Carolyn assisted with the AMD Sampling with the EPCAMR Staff in the Loyalsock Creek Watershed.

EC worked with the King’s College Office of Career Planning to offer King’s students the opportunity to apply for one of two EC Summer 2026 Scholarships. This EC scholarship allows King’s students to gain hands-on experience through an internship which aligns with EC’s mission. Furthermore, the work that students do in this internship counts for three college credits, funded by the scholarship, which helps students work towards earning their degrees. Carolyn has been selected as a recipient of the Earth Conservancy Summer 2026 Scholarship and has chosen to return to work with EPCAMR for this internship opportunity.  You can read about Carolyn’s initial time with EPCAMR in this previous news article. 

Carolyn tells us, “I’m so honored that I was selected as a recipient of this amazing scholarship! I never would have expected that such an opportunity would have been made possible for me so early in my college career. Without this internship, I would have needed to wait until the fall semester of college to return to work with EPCAMR as a Community-Based Federal Work Study student intern. I would have missed getting involved with all the sampling and monitoring that EPCAMR does throughout the summer, which I’ve really wanted to be a part of! Now, thanks to Earth Conservancy, I can focus on getting out in the field without worrying about falling behind with course work!” 

“I really like how this internship is run differently from my other college courses. There are virtually no assignments, except for updating my supervising professor, Dr. Brain Mangan, on my tasks and activities each week. Instead of me taking a midterm and final exam, Bobby has to complete a midterm and final assessment of the quality of my work. It’s more like I’m giving him homework! I’ll have to work hard so that he has only good things to say about me!” Carolyn joked. 

Carolyn organized the Holy Cross Day of Service EPCAMR AMD Tie-Dye Activity on Campus in Wilkes-Barre just before the Spring Semester came to an end with Bobby and Maria.

Carolyn mentioned, “In all seriousness, I’m very grateful to have been chosen for this opportunity. There are a lot of people who helped me secure this internship. Dr. Brian Mangan, who is the Director of the Environmental Program at King’s and my supervising professor for this internship, informed me of the opportunity and encouraged me to apply. I am so thankful for his unwavering support. The Office of Career Planning was extremely helpful in the application process, answering any and all questions I had. They were also partly responsible for deciding which students would be awarded the scholarship, so I’m grateful they chose me. EPCAMR has my gratitude for welcoming me back so soon after I finished this semester’s Community-Based Federal Work Study with them. I look forward to continuing to be a part of the EPCAMR team! And finally, a big thank you to Earth Conservancy, who proposed and funded this scholarship. This scholarship truly reflects their efforts to increase involvement in similar causes to their own.”

Carolyn attended the Schuylkill River Watershed Congress at Alvernia College in Reading to be a Room Facilitator, along with Maria, while Bobby was there to present.

Bobby stated, “Carolyn has been a valuable member of the EPCAMR team through her involvement in the Communit-Based Federal Work Study Program. It is very beneficial to us, since we often do not have the funds to create paid internships, unless grant funds are budgeted and can be allocated to support the internship positions. The students are paid through the Work Study Program, I serve as their Supervisor and Mentor, and they follow our activity description of tasks and work projects that we are currently working on during the time that they are with us. She will continue to get lots of hands-on learning and applied science activities during her internship over the next 12 weeks. This scholarship from Earth Conservancy is wonderful for her and for us. They have been a very strong advocate and supporter of our work over our entire time we’ve existed and we’ve been a part of their work in many capacities and still are. Carolyn already works very well with the rest of the Staff and our community volunteers and has already gained a lot of knowledge on the work that we do in the region to assess and restore our watersheds impacted by legacy AMD. She’s been very instrumental in helping to categorize my Google Contacts list to help EPCAMR target reaching out to vendors and partners of ours to invite them to attend our Fall 30th Anniversary Banquet and Dinner/Reception to celebrate this amazing milestone of ours. That’s no easy task with over 7000 contacts to be sorted and labeled,” Bobby joked.

Carolyn lives in Shickshinny, at the southern part of the Wyoming Valley, where we are working on completing a Coldwater Conservation Plan for the Shickshinny Creek, Rocky Run, and Paddy Run watersheds. She’s familiar with the area and is currently reaching out to the Shickshinny Historical Society and Museum’s Director, Jimmy Bach, to research any historical mine maps of the area that EPCAMR can scan and utilize in our report. Jimmy has an amazing YouTube collection on the site and his History with Jimmy videos are great! We’ve offered to scan the maps for Jim and provide them to him digitally for allowing us to borrow the maps and scan them to get them into our report and possibly into the Mine Subsidence Insurance’s (MSI) Mine Map Atlas and PA Historical Underground Mine Map Inventory System (PHUMMIS). We will be scheduling some days in June for additional stream and culvert assessments in both the Shickshinny Creek and following up with our partners in the Bowman’s Creek watershed too! Welcome back Carolyn! 

The post Carolyn M. Phillips, returns to EPCAMR, sponsored by an Earth Conservancy Summer 2026Scholarship appeared first on epcamr.org.

Mark is one of 18 service members chosen to participate in the first class of the newly established “Energy Communities AmeriCorps,” part of a national effort to revitalize coal communities.

EPCAMR is the first organization in eastern Pennsylvania’s Northern Appalachian Anthracite Coalfields – and currently one of only two nonprofits in the Keystone State – to host a service member as part of the innovative Energy Communities initiative. Other service members will be based at nonprofits in communities from West Virginia to Wyoming.

“It’s a small world here in Northeastern PA. Six degrees of separation seem to always come into play. Mark’s resume and experience over his career were a perfect match for EPCAMR when I developed the Volunteer Activity Description (VAD) for the Community Development Coordinator position that he will fill,” said EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes, who is Mark’s supervisor.

Jones

“He’s joining us at just the right time,” Bobby added. “He understands and has lived in the coal region long enough to have seen many of the same positive reclamation, restoration, and diversification of economies on the landscape of our former abandoned mine lands that was once dominated by a single industry: anthracite coal mining. He’s covered EPCAMR projects at his previous job with The Times Leader newspaper and was familiar with our work, and my instinct told me that his affinity and background working with many nonprofits that I was already very familiar with was a huge determining factor in my selection of him for the volunteer position.”

Mark will serve through Dec. 3, 2025. He and his fellow service members will strive to leverage and bring resources to their respective coal communities to spur job creation, support economic revitalization, and address environmental degradation.

The service members will focus on projects that build capacity of nonprofit organizations, local economic development districts, and other organizations. They will carry out activities such as conducting community needs assessments, organizing public meetings, assisting with grant writing, providing outreach on tax incentives and other federal resources to support economic development, increasing public awareness about training and employment opportunities, and educating residents about hazards associated with abandoned mine lands.

“I am privileged to be a small part of this much-needed effort to transform coal communities that historically helped to power our nation’s growth and development but, which, sadly, still bear the scars of those intensive mining activities,” said Mark, of Kingston.

A Pennsylvania native, Mark graduated in 1991 from Penn State University. He formerly worked as a print journalist in places including suburban Phoenix, Arizona, and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He started a civic journalism project at The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre to strengthen the area’s nonprofit safety net; the project was later recognized with a public service award by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Most recently, Mark was employed by The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, based in Scranton.

AmeriCorps developed the Energy Communities AmeriCorps project in partnership with the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG), which serves as a hub for federal coordination and stakeholder engagement to spur economic revitalization and support workers in distressed energy communities.

The Energy Communities IWG has so far launched seven Rapid Response Teams to align federal resources in communities experiencing recent or imminent economic downturns. AmeriCorps members will work closely with these Rapid Response Teams to engage local government, business, and nonprofit stakeholders in each energy community.

Energy Communities AmeriCorps is funded through a unique multi-agency public private partnership with support from members of the Energy Communities IWG – the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Conservation Legacy, the project’s sponsor, is a longstanding AmeriCorps partner with extensive experience working in coal communities. Over the past 22 years, Conservation Legacy has engaged more than 1,200 AmeriCorps members in supporting economic development and revitalization in energy communities in Appalachia and the Intermountain West. These members have secured $41 million in grants and in-kind resources, recruited 100,000 volunteers, trained 16,000 community members in water quality monitoring, and improved 3.2 million acres of land.

EPCAMR, which got its start in 1995, encourages the reclamation and redevelopment of land affected by past mining practices. This includes reducing hazards to health and safety, eliminating soil erosion, improving water quality, and returning land affected by past mining practices to productive use, thereby improving the economy of the region.” For additional information, including how you can get involved, visit epcamr.org.

The post EPCAMR hosts AmeriCorps VISTA member Mark Jones for launch of “Energy Communities” revitalization effort appeared first on epcamr.org.

The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR) is sponsoring an AmeriCorps State and National Member Volunteer, Morgan Romanowski, until September 5, 2025, through a partnership between the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement (OSMRE),  AmeriCorps, and the Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP), a Program of Conservation Legacy. We’re proud to be a national non-profit partner in Pennsylvania.

“EPCAMR is excited to have Morgan on board for this next year to assist us as a volunteer to help us out with the numerous projects we have on our plate right now. We are striving for additional funding to provide increased organizational capacity for our organization. It’s been very difficult to secure funding to support full-time employment of a number of positions with EPCAMR through grants. Ultimately, we have to manage a large number of them to keep ourselves sustainable over the long-term. We’re very humbled to have been chosen once again for this position after speaking with a colleague of ours, April Elkins-Badtke, Executive Director for Stewards Individual Placements-East, in Beckley, West Virginia.” Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director and Morgan’s Supervisor, stated.

Back in June 2024, I had discussed with April our desire to host and sponsor a position or two if funding was available and Northeastern PA would be considered as a part of the larger Energy Community Areas in Pennsylvania. EPCAMR had worked with previously a number of years ago to support and host two other Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement (OSMRE) AmeriCorps volunteers and an 8-week summer internship position that turned into a year-long AmeriCorps Volunteer In Service to America (VISTA) position in 2020, funded through the Foundation for PA Watersheds and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)  Yolande Norman, Division Chief at OSMRE, has approved the placement of two national service members at EPCAMR! We are excited to be a part of the Energy Community AmeriCorps Program (ECAP) this fall to provide capacity to communities that are working hard every day like us to make our communities more resilient and able to enjoy a much better quality of life. EPCAMR is currently recruiting for the second Community Development Coordinator VISTA position that can be found at MyAmeriCorps,” Bobby passionately stated.

As an OSMRE AmeriCorps Fellow, Morgan will follow the similar paths of many of our previous seasonal internships, except instead of 12 weeks, it will be for 52 weeks! She has the flexibility to perform any tasks that pertain to abandoned mine land (AML) mapping, water quality monitoring, environmental education, outreach, and storytelling. EPCAMR will be creating some story maps on the work that is happening around the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, AMLER funding, and more that we are working on for the OSMRE. This position can be in the field, in AMD, in streams, in the woods, on public lands, and or gathering data, creating geographic information system (GIS) maps, assisting community watershed groups, conservation groups, Conservation Districts, and EPCAMR regional partners to advance our mission or reclaiming abandoned mine lands and restoring watersheds impacted by legacy abandoned mine drainage (AMD) pollution,” Bobby explained.

Morgan was measuring the strike and dip at the headwaters of Nanticoke Creek in the rain along Holly Street just on the other side of the road heading downstream.

Morgan graduated from Wilkes University on May 18^th 2024, with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Geology. She is from Scott Township, Lackawanna County, just outside the Northern Anthracite Coalfields, in the Lackawanna Valley. During her time at Wilkes, she worked on a research project with her friend Hope Mullins and senior partner, and Dr. Karimi, PhD, that involved tracking the disappearing waters on the Nanticoke creek into mine pools below the surface, entitled, Feasibility Study Using Saline Tracers And Electrical Surveying To Track Disappearing Stream Waters In Luzerne County, PA. EPCAMR and the Earth Conservancy had provided her Professor, Dr. Boback Karimi, PhD, with some some surface and underground mine maps that were useful to their project. She also interned with the Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Program from summer of 2023 up until she graduated in 2024. She has plenty of experience with some of the typical field monitoring equipment that EPCAMR uses already. 

The SIPP program is sponsored by the Conservation Legacy, a nonprofit that is dedicated to funding environmental stewardship throughout America. EPCAMR is looking forward to working with Patricia “Trish” Urquiza Silva, Program Manager, for the SIPP.

EPCAMR has developed a 1-year Project Plan outlining the volunteer project goals to be worked towards during Morgan’s time of service. Some of these projects include assisting in fundraising efforts, developing various resource maps using GIS, scanning and cataloging underground mine maps, watershed assessment work, monitoring water quality within the EPCAMR region, and providing educational experiences to underserved youth, camps, and school districts in the region as funding allows.

“I am looking forward to working with EPCAMR to help provide environmentally sustainable solutions to underserved communities within the eastern Pennsylvania region impacted by abandoned mine lands, whether it be through environmental education and outreach, creating GIS maps, conducting field assessments, or writing grant proposals,” said Morgan.

Severe streambank erosion along a section of the Nanticoke Creek showing a steep, highly eroded area with tree roots exposed and extreme undercutting of the bank.

One project she looks forward to is assisting EPCAMR with the monitoring of water quality, AMD, mine pool elevations, flow loss points, and stream flows within the Nanticoke Creek watershed in partnership with the Earth Conservancy. The Nanticoke Creek experiences flow loss from water flowing into mine pools beneath the surface. EPCAMR and Earth Conservancy will be continuing to conduct monitoring of the Creek and the local mine pool to help with their $17.5 million dollar Nanticoke Creek Watershed Restoration funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and other funding sources.

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director, flying their DJI Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise drone upstream and over the abandoned culm banks and legacy Anthracite spoil material in the dry stream channel along Nanticoke Creek’s headwaters where the Earth Conservancy will be reclaiming the site and putting the creek back up on the surface.

“I am excited about working on this particular project because it is a continuation of the research work I completed for my senior project at Wilkes University. Í have seen firsthand how the flow loss affects the Creek and how the water is negatively impacted from its journey through the mine pools until it eventually resurfaces through the Askam Borehole where abandoned mine drainage (AMD) impacts the lower reaches of the Nanticoke Creek and where an existing AMD Maelstrom Oxidizer Treatment System is in placed operated and maintained by the Earth Conservancy and monitored by EPCAMR.

