Swoyersville Culm Pile Removal AML Pilot Project

Fact Sheet from the PA Department of Environmental Protection

• The work to be undertaken involves the removal of 500-thousand tons of coal and rock waste from ~25-acres located off Main Street (aka. “the backroad”) in Swoyersville. The projected total cost of the project is $12-million.
  • The Government Financed Construction Contract (GFCC), which is the actual work to remove the coal refuse material, will be completed over a 5-year period.
  • To support the project, a $4-million grant is being provided by the federal government through the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). Some of the funding is from the federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) pilot program, authorized by Congress in 2017.   The rest of the funding is from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) AML Trust Fund, generated by a fee levied on coal extraction.
• The coal refuse left behind on the 55-acre site is from the Harry E Colliery coal breaker that ceased operation in the 1970’s leaving a 40-foot high mountain of waste coal that spills into nearby tributary Abrahams Creek. The dangerous embankment is illegally scaled by ATV / climbing daredevils and its black sediment has been wind-blown around town for decades making it a health and safety hazard for the community.  In the past the pile has been on fire and could potentially re-occur at any time.
• The overall work area ~28 acres which includes the GFCC area, the required access area, support areas, and the erosion and sedimentation controls. The land is owned by Pagnotti Enterprises, Inc.
• Work on the project began in November 2018 (construction of the entrance).
• Work on the AML pilot program ~15-acre portion must be expended by October 31, 2020 (3 years). Once completed, 7-acres of the site will be reclaimed, revegetated and donated to Swoyersville Borough for recreational use in accordance with the terms of the grant.
• The general contractor for the removal is Keystone Reclamation Fuel Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Olympus Power out of Northampton County, PA who will be providing the remaining $8-million toward the project.
• The material will be processed and removed from the site by excavating equipment and hauled away by trucks. The truck route approved by Penn DOT will use state highways.
• The work will eliminate one of the largest waste coal piles in the Wyoming Valley and open up the land for redevelopment.
• The project, coupled with future project phases, will improve water quality in nearby Abrahams Creek by reducing flooding and decreasing the possibility of mine drainage.
• The material removed from the site in this phase will be used by Olympus Power as a fuel for its cogeneration facilities.
• An additional 3.5-million tons of material on the site will be removed at a later date through future project phases.
• The partners for this project include: the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), Keystone Reclamation Fuel Management (KRFM) LLC, Swoyersville Borough, Pagnotti Enterprises, the Foundation for PA Watersheds (FPW), PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), and the federal office of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation (OSMRE).

Below is a presentation given at the December 5, 2018 project information meeting: