Abandoned Mine Posts

Since the passage of significant new amendments to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in December 2006, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (PADEP) office of Mineral Resources Management has been grappling with the provisions within the new law that could have an effect on the future of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AMR) and the work of the AMR community.  Principle among those changes is the provision that now allows states to choose to set aside up to 30% of their annual grant to put toward Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) projects. Previously, states were only allowed to set aside up to 10% of their annual grant for AMD projects.

In response to the increased flexibility afforded by the new law, and in an effort to gain feedback on how to proceed with the new options, particularly the 30% set aside, the PADEP held 10 public roundtables throughout the state in 2007. One of the most commonly mentioned points from the attendees was that the State should take the full 30% set aside to put toward AMD projects.

In July 2008, the PA DEP’s Office of Mineral Resources Management issued a draft Position Paper clarifying the Department’s decision regarding the 30% set aside. While the Department clearly states a desire to take the full 30% set aside, it also recognizes its responsibility to reclaim abandoned priority mine-related land hazards specified in SMCRA. Accordingly, the state’s position is that it “...shall take the maximum 30% abandoned mine drainage set aside at the earliest possible time that provides a balance with the state’s land reclamation responsibilities.”

In addition to that position, a number of other positions of perhaps lesser significance, yet important nevertheless, are developed in the same document.  For instance, DEP’s positron on providing funding for operations and maintenance for AMD treatment systems is espoused there.  DEP has done a nice job of not only articulating its positions, but also providing the background and framework on which it develops those positions. Anyone who has a stake in these matters should indeed become familiar with this document, as it will likely be a cornerstone in DEP’s use of AMD Set-aside Program program as it passes from draft to finalized form.

To read DEP’s complete draft AMD Set-aside Program Position Paper, click here.

Well before the SMCRA public outreach roundtables in 2007, the PA DEP began an initiative to evaluate the performance or success of passive treatment systems built with public funds to examine the effectiveness of various treatment technologies and develop treatability criteria and project selection guidelines. Proposed in draft form is the Mine Drainage Treatability and Site Selection Guidelines, a framework for AMD project selection which takes into account a whole host of considerations in making the ultimate decision of whether or not a specific source of AMD should be funded for remediation. A key component among the considerations is the selection of methodology for treating and/or abating AMD. Whereas in the past decade or so the virtual de facto choice in Pennsylvania has been for passive AMD  treatment, an evaluation mechanism has now been devised and spelled out favoring “proven, reliable, and predictable” treatment approaches.  Almost certainly the choice of some passive treatment methodologies will become more limited to less risky situations in which those methodologies have had generally good track records.

The original draft document was made available to a focus group earlier this year followed by a meeting in State College where the document was discussed and comments were accepted.  A comment period following that meeting provided additional opportunity to provide input to DEP.  Available now is the Draft Guidelines with Integrated Written Public Comments.

We understand DEP will continue to develop these guidelines over the period of many months.  In that we are still in the first of a 5 year ramp-up period before the full thrust of SMCRA funding will fully be felt, we are comfortable that DEP is doing its due diligence in properly developing these guidelines. As with the AMD Set-aside Program Position Paper, when finalized the Mine Drainage Treatability and Site Selection Guidelines  will likely be a cornerstone in DEP’s use of AMD Set-aside Program.

To read DEP’s Draft Mine Drainage Treatability and Project Selection Guidelines, click here.

by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

One of the most rewarding things that we Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AMR) folk experience is the chance to learn about new technologies and ways to improve our treatment systems. Yet, as we continue to reclaim, we are often unaware of what happened in the coal regions so many years ago and the contributions and struggles of the mining families as they built lives and communities.
This year, the 2008 AMR Conference, to be held August 12-14 at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College, offers us a chance to reclaim that coal mining past while shaping our reclamation future. 

The three day conference works like this:  for the first day and a half, starting on Tuesday August 12th, the focus will be on traditional AMR-oriented topics. Conference-goers can choose from presentations between two tracks on Tuesday: the “New Approaches” track will will shed light on neat new stuff being explored in treating AMD while the “Timely Topics” track presents topics relevant to the AMR community today. 

Wednesday August 13th is the transition day with AMR-oriented presentations featured in the morning mainstream track.  Coal Mining Heritage presentations taking center stage during the mainstream track in the afternoon.

During Thursday August 14th, presentations will be focused exclusively on “Heritage Preservation” and “Historical Topics” with presentations from preservationists and historians well versed in our coal mine heritage.

We also have some extras that may be up your alley.

On Monday afternoon August 11 will be a pre-confernce bus tour of the Phillipsburg area where we’ll visit several sites including AMD treatment systems and AMR “features” that have yet to be reclaimed.  A box lunch will be included.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s “Vendor” track allows companies to present their own in-person infomercials on their products and services.  Last year, this was a big hit.