The Maelstrom Oxidizer AMD Treatment System on Nanticoke Creek along Dundee Road owned and operated by the Earth Conservancy and monitored by EPCAMR.

Askam AMD discharge into the Nanticoke Creek along Dundee Road in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, PA.

It’s used as a outdoor environmental education learning center for experiential learning opportunities and tours throughout the year. Restoration of the stream channel help to reduce the formation of AMD downstream,” said Morgan.

Brookie the Trout, one of EPCAMR’s two puppets tagged along for an AMD Tie-Dye Workshop with the Lackawanna River Conservation Association and PA American Water, at their annual Water Camp in Peckville, PA at the Valley Library.

Morgan also looks forward to participating in the various education and outreach programs that EPCAMR provides which includes, but is not limited to, tabling at community environmental events, water camps, and AMD tie-dye workshops with the trout puppets.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of environmental outreach and education within a community. By providing educational outreach programs, EPCAMR is filling a gap that most elementary schools and high schools have in their education programs when it comes to the environmental sciences. Their trout puppets and Environmental Education Streamside Hub webpage complete with videos, activities, and teacher curriculums and lesson plans is phenomenal and every teacher and environmental educator should be looking into it and using what they can in the classroom since the information that is on the site meets PA State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. They are also spreading awareness of the issues that are caused by the abandoned mine lands that are right in people’s backyards,” said Morgan.

Morgan has already been a volunteer with EPCAMR since April of 2022 when she completed a Non-Tidal Streams Protocol Training with EPCAMR, where she learned about how to properly assess roads, bridges, pipes, culverts, and crossings for aquatic organism passage. The online training portion was in partnership with the UMass Extension, in the Center for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC).

The top of the Falls on Little Shickshinny Creek on State Game Lands 55 not far from the parking lot along Shickshinny Valley Road where the bedding plane of the rocks across the creek create an opening before the long drop to the plunge pool below.

“This fall, Morgan will be joining some of the EPCAMR Staff in the field to conduct aquatic organism passage surveys of many of the roads, bridges, culverts, and pipes in the Little Shickshinny Creek watershed, Paddy Run, and Rocky Run tributaries on the State Game Lands 260 and 55, in the southern tip of the northern Anthracite coalfields in the former Salem Coal Company and Stackhouse Colliery area and along other publicly accessible areas where the streams and their tributaries cross over these infrastructure features to determine how passable they are for fish and aquatic life. She will survey 20 culverts in the field with the EPCAMR Staff and Bobby, who is a volunteer Lead Observer Coordinator 1 for the NAACC and she will then become certified as a Lead Observer in Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) through NAACC. She will be very busy over the next year. These projects mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg,” Bobby Hughes jokingly stated.

Looking downstream at the Falls on Little Shickshinny Creek on State Game Lands 55.

The post EPCAMR Welcomes and Hosts AmeriCorps State & National Member Volunteer Morgan Romanowski For A Year of Coalfield Community Service appeared first on epcamr.org.

Figure 1. Aspect Raster Layer of a portion of the Northern Anthracite Coalfields

Suitability Layer of a portion of the Northern Anthracite Coalfields related to Solar within coalfield communities and the potential siting on formerly reclaimed abandoned mine lands

The post The Just Transition Fund Awards EPCAMR $25K Planning and Outreach Grant to Reach New Partners in the Solar Markets to Discuss Future Development Opportunities on Reclaimed Abandoned Mine Lands in PA Coalfield Communities appeared first on epcamr.org.

First and foremost, EPCAMR wants to acknowledge all of the coalition partners, reclamation-related industries, Conservation Districts, Trout Unlimited Chapters, watershed associations, and coalfield community groups that have been stepping up and standing up for their communities these last few months on the importance of the Reauthorization of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The need is justified and the funding allocations are necessary to continue to reclaim our abandoned mine lands and to treat the AMD water pollution sources to help restore our watersheds.  We are sure that most of you are aware that a small fee is collected from the coal industries that remain on every ton of coal mined, both surface and underground, that gets set aside into the Federal Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund. Those funds are vital to the remaining States like PA, and many others throughout Appalachia for reclamation and remediation of our past mining abandoned mine lands and polluted waterways.  Those funds get distributed to the abandoned mine land (AML) States in the form of yearly grants to help reclaim AML and treat polluted abandoned mine drainage (AMD) to help restore our watersheds.

Today’s tour with James Bruggers, a  reporter from the Southeast, National Environment Reporting Network, from Louisville, KY, covering a story for Inside Climate News, was hosted by the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (PA DEP BAMR). EPCAMR attended as well to provide valuable local insight into several of the sites with expertise and commentary provided by Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director since two of the three sites are abandoned mine land areas and an AMD site that we have been heavily involved with, along with many other local community partners. These types of projects could not happen without the support of the State and Federal Agencies such as the PA DEP BAMR and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the funding that is provided to reclaim these areas. Private landowner’s permission and approval are also integral to the success of each and every project. James’ full story will appear in a few weeks.

EPCAMR wanted to provide our view of the importance of today’s tour with him that we hope will get us some National media attention on the importance of Reauthorization sooner, rather than later, as the Infrastructure Bill ((HR 3684) is where a lot of the details are located related to SMCRA Reauthorization and funding for abandoned mine land reclamation and AMD remediation. Hopefully, his story will highlight the jobs that can be created in the Appalachian Coalfields for reclamation, the continued removal of the waste culm piles by our partnering Co-Generation Plants, like Panther Creek Partners, who are a part of the ARIPPA Trade Association and have been a partner of EPCAMR’s since the mid-90s.

The EPCAMR Executive Director discussed the possibilities of future AMD Treatment Plants around the Commonwealth that could create long-term jobs and investments in the coalfield communities that are still living with these large volume, acid-laden, mine waters that should be seen as public infrastructure projects with the added benefit of providing clean water and other recreational and industrial use-value to those who live along them and would ultimately benefit from the restoration of those impaired waters. EPCAMR and PA DEP BAMR both reference the SRBC’s Anthracite Region Mine Drainage Remediation Strategy on the Tour that discusses the potential for combining certain discharges to treat them more effectively.

The 3 Sites visited were:

• Swoyersville Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Coal Refuse Reclamation and Community Athletic Area Project in Swoyersville Borough, Luzerne County
• Old Forge AMD Borehole discharge in the Lower Lackawanna River Watershed, just above the Connell Street Bridge in Old Forge Borough, Lackawanna County
• Sterry Creek South-Dolph Mine Fire Abandoned Mine Reclamation Project, Olyphant Borough, Lackawanna County

Photo 1. Equipment hauling and removing waste culm, fines, and silts that are several feet in depth from the former Harry E. Colliery abandoned mine land site at the beginning of the project near the Church Street tree line where Roosevelt Park is located just across the street from the Phase I Reclamation for the Community Athletic Area for Swoyersville Borough.

Photo 2. The former Harry E. Colliery Culm banks tower over the community of Swoyersville Borough where the residential homes surround the 55 acre abandoned mine lands in the Abraham Creek watershed on 3 sides. This 45 acre area is denoted as a Phase II site for future reclamation purposes and is not a part of the Phase I reclamation, due to the extensive reclamation costs needed and sheer amount of material that needs to be hauled, graded, and leveled for erosion and sedimentation control.

Photo 3. The Old Forge AMD Borehole as it discharges from the early 1960s concrete culvert diversion chamber that is several hundred feet downstream from the actual 42″ diameter borehole that is located along the Lackawanna River. Iron hydroxide staining is evident during typical lower flow conditions on the riverbed for the lower 3 miles of the Lackawanna River until it’s confluence with the North Branch Susquehanna River. The Connell Street Bridge in Old Forge can be seen from above.

Photo 4. Looking downstream on the Lackawanna River where the iron hydroxide staining is quite evident along the entire length of the river’s right bank. As the increased flows in the river drop from the recent storm events and remnants of Hurricane Ida and others, the muddied waters will turn back to orange and can be seen from Google Earth for the entire length of the lower 3 miles.

Photo 5. From left to right: Todd Wood-PA DEP BAMR NE Office, Bobby Hughes-EPCAMR Executive Director, Brian Bradley-PA DEP BAMR Harrisburg Office, and James Bruggers-Reporter for Inside Climate News, view the downstream impacts on the Lower Lackawanna River as Bobby discusses the impacts from past mining to the St. John’s Creek tributary that losing much of its water to the underground mine pool in the Scranton-Metro Mine Pool Complex.

Photo 6. A panoramic shot looking south taken by the EPCAMR Executive Director, Bobby Hughes, of the cutoff trench that was excavated to the base of the Dunmore No. 3 seam to isolate the mine fire and act as a barrier along the south, west, and north perimeters of the active fire zone and opposite high wall where the Dunmore No. 3 and Dunmore No. 2 (30-40′ below the No. 3) Anthracite veins were mined extensively.

Photo 7. Looking south across the cutoff trench that was excavated at the Dunmore No. 2 Anthracite vein in an anticline formation within the rock with the overburden seen from above in the tree line. You can notice the active venting of the mine gases in the left center of the photo seen as on this rainy day as smoke rising 10-14′ above the active fire zone.

Photo 8. James Bruggers, Reporter, Inside Climate News, captures some iPhone video footage of the venting gases coming from one of the many temperature monitoring boreholes within the active fire zone that is currently being reclaimed and extinguished.

Photo 9. Looking southwest along the isolation trench and vertical high wall opposite the trench where a few of the coal veins can be seen (Dunmore No. 2 and No. 3) and a little split or rider was noticed closer to the surface. Throop is down over the Valley horizon as well as the US Route 6 Highway.

Photo 10. Pinkish red ash from rock, waste culm, and coal that had previously been burned in the fire was excavated and placed along the cuts to create the roads to get around the mine fire site. It looks similar to what you would find in the ash content that you would find in your home if Anthracite coal had been used as a home heating fuel source for a furnace.

Photo 11. Pond 2 was constructed to hold the water supply that is necessary to extinguish the fire.

Photo 12. Looking down into the abyss and darkness of one of the temperature monitoring boreholes within the active fire zone.

Photo 13. Retired Mining Engineer, John Mack, formerly with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office that used to be located in Wilkes-Barre, PA gives James Brugger, Reporter, Inside Climate News, a historical overview of the project’s beginnings and initial funding sources, as well as the importance of the project due to the proximity of the Jefferson Township Sewer Authority’s infrastructure lines. Larry Dobash (white hat), Brian Bradley, and Tom Ludka-all from PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (PA DEP BAMR), and Bobby Hughes-(orange jacket) listen in on the conversation.

Photo 14. The temperature monitoring borehole capped at the surface within the Dolph Mine Fire zone.

Now that we’ve been able to provide you somewhat of a virtual tour for the day and some of the sites in Northeastern PA’s Anthracite Coal Region, there is a much greater sense of urgency in our work. The fee collection authority for the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) expires IN 2 DAYS (September 30th, 2021).  While there is language to renew the fee collection for several more years in the Infrastructure Bill that was passed by the Senate and is being considered by the House, all of us in the reclamation community are unsure as to whether the House of Representatives will pass that Bill.

If the Infrastructure Bill, which contains the SMCRA Reauthorization language, does not pass, then Congress has two options.  The first option is to let SMCRA fee collection sunset, or expire, which will put many State AML Programs and future reclamation and AMD remediation projects and treatment systems in serious jeopardy.  The second option is to provide a short-term extension to SMCRA fee collection until such time that Congress can agree on the details surrounding the Reauthorization.

Should it come to an extension, we hope that the House members will vote for that. Individuals who live in our coalfield communities that want to continue to see our land and waterways improved need to continue to have ongoing communications with their respective US State Representatives and Senators regarding the importance of the SMCRA Reauthorization. NOW, more than ever, as the days close in on the sunset date for the fee collection, communications with your local political leaders in the legislature will take on an even more important role.

Please contact your US Representatives, Senator Toomey, and Senator Casey, if you are a PA resident, and let them know of the importance of Reauthorization and Abandoned Mine Reclamation in Pennsylvania and that if it should come to the question of an extension, we hope the House of Representatives will vote for that.

For more information and videos related to the Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund and Reauthorization, see the PA AML Campaign page, WPCAMR’s and EPCAMR’s YouTube video channels that are relatively new, where some videos can be found of interviews that we’ve had around the State with our partners to emphasize the importance of the work that we do and that all of our partners are doing to reclaim our abandoned mine lands and to clean up and restore our polluted waterways by creating jobs and economic development opportunities on these formerly abandoned mine lands once they are reclaimed and alternative energy uses continue to be developed for both the land, underground mine pool water, and the AMD.

If you are interested in learning more, join us for our 2021 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Virtual Conference that will be from October 27-29th.

The post PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation and EPCAMR Highlight Legacy Abandoned Mine Lands & AMD with Inside Climate News Reporter appeared first on epcamr.org.

• reimburse states and tribal governments from the fund for the emergency restoration, reclamation, abatement, control, or prevention of adverse effects of coal mining practices;
• extend the authority for Interior to collect reclamation fees through FY2036; and

• increase the minimum amount of funds from $3-$5 million to states and Indian tribes who have an approved abandoned mine reclamation program

The RECLAIM Act (H.R. 2156) passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of The Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), a bill to address America’s infrastructure needs and create jobs in the wake of the economic and health crisis caused by COVID-19.

The RECLAIM Act would invest $1 billion in projects ($200 million/year for 5 years) that:

• clean up abandoned coal mines
• restore polluted rivers and streams known as watersheds suffering from abandoned mine drainage (AMD); and
• catalyze community economic development projects on or near reclaimed sites that can leverage additional private sector investment that can lead to more jobs and infrastructure development

These funds would be invested in over 20 states across the country. “Congressman Matt Cartwright’s original co-sponsorship of the Reauthorization Amendments and RECLAIM Act bills were instrumental as well as bipartisan support and leadership from Congressman Glenn Thompson (central PA), an early supporter, and Congressman Dan Meuser (eastern PA). Brian Fitzpatrick deserves a special thanks for being the only PA Republican to vote for the final passage of H.R. 2. However, EPCAMR still would like to thank our PA Republicans who co-sponsored HR 4248 and HR 2156,” Hughes emphasized.

Back in April, EPCAMR led a tour of PA Congressmen, Senator John Yudichak, and supporting partners, including the State PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, to the Swoyersville Culm Bank Pilot Project in Luzerne County, for a press conference on the need for the continued support and co-sponsorship of the RECLAIM Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Reauthorization Amendments of 2019. Both are now folded into HR 2, The Moving Forward Act.

For years, EPCAMR has advocated for these bills as job creation measures to support coal communities as we have faced job loss and economic decline due to the disappearing coal industry and the need for additional land reclamation of abandoned mine sites. According to a recent study, in combination, these two bills would create over 13,000 jobs per year restoring abandoned mine lands and waters in Appalachia. These jobs are even more critical for coalfield communities as they grapple with the further economic decline due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The types of jobs that could be created are very similar to the jobs of laid-off mine workers who have operated heavy equipment to move dirt and backfill, revegetate, create ponds, plant trees, run treatment plants, restore waterways, and reclaim mine lands as a part of their mining permits. Abandoned mine land reclamation projects aren’t that different. The transition into these types of jobs could be seamless for operators of heavy equipment like bulldozers, excavators, plows, hydroseeders, water trucks, tree planting machines, surveyors, engineers, and fuel managers.

Here is an example of the construction equipment that are commonly found both on active mining sites as well as on abandoned mine land reclamation projects. They are the same type of jobs that could be created under Hr 2, The Moving Forward Act.

These jobs don’t even include the other potential jobs that are going to be necessary to assess the environmental conditions of the lands and water affected by past mining practices. Water monitors, underground mine pool modelers, land surveyors, plant specialists, field technicians, fishery biologists, stream consultants, GIS technicians and specialists, hydrologists, hydrogeologists, drone operators, foresters, and plant biologists are all jobs that could be supported.

Askam AMD Treatment Facility Maelstrom Oxidizers treating mine water in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed along Dundee Road, Hanover Township, PA, Luzerne County, owned and operated by the Earth Conservancy and monitored by EPCAMR.

                                                                                                                                                                        Infrastructure development could be a big part of the use of these funds as well. “Building an AMD water treatment plant is infrastructure development in my eyes because it is very similar to operating a sewage or municipal water authority treatment plant. It takes capital, concrete, outbuildings, roads, clarifiers, aerators, pipes, augers, screens, grit chambers, metal removal processes, sludge management, and full-time jobs to run the plants. There will always be a need for long-term operation and maintenance. Sounds like job security to me. That’s an investment in the communities that are heavily impacted by AMD!” exclaimed Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director. The bill Invests $40 billion in new wastewater infrastructure to encourage efficiency and affordability and helps communities address stormwater needs, preventing pollution in local rivers, like the Susquehanna. The WVSA and the DAMA are just two authorities that might be able to leverage additional funds in the Wyoming Valley to reduce costs for the ratepayers and municipalities who lay within their sewersheds under their Municipal Stormwater Separation System (MS4) Programs.

“New roads to access these abandoned mine lands will be necessary, culverts and bridges will need to be replaced and enlarged or retrofitted to allow for the passage of new surface water that normally had gone into the underground mine pool complexes leading to the creation of AMD. It is not just to be considered infrastructure from a development standpoint, it can also provide huge environmental benefits in our surrounding watersheds that would allow for the passage of aquatic organisms like various fish species, including wild and native brook trout that we’ve surveyed and have found to be isolated in the headwater streams and tributaries above the mining-impacted areas throughout our Ridges and Valleys in Northeastern PA” Hughes said, who also happens to be a long-time member of the Stanley Cooper Chapter of Trout Unlimited and is the Eastern Region Vice-President of the PA Council of Trout Unlimited. Trout Unlimited’s CEO, Chris Wood has also supported HR 2 this week with a letter to House Leadership and call to the 370,000 members and supporters, of which, in PA alone, there are over 14,000.

EPCAMR and TU Staff and volunteers assessing the native wild brown trout habitat in the Toby Creek Watershed as a part of their completion of the Coldwater Conservation Plan for the Upper Toby Creek Watershed.

“We want to see AMD streams cleaned up and improved habitats for fisheries returned to our region”, desired Hughes. New rules will make it a lot easier for third-party community groups, normally called “Good Samaritans” to take on additional work with a lot less concern for various liability issues in order to improve streams and improve aquatic connections to streams that had been lost and disconnected to due past mining practices.

EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes teaching students who are interested in becoming volunteers with EPCAMR about the impacts of AMD on the Solomon Creek Watershed in the Wyoming Valley’s Hanover Township location, where the Solomon Creek Boreholes pollute the Creek with iron-laden mine water. They are also collecting iron hydroxide for harvesting, processing, and recycling into iron oxide pigment as a recoverable resource and to demonstrate its use for education purposes with youth in the underserved coalfield communities.

Now that the House has passed The Moving Forward Act, the bills will be sent to the Senate for consideration. “I am cautiously optimistic now that Congress has finally listened to the tens of thousands of coalfield citizens, including myself, who has tried to represent our Northern Appalachian Region of PA’s coalfields and community groups for over 25 years. It has been an ongoing and continuous effort to do justice and speak honestly and candidly in the Halls of Congress during several Hearings with the House Natural Resources Committee and with Staffers of legislators to give examples of potential innovative solutions to reclamation, environmental restoration, workforce development, and job creation and provide each of them with statistics for their own legislative, Congressional and Senatorial Districts on the impacts and inventory they each have a responsibility to ensure that the areas are cleaned up.”

EPCAMR Executive Director, Bobby Hughes, having a few minutes to thank Congressman Cartwright for allowing him to speak on behalf of the coalfield communities of Northeastern and Northcentral PA on Reauthorization, the RECLAIM Act, and Innovative Mine Reclamation solutions following his testimony with the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington DC in 2019.

“I have never forgotten where I was born and raised and am determined like so many others across the country living with AMD and blighted landscapes from past mining to finally have the means and continued funding to help clean up our mining-impacted watersheds and promote opportunities for sustainable economic redevelopment of our mine lands that could market them in a way that solar or geothermal companies and or resource recovery firms could come here and now leverage their investments with these funds under the RECLAIM Act portion of this bill,” a hopeful Hughes stated.

EPCAMR Executive Director, Bobby Hughes surveys the vast 55 acres of abandoned mine lands that are several hundred feet below the location of the waste culm piles and former silt basins in Swoyersville, PA Luzerne County, that are being reclaimed as a part of the PA Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program to be converted into a community recreational area through a private donation from Pagnotti Enterprises in partnership with the Borough of Swoyersville, the ARIPPA trade association of independent power producers, Keystone Reclamation Fuels Management LLC, PA DEP, PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, PA DEP Pottsville District Mining Office, and the Federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement. The surface drainages are divided into both the Abraham Creek and Toby Creek watersheds.

“The RECLAIM Act will focus on those areas and will also allow community members to play a role in determining what areas and projects receive support and I won’t let them forget that the local communities voices and concerns need to be heard in order to ensure transparency and necessary accommodations and compromises that will allow for greater community support on the front end of projects that will ultimately benefit the greater coalfield communities,” Hughes emphasized.

“House passage is great news for PA’s coalfield communities, new investors, developers, and alternative renewable and green energy companies, which are eager to get to work reclaiming abandoned mining sites and working with EPCAMR to assist them with siting areas, evaluating underground mine pools for use, recovery of rare earth elements, and the resource recovery of metals for future projects,” said Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Program Manager.

“We look forward to working with Senator Manchin (WV), who has been a champion on these issues, to promote Senate passage, Senator Capito (WV), as well as our State Senators, Robert P. Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey to continue to let them know how strong and diverse our support has been. There are reclamation projects that are ‘shovel-ready’, AMD discharges waiting to be treated, willing investors looking to leverage the funds for private sector development, available funding, and all we need now is for the Senate to vote”, stated simply,  Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

This legislation is a critical step for coal community recovery after the decline of the coal industry the economic effects of COVID-19, and a transitioning into a new energy economy. The RECLAIM Act and reauthorization of the abandoned mine reclamation fee was recently endorsed by over 100 organizations across the United States in a letter to congressional leadership, including EPCAMR.

The post The Surface Mining Reclamation Control Act Amendments of 2019 authorizes 15-year extension and the RECLAIM Act Passes the House as part of H.R. 2, The Moving Forward Act appeared first on epcamr.org.

Since that time, the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), a 25 year regional environmental non-profit organization based out of Northeastern PA’s Anthracite Region, has continued to provide feedback and continued support to legislators and potential co-sponsors of the bill. We have been in collaboration with National and State experts in the reclamation and administrative processes that are paramount and essential to strengthen the bill and its effectiveness in seeing to it that reclamation and economic development of our abandoned mine lands get reclaimed.

EPCAMR providing students with a tour of the Old Forge AMD Borehole that pollutes the lower 3 miles of the Lackawanna River since the early 1960s.

There needs to be even broader support for HR 4248 (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2019) that needs to be extended to 2036 that was introduced by Congressman Matt Cartwright. It currently has 28 co-sponsors. EPCAMR is a part of a group of organizations in PA that are in the PA Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Campaign that is a no-budget, no-letterhead group of organizations and individuals advocating for policies and programs that benefit the coal-impacted communities of PA and beyond.

EPCAMR would like to see the Abandoned Mine Land mandatory distribution funds be exempt from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act and have the funds that have been sequestered during the Fiscal Years 2013-2018 be returned for utilization by States impacted by abandoned mines.

EPCAMR supports the waiver language being added into the Senate version of the RECLAIM Act because it will be key to the successful implementation of its passage. The funds should be allocated to distressed communities as a priority. We support extensions of projects knowing that the permitting process, review process, weather, construction site conditions, market conditions, executing contracting agreements, and grants can take some time to become fully executed. This does not mean that potential projects should become bogged down in bureaucratic and administrative paperwork to slow down the implementation process to get the money on the ground and shovels into the ground. We believe there should be a reasonable amount of time for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Field Offices to review, vet and approve project proposals so that they don’t overlook details in the permits or put unnecessary pressure on Staff or reduce opportunities for stakeholder involvement.

PA and other States and Tribes will incur costs to implement the RECLAIM Act and the Reauthorization of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which needs to be extended another 15 years, at least, to address our concerns with abandoned mine lands and polluted mine water from abandoned mine drainage (AMD). A portion of these funds is important for our agencies to utilize to plan, design, construct, and administer projects. Contracts that will go out for bid will also create more local jobs for the economies that need the infusion of additional work opportunities in multiple service sectors that will help to reduce unemployment and the loss of even more employment opportunities that we currently are experiencing since the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread in the Spring, not only affecting the health and lives of our communities but their jobs, businesses, and livelihoods as well.

EPCAMR led a tour of PA Congressmen, Senator John Yudichak, and supporting partners, including the State PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Swoyersville Mayor, Keystone Reclamation Fuels Management LLC, Olympus Power, Northampton Generating, and Staff to the Swoyersville Culm Bank Pilot Reclamation and Community Athletic Area Project in Luzerne County, for a press conference and media event on the need for the continued support and co-sponsorship of the RECLAIM Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Reauthorization Amendments of 2019.

We believe that public meetings are likely not required for every project, however, we do encourage engagement with community stakeholders of a proposed project prior to State agencies submitting proposals to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for approval. This will ensure accountability and oversight on the local level, which includes the ability to request a public hearing and that the public is notified through local newspapers, the internet/agency websites, and through email notification. These methods of communication are important to community stakeholders and residents. The opportunity to submit comments and request a hearing, if necessary, within a reasonable time-frame promotes transparency and accountability.

The Hughes Family out on a hike on a former abandoned mine site that is now a recreational area that has been taken in by many outdoor recreational enthusiasts due to COVID-19 for family time and to reconnect with nature.

More and more people during this pandemic have been escaping to nature to just get away and relieve some stress and to calm themselves down from the anxiety that COVID-19 has created in our communities to where it has led to the point of mental exhaustion. People, like myself, have gone to refuges that were formerly abandoned mine lands that are now green spaces and trails within the lower Wyoming Valley to take my children for walks, to hike, to get back to nature and out of our stay at home orders and somewhat restricted environments of our homes.

Ethan Hughes enjoying the outdoors after hiking along the Penobscot Ridge Mountain Bike Trail constructed by the Earth Conservancy and funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund to reclaim the former mine site in Wanamie, Newport Township, Luzerne County, PA.

A photo of a natural area that has grown up around the former AMD Wetlands Treatment System operated by the Earth Conservancy, along Dundee Road in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, PA.

Reclamation of our abandoned mine lands and improvements to restore the water quality of our rivers and streams that have been devastated by the impacts of our past mining legacy can now become destinations and outdoor recreational opportunities while creating jobs at the same time to reclaim and restore them. The time is now to pass these bills and move Appalachia and other coal impacted communities forward across the Country. Place RECLAIM Act and the AML Reauthorization Act in a near term stimulus-related recovery package.  Representatives Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Deb Haaland (NM-01), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At Large) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) urged House Leadership to include a “Restoration and Resilience Jobs” program in future economic recovery packages back in May of this year signed by 79 members of Congress. Please get your legislators to co-sponsor both important bills.

Bobby Hughes, Executive Director-EPCAMR

(This letter without photos has been submitted to several newspapers for consideration for publication in their Letter to the Editors digital and print media sections.)

The post Pass the RECLAIM Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2019 appeared first on epcamr.org.

Robert E. Hughes, Executive Director goes on to say, “We work with our underserved communities and school districts to provide environmental education programs, events, community cleanup projects, environmental restoration projects, and land and water remediation efforts to improve the community health and well-being of our region that have been underrepresented, underfunded, and not been prioritized strongly enough on the State level to receive the attention these communities deserve.”

Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director surrounded by 5th grade students from Heights Elementary at a Trout in the Classroom release event and AMD Education Program at Frances Slocum State Park.

