demonstrated that success is far more elusive than what might seem obvious. Afterward, while on the topic of treatment systems, the Operation, Maintenance and Replacement (O,M,&R) panel presented some potential solutions to the complex issue of O,M,&R.
The “Technologies and Materials” track was new for this year and many of the conferees attended presentations by Warren Cohn of ACF Environmental, Joe Schueck of Agri-Drain, Mike Kaufman of Chemstream, and Tom Kerr of HDR Engineering. This new track provided participants a chance to see how private firms can assist with reclamation efforts.
Friday night was a wonderful chance for all of us to enjoy eachothers company at the “Picnic By The Pool” and The Down To Earth Band was a perfect fit for entertaining this down to earth crowd.
Attendees on Saturday got an opportunity to attend several concurrent sessions: Tom Clark of SRBC touched on the modeling efforts to strategize AMD remediation in the West Branch of the Susquehanna while Tim Kania of the DEP clarified the remining incentives in Pennsylvania as they relate to abandoned mine reclamation. For those interested in how to improve their grant applications, Malcolm Crittenden and Ron Horansky, both of the DEP, focused on techniques for better proposal writing while helping us understand how watersheds get prioritized. And finally, Hanna Wheeler of the Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable and Stefanie Chitester of the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team explained how those two organizations are helping watershed groups work more effectively.
Special thanks to the 2007 AMR Conference Planning Committee for making this years conference one to remember and a very special “Thank You” to the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program for providing funding.
Also, special thanks to the sponsors of the 2007 Conference:
ACF Environmental
Agri-Drain
Chemstream
HDR Engineering
American Mushroom Institute
Finally, the 2007 AMR Conference couldn’t have happened without you! You are the reason why this annual conference has been a success and will celebrate it’s 10th year in 2008. All of the powerpoint presentations plus photos from the 2007 AMR Conference will be available on the Conference website.
Make it a point to be a part of the 10th Pennsylvania AMR Conference in 2008!