Abandoned Mine Posts

By Anne Daymut, Watershed Coordinator

What do Poultry farms, paper mills, and abandoned mine lands have in common?   Aside from the fact that each produces pollution and waste, combined they may be able to solve one another’s problems while providing energy.  How is this possible?  The Pennsylvania Environmental Council has organized some unique partnerships do deal with the waste from poultry farms in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. When combined with excess paper mill sludge, barren Abandoned Mine Lands could produce biomass in the form of warm seasonal grasses to support the increase of energy consumption.  WPCAMR recently joined several other interested groups for a tour of PEC’s pilot project in Clearfield County to see how this is possible.

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by Anne Daymut, Watershed Coordinator

In this edition of WPCAMR’s Video Diaries, we visit the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, who recently hosted a “Turning on of Lights Ceremony”.  Besides the unique name of the event, what makes this really special is that the electricity used to power the lights was generated from Abandoned Mine Drainage. 

Since 2005, Loyalhanna Watershed Association has been working on the Saxman Run Mine Drainage Treatment and Hydroelectric Project.  They faced all of the trials and tribulations persistent with any other AMD project but faced the additional hurdle of being a pioneer in this type of electricity generation.  Recently, they were finally able to host a dedication for this one-of-a-kind project.   The celebration culminated with the turning on a string of lights using electricity generated by the flow of the AMD.

Click on the player below to view the video.

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Date:

1. Register for the Conference.  Daily rate is $125 or the full rate (3 days) for students, non-profits, and Conservation District representatives is offered at a discounted rate of $135.   Program and registration information can be found at www.PghMiningReclamationConf.com.   FAX or email your completed registration form before 12:00pm, Thursday June 3 to guarantee your meals will be available.  Do not mail your registration form as stated on the website due to the short timeframe.

1. Apply for a scholarship.  Scholarships (for up to an additional 50% off the already discounted rate) will be made on a reimbursement basis to Pennsylvania non-profit representatives and Conservation District employees.  Scholarship applications are available at www.treatminewater.com/scholarship10.htm.  Remember, you must register for the conference separately, pay and attend to be eligible.

Here are some of the things you can look forward to at this year’s conference. 

• Exhibits

• Opportunities to speak with consultants, scholars, and industry

• Wide range of presentation topics, many prepared for the non-profit and Conservation District audience

• Three Rivers Boat Cruise in the evening of Tuesday, June 8. on the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s Empress.  Live Music.  Commander’s Buffet. Presentation of the PA AMR Conference’s coveted Mayfly Award.  The cost is $60 and is separate from the conference registration.  Scholarships are applicable to the cruise.   Free scheduled shuttles between the Radisson and the Gateway Clipper provided.  You may attend the cruise without attending the conference.

• Pre- and post- conference tours and workshops

Date:
by Anne Daymut, Watershed Coordinator

To commemorate their 20th Anniversary, the Anthracite Region Independent Power Producer’s Association (ARIPPA) is offering a competitive award to watershed organizations working on Abandoned Mine Land (AML) and/or Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) remediation projects.  Grants ranging from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000 will be awarded to at least one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Bituminous Region and one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Anthracite Region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania actively working on AML/AMD issues. Grant proposals should be for on-the-ground AML/AMD construction projects with a completion date between August 2009 and August 2011. 

Unsightly waste coal piles and the problems associated with them are gradually disappearing, due in part to ARIPPA member activities.  ARIPPA facilities remove and utilize waste coal (refuse) from both past and current mining activities, thereby abating acid mine drainage from waste coal piles.  ARIPPA reports that 145 million tons of waste coal has been processed and burned for energy by their member plants from 1998 to 2008.  Further, the technology used to convert waste coal to electricity, known as Circulating Fluidized Beds (CFB), produce alkaline-rich ash by-products.  There are many beneficial uses for CFB ash including; filling mine pits, as a replacement for lime, for acid mine drainage remediation, as a soil amendment at mining sites, and/or as a concrete additive for roadways. 

Applying organizations must support the mission of ARIPPA, including the removal and conversion of waste coal into alternative energy and the beneficial use of CFB ash for AML/AMD reclamation.  The unique nature of ARIPPA’s work combined with the desire to coordinate efforts with environmentally oriented groups and governmental agencies symbolize a commitment to improving the landscape and environment. 

You can obtain the official Request for Proposals and supporting documents at our website: www.wpcamr.org

You can learn more about ARIPPA at: www.arippa.org

More information about the beneficial use of CFB ash can be found at:

http://www.amrclearinghouse.org/Sub/landreclamation/ 

http://www.epa.gov/osw/partnerships/c2p2/index.htm