EPCAMR and WPCAMR have once again partnered with the Appalachian Region Independent Power Producer’s Association (ARIPPA) to offer a competitive award to watershed organizations working on Abandoned Mine Land (AML) and/or Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) remediation projects in the Anthracite and Bituminous Regions of PA. Grants, at a maximum of $4,800, will be awarded to at least one eligible organization (ex. watershed group or nonprofit) or local government entity (ex. conservation district or municipality) in each region. EPCAMR is hoping to see several good project proposals that we can help fund for this year. Grant proposals should be for AML/AMD related projects that further the mission of your organization with a completion date between August 2023 and August 2025.
Grant application deadline for the current round is: April 15, 2024
Due to the generosity of an anonymous, supportive benefactor, WPCAMR and EPCAMR are able to provide an additional $1,800 each to the ARIPPA Award in their region. ARIPPA has ramped up their contribution to $3,000 per region. The awards distributed in each region will total $4,800. That is $9,600 statewide.
The amount granted is dependent upon demonstrated need. Organizations applying must submit a letter of support regarding 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. Organized in 1989, ARIPPA is a non-profit trade association based in Camp Hill, PA. Members are located throughout the Anthracite and Bituminous Regions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Members are comprised of:
- Independent electric-generating plants producing alternative energy and/or steam from coal refuse
- Businesses associated with the coal refuse-to-alternative energy industry
Accordingly, ARIPPA is organized to:
- advance the alternative energy electric power production industry
- encourage education about the generation of alternative energy and related industries
- promote the environmentally responsible production of electric power
- promote the utilization of alternative energy electric power
- endorse the continuity and growth of the alternative energy power production industry
- assist in meeting this country’s energy, industrial, economic, and environmental needs
Due in part to ARIPPA member activities, unsightly coal refuse piles and the problems associated with them are gradually disappearing. Thousands of acres of land have been and continue to be reclaimed to their natural state or have been reclaimed for productive use and future development. ARIPPA facilities remove and utilize coal refuse from both past and current mining activities, thereby abating acid mine drainage from coal refuse piles. ARIPPA reports that 145 million tons of coal refuse have been processed and converted into alternative energy by their member plants from 1998 to 2008. Further, the technology used to convert coal refuse to electricity, known as Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology, produces alkaline-rich ash byproducts. There are many beneficial uses for CFB ash, including: filling mine pits, replacing lime (for acid mine drainage remediation), amending soil at mining sites, and adding to concrete for roadways.
The unique nature of ARIPPA’s work combined with the desire to coordinate efforts with environment-oriented groups and governmental agencies symbolizes a commitment to improving the landscape and environment of our nation. You can obtain the official Request for Proposals and supporting documents at the following links:
ARIPPA Award Application Instructions (Adobe PDF)
ARIPPA Award Application (Adobe PDF Fill-In Form)
Sample ARIPPA Mission Support Letter (Word DOC)
You can learn more about ARIPPA at: www.arippa.org
Awards granted under the guidance and administration of EPCAMR and WPCAMR:
Purpose:
ARIPPA is offering competitive awards to watershed organizations working on AML and/or AMD remediation projects.
Watershed protection is one of the fastest-growing areas of community-based collaboration. Throughout the country, watershed groups are playing an increasingly prominent role in environmental management. With their local focus and community base, watershed groups are building consensus and expanding participation within communities across Pennsylvania. It is not uncommon for organizations to operate on an annual unrestricted budget of less than $5,000, while at the same time implementing $100,000 projects that directly benefit communities and the environment.
AML projects, in particular, are costly and are long-term endeavors, often taken on by non-profit organizations that operate through grant funds. According to the Pennsylvania Department Of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) Mining Reclamation Advisory Board (MRAB), the average cost of an AML project falls in the range of $8,000 to $20,000 per acre. If AMD is present on those lands, the cost could be even higher. Pennsylvania organizations have relied heavily on Growing Greener funds, which have dwindled in recent years, making it more difficult to fund AML projects. The ARIPPA AML/AMD Reclamation Awards are designed to help environmental organizations and Conservation Districts secure extra match and leverage additional funds.
The Eastern and Western Pennsylvania Coalitions of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR and WPCAMR) are organizations working to encourage the reclamation, remediation, and redevelopment of lands and streams polluted by historic coal mining. They serve as liaisons between industry, governmental agencies, and watershed organizations and offer conferences, educational opportunities, and technical assistance. They endorse state-of-the-art technologies in conjunction with grassroots efforts to solve AML problems. EPCAMR and WPCAMR support the efforts of ARIPPA and administer the ARIPPA AML/AMD Reclamation Awards.
Grants are awarded to at least one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Anthracite Region and one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Bituminous 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 one year earlier than the deadline and one year later. The amount granted is dependent upon demonstrated need. Applying organizations must support the mission of ARIPPA, including the removal and conversion of coal refuse into alternative energy and the beneficial use of CFB ash for AML/AMD reclamation purposes.
For several years, ARIPPA has awarded the AML/AMD Reclamation Award Program, funding multiple projects throughout the state including:
2023 ($9.6K)
- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance: $4,800 for the acquisition of 1.87 acres of important wetland habitat along Quaker Run to be deeded to Kulpmont Borough and added to the Veteran’s Memorial Park.*
- Clearfield Creek Watershed Association: $3,150 for Water Quality Monitoring of Stream and Systems
- Jacob’s Creek Watershed Association: $1,650 for Flow Meter Purchase
2022 ($8.6K)
- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance: $4,300 for updating a passive treatment system along Site 48 to install a leaping weir.*
- Clarion County Conservation District: $4,300 for rehab of the Morrison Passive Treatment System and education purposes
2021 ($5K)
- Earth Conservancy: $2,500 for the Nanticoke Creek Watershed Flow Monitoring Project.*
- Roaring Run Watershed Association: $1,500 for erosion control at Burgundy Run Discharge
- Clearfield County Conservation District: $600 for the purchase of a vegetation management toolkit
- Sewickley Creek Watershed Association: $300 for vegetation management
2020 ($5K)
- Earth Conservancy: $2,500 for the Nanticoke Creek Watershed Monitoring Project.*
- Moshannon Creek Watershed Association: $2,000 for watershed monitoring and AMD prioritization
- Kiski Watershed Association: $500 to purchase a weed wacker to maintain the Booker AMD passive treatment system.
2019 ($5K)
- Earth Conservancy: $2,500 to partially fund a treatability study for the Askam Borehole Project Phase 2 (actually awarded in 2022).*
- Clearfield Creek Watershed Association: $1,800 for the repair of a limestone channel at the Swank 13 Mine discharge treatment system
- Armstrong Conservation District: $700 for matching funds for the Kimmel Project, a bond forfeiture site in need of extensive reclamation
2018 ($5K)
- Sewickley Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 for stone on a walking trail around the Lowber AMD Treatment System
- Luzerne Conservation District: $1,750 for the sampling of AMD Discharges in Luzerne County as part of the Countywide Action Plan for the Chesapeake Bay.*
- Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association: $750 for the annual Centralia cleanup.*
2017 ($5K)
- Sewickley Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 for building and educational pavilion
- Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association: $800 towards the purchase of limestone sand and hauling costs to replenish dosing piles along the headwaters of Red Brook Run to combat acidity in the stream.*
- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance: $1,193 towards the purchase and installation of an interpretive sign for the Carbon Run (Site 42) Treatment System.*
- Lackawanna River Conservation Association: $507 towards the purchase of a set of pre-cast concrete steps along the bank of the Lackawanna River in Old Forge, PA to be able to safely access the Old Forge AMD Borehole for future monitoring and public access tours.*
2016 ($5K)
- Sewickley Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 for expenses related to repairing the Lowber AMD Treatment System
- Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association: $800 for in-stream limestone sand dosing.*
- Newport Township Crime Watch: $500 for illegal dumpsite cleanup on AML.*
- Luzerne Conservation District: $700 for the purchase of water quality monitoring equipment.*
- Centralia Borough: $500 to purchase supplies and for hauling illegally dumped trash.*
2015 ($5K)
- Huntingdon County Conservation District: $750 for Limestone Dosing of Shoup’s Run
- Elk County Conservation District: $1,250 for AML analysis in West Creek Headwaters
- Allegheny Land Trust: $500 for sign replacement at Wingfield Pines Treatment System
- Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association: $800 for the purchase of lime sand for dosing.*
- Earth Conservancy: $1,200 for a wayside educational exhibit on Askam Treatment System.*
- McGlynn Learning Center: $500 for Build-a-Birdhouse workshop; birdhouses to be placed on reclaimed AML sites.*
2014 ($5K)
- Evergreen Conservancy: $1,250 to purchase rechargeable batteries to store renewable energy for the Tanoma AMD Treatment system.
- AWARE: $1,250 for construction activities associated with an AMD treatment system built in partnership with Robindale Energy in Altman Run Watershed.
- Babb Creek Watershed Association: $1,300 for replacement parts for the Antrim AMD treatment system.*
- Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association: $500 for the purchase of lime sand for dosing.*
- Centralia Borough: $700 to purchase supplies and for hauling illegally dumped trash.*
2013 ($5K)
- Allegheny Valley Land Trust: for construction of a system to collect sediment from a spoil pile along the Allegheny River
- Evergreen Conservancy: to purchase/install a new water turbine at Tanoma Wetlands. Combined with previously installed renewable energy, the system will be aerated 24/7.
- Luzerne Conservation District: $500 for removal of debris dams within Nockley’s Trib. to Solomon Creek and restore severely eroded stream banks and stormwater inlets.*
- Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association: $1,000 for 50 Tons of limestone sand to be applied to the South Branch of Mehoopany Creek to increase the pH levels in the stream, to improve the fishery habitat, and water quality.*
- Plymouth Historical Society: $500 to clean up illegally dumped garbage at the historic Avondale Mine Disaster site located in Plymouth Township, Luzerne County, PA.*
- Lackawanna River Corridor Association: $500 for a real estate appraisal on the value of abandoned mine lands near the Old Forge AMD Borehole in an effort to secure the property to be used for future AMD Treatment.*
2012 ($10K)
- Sewickley Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 for iron sludge recovery in the Marchand AMD Treatment System.
- Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited: $2,500 for lime dosing.
- Babb Creek Watershed Association: $1,000 to offset the cost of micro-hydroelectric turbines to generate electricity on 2 billion gal/day of AMD thru the Antrim Treatment System.*
- Eastern Middle Anthracite Region Recovery, Inc.: $1,000 for the refurbishment of hydroelectric components on the Audenried AMD Treatment System.*
- Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 to purchase and apply limestone to continue the treatment of a large AMD seep at WALA Lake.*
- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance: $500 to restore roadway, remove silt from pond 2, block entrances, and install signs at Carbon Run Site 42 AMD Treatment System.*
2011 ($10K)
- Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association: $2,500 to construct a concrete pad for a lime-dosing silo in the Bear Run Treatment complex.
- Stream Restoration Inc.: $2,500 for project costs associated with removing waste coal refuse to be used in energy production and the construction of an AMD treatment system.
- Schuylkill Headwaters Association: $3,000 for the Wagner Run Restoration project to keep water in the stream channel, reducing the volume of the Pine Knot AMD discharge.*
- Huber Breaker Preservation Society: $1,000 to place a pedestrian access gate in a wrought iron fence surrounding the property around the Huber Memorial Park.*
- Eastern Middle Anthracite Region Recovery, Inc.: $1,000 for enhancement of the Audenreid AMD Treatment System to provide reliable flow to the micro-hydro turbines.*
2010 ARIPPA’s 20th Anniversary ($20K)
- Clearfield Creek Watershed Association: $8,000 for Swank 13 AMD Passive Treatment
- Evergreen Conservancy: $2,000 Alternative Energy development at Tanoma Wetlands
- Earth Conservancy: $460 to replace informational signage on the Mocanaqua Loop Trail developed on abandoned mine lands.
- Schuylkill Headwaters Association: $4,770 to repair the Glendower Breech which will return a stream back to its original channel avoiding contact with coal sediment.
- Eastern Middle Anthracite Region Recovery, Inc.: $4,770 to construct a water intake on the Audenreid Treatment System to increase flow to the micro-hydro turbines
*Indicates EPCAMR Region project funded.