EPCAMR agrees that environmental justice does embody the principles that coalfield communities should not be disproportionately exposed to adverse environmental impacts, yet, we continue to live in both urban and rural communities that are surrounded by 5,597 miles of streams and 178,537 acres of abandoned mine lands across PA that are impacted by abandoned mine drainage (AMD) that render our watersheds, rivers, and streams that are affected unable to be utilized for what many communities take for granted, such as fishing, boating, swimming, industrial use, and on the water outdoor recreational uses.

Below are EPCAMR’s Executive Director’s responses to the PA DEP Office of Environmental Justice’s specific questions.

Specific Questions

— What environmental justice concerns are most pressing in your community?

The most pressing environmental justice concerns in our community are non-point source pollution from abandoned mine lands in the form of abandoned mine drainage (AMD), the illegal dumping of household hazardous wastes, tires, trash, and drug paraphernalia on lands and along streams within the coalfield communities. Thousands of miles of streams are impacted and polluted by AMD. Thousands more are impacted by abandoned mine lands. Figure 1. was created by EPCAMR using PA’s 2017 Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System (AMLIS).

Figure 1. State of Abandoned Mine Lands in PA

Statistics on AML in PA

There is a lack of prioritization of funding under many of the State Programs for these communities. Many of the communities have designations within them under on the stream segments that on the Federal level and State Level which list them as on Federal List of Impaired Waters, making them eligible for funding, however they are not given priority, in many cases under the State’s Growing Greener Grant Program, for example. Many of the stream segments and watersheds throughout NE and NC PA are also not qualified to receive additional Federal funding under the State’s Set Aside Program, funded under the Surface Mining Reclamation Control & Reclamation Act’s Title IV Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund yearly allocation because they are not designated as Qualified Hydrologic Units, nor do they have Qualified Hydrologic Unit Plans developed.

Figure 2. below shows that only 5 QHU Plans have been officially developed that EPCAMR is aware of and we understand that a few more are underway in some other coalfield impacted watersheds in the Southern Anthracite Coalfields and in the Eastern Middle Anthracite Region. EPCAMR has offered to provide the technical assistance to develop these plans for approval should funding become available to allow our organization to properly assess the watersheds and stream segments to meet the criteria under the Set Aside Program. We have proposed grants to perform such technical tasks in previous grant rounds and were denied funding for the opportunity to assist the State in the much-needed development of these QHUPs. The denial of funding could have been due to limited funds available under the Program.

Figure 2. Hydrologic Unit Plans Approved Across PA (PA DEP, 2009)

2016 Qualified Hydrologic Unit Plans in PA

Figure 3. shows the 39 locations that are designated Environmental Justice areas within the 16 County EPCAMR Region, where only 15 political municipal sub-divisions have been designated, within 15 unified places, in 11 School Districts. ~ 19,461.50 acres of land affected within this region. These numbers are grossly underreported and EPCAMR believes that many more communities and tracts need to be added and expanded to include additional coalfield communities throughout the EPCAMR Region. There are entire watersheds that are impacted by AMD that are not included in these areas, which means that they are not getting the attention that they deserve. The impacts of AMD and water pollution do not stop at political boundaries and Census Tracts. It may be more suitable to begin looking at increasing areas of Environmental Justice to watershed boundaries that are more clearly defined and then one can review the statistics to see where the concentration of the pollution problems are located.

One will find that in certain watersheds, the headwater areas will be unimpacted, with less dense populations affected, and then as you follow the streams and tributaries down into the Valley cities and municipalities, they areas become more impacted and areas are highly concentrated with larger populations that experience the environmental justice issues. Non-profit organizations like EPCAMR are always looking to secure funding to work with these communities because often times, there are no professionally staffed environmental organizations within these communities to do the research and are trained to perform the necessary assessments, grant writing, technical reporting, and monitoring that is required to secure funds to improve the overall quality and community health of their watersheds.

Our communities also lack large community foundations and access to funds to cleanup our communities.

Figure 3. Acreage, Poverty % Statistics, County Subdivision, and Unified School Districts in the EPCAMR Region (US Census, 2010)

— Do you feel that the current definition of an environmental justice community (20 percent poverty or 30 percent minority, or both) properly represents the needs of your community and the Commonwealth at large?

No. The definition should not define environmental justice solely by the 20% poverty rate or the 30% minority population because minority populations are not the only ones affected by environmental pollution. It should not matter what the percentage is if the pollution problem exists because the polluted lands and water don’t discriminate against population segments or Census defined categories of people based on their minority or ethnic backgrounds.

— Do you feel the Department is engaged with marginalized communities to ensure that they have a voice in the decision-making process? How can the Department be more engaged with these communities?

No. I have not seen the OEJ in our particular region of NE PA. We have many communities that are marginalized in our region and none of the listening sessions are even located in our area. EPCAMR is in an OEJ community and are not aware of any attempts to make the Borough of Ashley or a group such as ours aware of the impacts that certain projects may have on our community. We need to be able to provide easier access to the political process and be sure that our volunteers and members of the communities that we are serving are having their voice heard. We have no Regional Coordinator for the NE Region of PA.  The OEJ can make our organization more aware of projects and meetings and then we can let our community groups know about them through our network to encourage more participation and local involvement. Legal ads and public notices are not often seen by the communities that we work in if they are used to notify the public about permits, nor is the Federal Register. EPCAMR is a non-profit that could benefit from the support of industries that are coming into the area that want to have a positive impact on the surrounding communities if they were able to provide donations of services, grants, a volunteer incentive program, or opportunities for partnerships on projects that will improve the environment. Notification should include community centers, electronic notices to regional non-profit groups, and municipalities.

— What tools have you used to find out information on Department permitting/enforcement actions?

e-Facts (http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eFACTSWeb/default.aspx). Review of Surface Mining Permits in the Pottsville or Moshannon District Mining Offices.

— What ways can the Department be more effective at sharing information with the public?

E-mails to the public who sign up to receive notifications of permitting and enforcement actions or new projects.

— How can the Department be more effective at receiving public input?

Provide notification to people who sign up through a website portal through the OEJ to receive additional input and notifications on public information for projects, permitting, or enforcement actions. Flyers should go to community centers and municipal buildings in the EJ areas.

— What resource is your community lacking that the Department can provide that would assist in efforts to ensure environmental equity?

Funding to be able to conduct outreach to the community members of the EJ areas to build capacity within the communities to allow them to have a voice.

— What additional steps can be taken by the Department to effectively reach out to these vulnerable communities to ensure that their concerns are taken into consideration?

Provide a Regional Coordinator for the NE Region.

Below is some information from the PA DEP OEJ Website.

Download the Listening Tour brochure 

PROVIDE US WITH YOUR COMMENTS & THOUGHTS BY MAY 25

• In person at one of the EJ listening tour stops
• Online at DEP-OEJ@pa.gov
• In writing at:

Rachel Carson State Ofce Building
Office of Environmental Justice
400 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101

SESSION SCHEDULE REMAINING

May 11, 2017 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Lehigh County

Allentown Public Library

Community Room

1210 Hamilton Street

Allentown, PA 18102

May 15, 2017, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Lancaster County

HACC Lancaster Campus

East Building, Room 203

1641 Old Philadelphia Pike

Lancaster, PA 17602

May 23, 2017, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Delaware County

Chester City Hall Council Chambers

1 Fourth Street,

Chester, PA 19013

May 25, 2017, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Philadelphia County

Fairmount Water Works

640 Water Works Drive

Philadelphia, PA 19130

CONTACT US

Carl Jones, Jr., Esq. Director
caejone@pa.gov, (484) 250-5818

Nora Alwine, Regional Coordinator
nalwine@pa.gov, (412) 442-4137

John Brakeall, Regional Coordinator
jbrakeall@pa.gov, (717) 783-9731

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Ofce of Environmental Justice
P.O. Box 7732 Harrisburg, PA 17101
(484) 250-5942

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An underground mine map of the Holmes vein in the Silver Creek Colliery of Blythe Township, PA 

Project Title for Position 1: GIS & Mine Pool Mapping Project Coordinator

GIS & Mine Pool Mapping Support for the Pennsylvania Northern Anthracite Coalfield Communities

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

EPCAMR believes the support provided by the OSMRE/AmeriCorps member will impact our regional coalfield communities in a variety of positive ways. The member will use ArcGIS and 3D Mine Pool Modeling software to create and coordinate regional training sessions and workshops. 60% of their time will be focused on GIS mapping, 3D mine pool modeling, and the development of training workshops for OSMRE/AmeriCorps through the agreement EPCAMR has with the OSMRE TIPS Program. The member will also assist in monitoring mine pool water elevations and water quality, as well as take flow and chemistry at abandoned mine drainage (AMD) discharges. The other 40% of their time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE responsibilities.

The support of this project will greatly improve NE PA’s understanding of the complex and vast underground mine workings and mine pools that lie beneath the majority of the coalfields. Data collected and maps produced will allow EPCAMR to seek funds that can infuse grant funds and leverage dollars to support other remediation, reclamation, and economic redevelopment projects. The project will provide training to OSMRE/AmeriCorps nationally working in abandoned mine impacted communities by EPCAMR Staff, who are nationally recognized by OSM for our work in 3D Mine Pool Modeling and Mapping. Dozens of new non-traditional partnerships with private sector interests looking to treat AMD will be created to improve the quality of life in coal impacted communities and create jobs. Recommendations of proposed projects will be pursued for implementation based on newly created mine pool boundaries, volumes of water potentially being stored in the underground workings, and the potential for the use of the underground storage for consumptive use or low flow augmentation projects.

The position will develop and coordinate regional training programs for on AMD water quality monitoring, the use of GIS in watershed assessments of AMD impacted watersheds, and the use of 3D Software (ArcGIS, EarthVision and GlobalMapper) for the creation and development of mapping underground mine pools, which EPCAMR is a national leader in doing, in partnership with the OSMRE TIPS Program already. It is expected that the AmeriCorps Member will spend 40% of his or her work on these types of trainings. The remaining 60% will be used to  support EPCAMR’s needs to provide direct service and continuous support to a large number of coalfield community groups that are volunteer-based and in constant need of technical assistance, fundraising, education, outreach, and capacity building. The project will allow EPCAMR to catalog historic mine map collections from the State and private collections that will be eventually scanned, digitized, and geo-referenced to be used in EPCAMR’s mine pool modeling efforts. The positions will allow them to address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and AMD impacted areas through the development of GIS and Mine Mapping Education programs, the flow and chemistry monitoring of AMD discharges and treatment locations, and increasing the awareness of problems and solutions associated with abandoned mine lands. The project will allow the positions to research GIS grants and foundations options to support EPCAMR activities such as service learning projects, field tours, and to participate in the coordination of our 19th year State-wide Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference.

Huber Breaker Historic Preservation Tour provided by EPCAMR’s Executive Director.

Project Title for Position 2:

Education & Outreach Capacity Building Support for the Northern Anthracite PA Coalfield Communities

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The support provided by the OSMRE/AmeriCorps member will impact our regional Northern Anthracite PA Coalfields Communities in a variety of positive ways. The member will create, conduct, and provide, outdoor environmental educational programs and experiences to students in underserved schools and coalfield communities on AMD and abandoned mine land reclamation. Community outreach efforts will be promoted into the most heavily distressed communities impacted by abandoned mines, where existing partnerships will become strengthened through an increase in awareness of EPCAMR’s work and other reclamation partners within the region. 60% of the time spent on direct service in building capacity with the EPCAMR Staff will be conducted to create viable reclamation, remediation, and environmental education, environmental action, and outreach programs, provide historic preservation support, and give technical services and assistance to our constituents. EPCAMR’s volunteer management and recruit to support the regional projects, programs, and events will be strengthened. 40% of the time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE workload responsibilities.

The support of this project will reclaim acres of abandoned mine lands. It will infuse grant funds and leverage dollars to support local projects. Miles of riparian corridors will be stabilized and planted during restoration projects. Thousands of underserved students will be educated on abandoned mine land environmental issues and water pollution problems within the Northern Anthracite Coalfields. Hundreds of trees will be planted. The project will provide training to OSMRE/AmeriCorps nationally working in abandoned mine impacted communities. Dozens of new non-traditional community partnerships will be created to improve the quality of life in coal impacted communities. Recommendations of proposed projects will be pursued for implementation based on watershed assessments and watershed restoration plans completed by EPCAMR and the member.

The project will result in supporting EPCAMR’s needs to provide direct service and continuous support to a large number of volunteer-based, coalfield community groups in constant need of technical assistance, education, outreach, and capacity building. The project will address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and polluted waterways impacted by AMD. The project will enhance our recruitment, enlistment, training, coordination, and communications with our volunteer base more regularly.  The project will allow EPCAMR to build on our Volunteer Management Program called RECLAIM Crew that encourages our regional volunteers of all ages to be engaged in EPCAMR programs, field activities, cleanups, restoration and preservation projects, tree plantings, and advocate for our work. The position will allow them to address public health and safety concerns that surround abandoned mine lands and AMD impacted areas through the development of education programs, the monitoring of AMD discharges and treatment locations, and increasing the awareness of problems and solutions associated with abandoned mine lands. The project will allow the positions to research grants and foundations, options to support EPCAMR activities such as service learning projects, community environmental fairs, art project with AMD, field tours, nature photography tours, hikes, river festivals, and to participate in the coordination of our 18 year State-wide Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference. 40% of the time will be spent on GeoMap and other OSMRE workload responsibilities.

OSMRE.AMERICORPS Member Program One-Pager final

OSMRE AmeriCorps Site ApplicationEPCAMR

OSMRE AmeriCorps Member Compensation Summary

The post EPCAMR Seeking to Sponsor 2 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement AmeriCorps Positions appeared first on epcamr.org.

Apply now for the $5,000 ARIPPA AML/AMD Award.  EPCAMR and WPCAMR have partnered with the Anthracite 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. Grants at a maximum of $2,500 will be 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 August 2016 and August 2017. Proposals are due July 8th. The amount granted is dependent upon demonstrated need. Applying organizations must support 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. You can obtain the official Request for Proposals and supporting documents here.

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