For more information, contact EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes, at (570) 371-3523
EPCAMR, WPCAMR, and ARIPPA are planning a 2012 Summer Golf Outing Fundraiser to generate additional income to allow us to continue providing funding and administrative support to the groups in the region. Stay tuned!
September 7, 2011
Ashley, PA – For two years now, EPCAMR and partners, WPCAMR and ARIPPA, have been able to award $5000 in mini-grants to community projects supporting abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation throughout the Anthracite Region.
Three projects were reviewed and selected by a Review Committee, made up of a representative from the PA DEP BAMR and the EPCAMR staff. Presentation of the awards was made at the ARIPPA Annual Technical Convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on August 24th.
Huber Breaker Preservation Society (HBPS) – Construction of Pedestrian Access Gate to Huber Breaker Miner’s Memorial Park in Ashley, PA ($1,000)
- To build a gate for pedestrian access within the existing wrought iron fence at the front of the park, along S. Main Street in Ashley
- To promote eco-tourism and local recreational opportunities for the community surrounding the site where the Huber Breaker once stood
- To provide interpretive signage about the Huber Coal Breaker and its history and the surrounding abandoned mining landscape
The HBPS is working to build a Miner’s Memorial Park on the 3 acres of land in front of the Huber Breaker site. While the fate of the breaker itself is uncertain, the HBPS wishes to photograph, document, and share their findings with generations to come. The park will provide an educational landscape for community members, students, and travelers to learn about the importance of what was once one of the largest coal breakers in the world.
The HBPS strives to educate and preserve the heritage of the Anthracite Coal Region. They are in contact with Ironworkers Local 489 apprentices from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who are volunteering labor to cut the fence, and construct and mount the gate, but are in need of supplies.
The park will include the pedestrian gate and a vehicle gate to allow access to a parking area. It will feature a granite monument, visible to S. Main Street, honoring the memory of the breaker and the thousands of miners and laborers who worked there between 1939 and 1977.
The park will also include walking trails, informational kiosks, picnic tables, and gardens planted with native vegetation. The remaining culm will be covered with topsoil in order to beautify the space and prepare it for growing plants and trees.
Project partners include: EPCAMR, Earth Conservancy, #1 Contracting, Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Commission, Ashley Borough, Live Well, Luzerne County PA!, ARIPPA, and the Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center, Horticultural & Landscaping Class
Schuylkill Headwaters Association – Wagner Run Stream Relocation Project, West Branch of the Schuylkill River ($3000)
- Wagner Run is a tributary of the West Branch of the Schuylkill River
- The primary goal of the project is to reduce recharge to the Pine Knot Mine Pool and, in turn, its discharge into the West Branch of the Schuylkill River
- The stream is on property owned by Reading Anthracite, Inc. and the Minersville Municipal Authority, with whom the Schuylkill Headwaters Association and EPCAMR have a good working relationship
- The objectives will be met by evaluating and implementing the construction of a berm to keep water from leaving the stream channel of Wagner Run, thereby keeping the surface water away from abandoned mining slopes and preventing its degradation of the mine pool
- This project will reduce the volume of water entering the Pine Knot Mine Pool and improve water quality by reducing AMD loadings from the Pine Knot Discharge into the West Branch of the Schuylkill River
During high flow events, Wagner Run floods over its banks. The water leaving the stream channel flows into an abandoned strip mining pit and enters the underground mine pool, later exiting as AMD at the Pine Knot Discharge.
The Wagner Run Stream Relocation Project will result in the restoration of approximately 900 linear feet of stream.
The completed project will consist of a constructed berm along the stream bank, composed of a clay center. Rip-rap with R-6 stone will line the side of the berm to prevent erosion in high flow events. The berm will contain the water inside the stream channel, preventing water from entering the mine pool and contributing to the Pine Knot AMD Discharge.
Project partners include: Schuylkill Conservation District, PA DEP, Reading Anthracite, Inc., Minersville Municipal Authority, RETTEW Associates, Inc., Schuylkill River Heritage Area, ARIPPA, EPCAMR, and WPCAMR
Eastern Middle Anthracite Regional Recovery, Inc. (EMARR) – Raw Water In-take Retrofit Construction Project at the Audenreid AMD Treatment System on Catawissa Creek ($1000)
The Audenreid AMD Treatment System was treating the largest Anthracite abandoned mine discharge at an average of 8,000 gpm in June 2006. Soon after, a lingering storm dropped 10 inches of rain over the watershed in a very short period of time. The tunnel portal blew out and covered the entire intake structure and piping that transported the mine water into the treatment system, leaving a clogged treatment system and an intake that would not take in sufficient mine water for treatment. It is once again up and running. This funding supported a portion of the retrofit costs to the raw water in-take system.
Existing In-take & Proposed Bypass (in black drawing) at Audenreid AMD Tunnel Discharge on Catawissa Creek
Flow Control By-Pass
Completed Construction
Project partners include: EPCAMR, Schuylkill County Conservation District, Catawissa Creek Restoration Association, PP&L, Hazleton Environmental, and a foundation donor who wishes to remain anonymous
You must be logged in to post a comment.