Abandoned Mine Posts

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

Sewickley Creek in Westmoreland County is getting healthier thanks to the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association and its partnership with Bob Hedin’s Iron Oxide Recovery, Inc., the Westmoreland County Conservation District, and a host of others. In fact, the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association was recently awarded one of the 2008 Governor’s awards for Environmental Excellence. In this installment of WPCAMR Video Diaries, we visit the award ceremony honoring the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association for all their hard work and success.

Click on the player below to view the video.

Note: If you’re on a work computer and can’t view the video, speak with your IT person to see if embedded videos are blocked.

Click here to read a Tribune Review news article about the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association’s Environmental Excellence Award.

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

Somerset County, Pennsylvania has a long history of coal mining and numerous environmental problems stemming from the unregulated mining practices of the past. In this edition of “WPCAMR Video Diaries“, we visit the Somerset Watershed Summit and go on a tour of the Casselman River watershed in southern Somerset County to learn about water quality projects going on there.

Click on the player below to watch. (Note: If the player is not viewable on your work computer,contact your IT department to see if embedded videos are blocked.)

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