Making a encore visit on Wednesday afternoon is Pete Geissler who will offer a workshop on honing your writing abilities.  Pete always gets rave reviews and he will make you a better writer.  How important is that?  His workshop dovetails nicely for those folks who are attending mainly for the AMR topics. Attendance for the effective writing workshop is limited to only 20 participants.

This year, we are very fortunate to have national recording artist Ken Bonfield performing at the conference. Ken’s soulful acoustic guitar work has been featured on the National Public Radio program, “Echoes” in addition to being featured on Public Television’s “New Yankee Workshop”.  Although Ken has never been to the coal regions, he has always been interested in our mining past and is looking forward to performing at the conference.

Now that we have your interest, here’s what you need to do so you won’t miss out:

• Go to or conference website www.treatminewater.com and peruse it for more information and a better flavor of the conference.
• See the most up-to-date presentation schedule on our website.
• Register on-line, also on the website.  Registration is by-the-day, so select the day(s) that most interest you.  (Most problems occuring in registering on-line results when it’s done too quickly.  Please take your time and read.)
• If you wish to be considered for financial assistance to attend the conference, you need to act quickly.  The deadline for financial aid requests is JULY 3, 2008.  When filling out the online registration form, check the “I Need Financial Aid To Attend The Conference” box and fill in the additional fields that appear. (Only available for non-governmental not-for-profit organizations.)
• You’re on your own to arrange accomodations.  However, a special conference room rate of $81.38/night (tax included) at the Ramada, for singles OR doubles, is good only until July 14th, so make your reservations with the Ramada Inn and Conference Center soon.

PLEASE NOTE: THE FINAL DAY FINANCIAL AID REQUESTS CAN BE MADE IS CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON JULY 3, 2008.  Notification of aid awards will be made on July 9, 2008.

For more information about the 2008 Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Coal Mining Heritage Conference and to register online, go to: www.treatminewater.com

Appeals Court Makes Decision Favorable To AMR

By Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator

Proponents of funding for abandoned mine reclamation breathed a sigh of relief last week following a court decision which protected the government’s ability to collect a reclamation fee on exported coal.

A number of coal operators had previously sued the U.S. government to discontinue the collection of the abandoned mine reclamation fee on coal produced in the U.S. then exported. Based on an argument that the fee was unconstitutional as applied to exported coal, the coal operators were successful in a lower court decision that agreed with their argument. The U.S. government appealed the decision to federal appeals court which last week overturned the lower court’s decision, in essence preserving the ability to collect the fee.

The fee itself supports reclamation efforts to fix coal mining problems that were created before the enactment of adequate environmental laws prescribing environmental standards. Currently assessed at 31.5 cents per ton for surface mined coal and 13. 5 cents per ton on deep mined coal, the abandoned mine reclamation fee is distributed to coal mining states to fix health and safety problems on abandoned mine lands and remediate streams and rivers degraded by acid mine drainage. Pennsylvania has the dubious distinction of having far more problems from the days of unregulated coal mining than any other state, with about a quarter of a million acres of abandoned mine lands and over 5,000 miles of polluted streams.

In December 2006, Congress reauthorized the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) to, among other things, continue the collection of the reclamation fee through 2021. Optimistically, as much as $1.4 billion will be returned to Pennsylvania derived from reclamation fees with the express purpose of addressing abandoned mine problems. While significant and as good as Pennsylvania could have reasonably hoped for, this figure falls far short of a daunting estimate of $15 billion needed to fully address the legacy of unregulated coal mining.

Currently something over 4% of the coal mined in the U.S. is exported. Had the court decided in favor of the coal operators, the cessation (and possible refunding) of reclamation fees on exported coal would have eroded already inadequate reclamation funding, thus reducing Pennsylvania’s share of reclamation funding by tens of millions of dollars over the lifetime of the reauthorized SMCRA.

The appellate court’s decision was based solely on the interpretation of the language of the law. In particular, that a reclamation fee is imposed upon “coal produced” in the United States. The court’s decision came down to the meaning of “coal produced” as used in SMCRA. The following is a fairly readable excerpt from the court’s decision.

If “coal produced” refers solely to coal extracted then the disputed portion of the statute does not render the statute unconstitutional under the Export Clause. If, however, “coal produced” is interpreted to include the entire process of extracting and selling coal - if it is a tax on extraction and sale - then, as it applies to sales that occur in the export process, it is an unconstitutional violation of the Export Clause.

…. Where a possible construction of a statute would render the statute unconstitutional, courts must construe the statute “to avoid such problems unless such construction is plainly contrary to the intent of Congress. … This canon of constitutional avoidance is subject only to the qualification that the interpretation that “save a statute from unconstitutionality” must be reasonable-that is, the saving construction must not be “plainly contrary to the intent of Congress.” … “The elementary rule is that every reasonable construction must be resorted to, in order to save the statute from unconstitutionality.

Our interpretation of the interpretation is court was obligated to choose the only alternative that would have preserved the constitutionality of the portion of SMCRA in question, that coal production only meant coal extraction, thus allowing the imposition of a reclamation fee.

Even though the decision was based on “a fine point”, it does represent a victory for abandoned mine reclamation. However, it may not be over yet. This case may include another level of appeal.

DEP Seeks Comments on Mine Drainage Treatability Document

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

The PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation is seeking public comments on the Draft Mine Drainage Treatabililty and Project Selection Guidelines.

Over a year ago, the DEP and Office of Surface Mining (OSM) began an initiative to evaluate passive treatment systems built with public funds by both government and private entities. As a result of these evaluations, a joint DEP and OSM workgroup was established to develop treatability criteria and project selection guidelines for Title IV funded projects. This document outlines the proposed process by which DEP will prioritize AMD projects to be funed. Once final, this document will serve as the primary method for evaluating all newly proposed mine drainage projects.

On June 10, 2008, a special Focus Group convened in State College to learn more about the draft guidelines and to provide comments and suggestions. The notes for that meeting will be available on the BAMR’s AML Focus Group webpage soon.

The Draft Mine Drainage Treatability and Project Selection Guidelines pdf document and directions for providing written comments can be found online on BAMR’s AML Focus Group webpage. Comments will be received until July 14, 2008.

OSM finally releases rulemaking for amended SMCRA

By Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator

The Office of Surface Mining, at long last has released rulemaking for amended SMCRA. (Rulemaking is the process of fleshing out a law with official rules and regulations used in the actual practical application of the law.)

• Click here to see the news release.
• Click here to see a list of materials, including the actual rulemaking document (in both pdf and html formats)

Be forewarned, this will not a be quick, easy read. So far, we’ve only given it a cursory look. We will likely have future comments in upcoming issues for some portions. And speaking of comments, OSM will accept formal comments on rulemaking until August 19, 2008. Stay tuned for more.

News of Note

• The 10th PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Coal Mining Heritage Conference will be held August 12-14th at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College, PA. For more information and to register online, go to: www.treatminewater.com

by Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator and Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

On behalf of the Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference Planning Committee, we invite you to attend the 10th PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference to be held at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College August 12 - 14, 2008.

This year, in addition to providing learning, sharing, and networking opportunities for those involved in Abandoned Mine Reclamation work, we’re proud to be doing something special to commemorate our 10th anniversary. We’ve added a new component focusing on Coal Mining Heritage and its preservation. We’ve noticed time and again that many of the same people who are committed to restoring the environment from the legacy problems from old coal mining are equally interested and involved in the history and culture of coal mining, especially as it involves their own communities.

The conference organizing committee, comprised of individuals personally committed to the reclamation of abandoned minelands and water– some professionals, some working at the grassroots level, welcomes seasoned reclamationists, preservationists, and interested newcomers to the 2008 Conference. The committee invites you to explore all of the opportunites afforded by the 2008 Conference including the chance to learn about what others are doing to preserve our Coal Mining Heritage.

To find out more about this year’s conference and to register online, go to the conference website, www.treatminewater.com. The registration process is a bit different than in years past in that you now have a suite of attendance options to choose from, in an a-la-carte manner, to match your individual need and budget.

For those needing financial assistance to attend the Conference, we have limited funding available to help. If you are a watershed group member, representing a community organization, an employee of a non-profit organization or academic institution, or other qualifying designation, you will have the option to apply for financial aid to attend the conference. With only a limited amount of financial aid funds available, the Conference Committee will do its best to ensure as many people as possible are able to obtain the financial assistance they need to attend. To help us with this goal, we only ask that those who are truly in need of financial aid ask for it.

The Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College has set aside a block of rooms at a special Conference room rate of $81.38/night (with tax) for single or double rooms. This flat room rate is available until July 14, 2008. We suspect that guest rooms will fill up fast, so make your reservations early. Additional lodging and Ramada contact information is available on the Conference website.

Incidentally, for those who are interested in viewing Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) and Abandoned Mine Land (AML) sites and can never get enough, there will be an optional bus tour to AMD/AML sites in the State College/Philipsburg area to be held Monday August 11, 2008 at an additional cost. The bus tour will last from approximately Noon until 5:00pm.

We’re still hammering out the final details on speakers, etc. so, check back to the Conference website regularly.

Click here to go to the 2008 Conference website and register online.

Click on the “Play” button on the Player below to see an advertisement for the PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference.