In 1997 the Susquehanna was designated an “American Heritage River” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; an initiative that aimed to represent a diverse group of waterways in need of, or revitalized examples of, environmental restoration, cultural protection, and economic revitalization. The environmental nonprofit American Rivers named the Susquehanna the year’s “Most Endangered River” in 2005, and “#3 Most Endangered River” in 2016. This designation is in part due to the excessive amounts of pollution the river receives.

Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) impacts both branches of the Susquehanna River along their entire lengths. The Main Bituminous Coalfields (soft coal) drain polluted water to the west branch, and the Anthracite Coalfields (hard coal) drain polluted water to the eastern portion of the river basin. In Pennsylvania, AMD is the second highest cause of water pollution, behind only agricultural runoff. Only 30% of streams in the Susquehanna basin demonstrate the natural hydrological and ecological qualities of a healthy stream. Many outside of this 30% have been declared “biologically dead” as they support no aquatic life due to the level of pollution in the water.

Old Forge Borehole AMD picture as it flows into the Lackawanna River.

Aquatic organisms are only the “canary in the coal mine” in this situation. In addition to impacting alkalinity, which on either extreme of the spectrum will harm aquatic life, AMD releases sediments, dissolved metals, and unfriendly gasses. Released gasses, like CO2 and methane, attract mosquitoes which can cause further harm to organisms in the nearby environment. Sediments and dissolved metals such as aluminum clog the gills of organisms living in the polluted waters and can eventually drive these organisms out of the ecosystem. Downstream effects include the leaching of these dissolved metals (think lead, manganese, iron) into groundwater supplies, which are used for municipal drinking water. American Water Works Association raises awareness of impaired groundwater with Source Water Protection Week. This year, it begins on World Rivers Day!

Treatment of Abandoned Mine Lands takes years, millions of dollars, and continued maintenance efforts. Simply “waiting it out”, i.e. waiting for the underground pollutants to deplete, would likely take hundreds of years. Treatment of AMD runoff involves raising or lowering the pH (alkalinity) of the water and removing heavy metals to allow the waterway to return to a state that can again support aquatic life and natural biological processes.

Read about the professional services and technical assistance that EPCAMR provides across PA and our region impacted by AMD and abandoned mine lands in our EPCAMR presentation folder. You can also find out more about our work in our latest EPCAMR brochure 2026.

Learn more about AMD Treatment Systems here, or visit the “Fact Sheets” section of epcamr.org!

The post For World Rivers Day: Cleaning Up and Restoring AMD for the Susquehanna 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.

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Apply now for the $5,000 ARIPPA AML/AMD Mini-grant award program through EPCAMR.  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. Smaller grants are encouraged. Grant proposals should be for on-the-ground AML/AMD projects with a completion date between July 2017 and June 2018. Proposals are due July 7th. 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. EPCAMR will be receiving the $5000 donation on August 16th at their annual Technical Convention in Harrisburg, PA.

“EPCAMR has been able to leverage over hundreds of thousands of dollars in total over the last decade or more throughout our region in support of reclamation, education, and remediation projects on small scale projects thanks to the donations of the member Co-Gen plants of ARIPPA. Coalition partners that we work with tend to make a little bit of money go a long way in the coal region. We wouldn’t  be able to support our community efforts to reclaim abandoned mine lands without them as our long-term partner. We’re very appreciative of the efforts of George Ellis, ARIPPA Executive Director and his Staff, Cristy Doyle, and his member plants who have been great partners over the long term with EPCAMR,” emphasized Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

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 a natural state or 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. Further, the technology used to convert coal refuse to electricity, known as Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology, produces alkaline-rich ash by-products. There are many beneficial uses for CFB ash, including filling mine pits, replacement for lime (for AMD remediation), a soil amendment at mining sites, and a concrete additive for roadways.

The unique nature of ARIPPA’s work, combined with the desire to coordinate efforts with environmentally-oriented groups and governmental agencies, symbolizes a commitment to improving the landscape and environment of our nation. If waste coal-fired plants are forced to close due to unreasonable regulations, streams will continue to be contaminated, public safety will continue to be at risk due to the dangers the piles pose, piles will continue to self-ignite and spew the same pollutants into the air that the regulations are trying to curtail, and communities will continue to be shadowed by the unsightly black mountains. All of this would be a tax-payer burden. EPCAMR has been a long-time partner of the Co-Generation Industry that has been reclaimed waste coal piles throughout PA for nearly 20 years. To review all of the work that they have completed and reclaimed, please read the following recently released Coal Refuse to Energy Summary.

Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director giving testimony in support of the Waste Coal Industry (ARIPPA) at the PA Senate Environmental Resource Committee Hearing in Jim Thorpe, PA.

To read, our EPCAMR Director’s Public Hearing Comments to the House SubCommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources-Committee on Natural Resources, read his Testimony, in support of the Waste Coal Industry.

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EPCAMR will be providing The Nanticoke Conservation Club with $500 to aid in the disposal costs and dumping fees of the trash. Community Aid, a committed partner of EPCAMR’s in the region, has provided $5000 in funds for EPCAMR to support the coordination and management of several cleanups around the coalfields. Several other cleanups are in the planning stages for later this year all the way through the Fall of 2017, including our annual cleanup of Centralia, PA. The City of Nanticoke, the Newport Township Crimewatch, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, NE Office, are all partners in the effort. The area of the cleanup, and along the mining impacted Newport Creek, which runs parallel to the road into the site will be the center point of the cleanup. They will just need to provide us with receipts and a tally of the number of bags and tires collected, number of volunteers and club members in attendance, along with the tonnage report for the two anticipated dumpsters that they will be getting so that we can provide a thorough report to Community Aid in the Fall 2017. EPCAMR has already reached out to our RECLAIM Crew volunteer database as well to see if they are interested in making it to this event and will be present to take some photos of the good work that they all will be doing in the Southern Wyoming Valley and along Newport Creek.

Gary Gronkowski, President, of the The Nanticoke Conservation Club estimates that 40 volunteers will commit at least 4 hours of their time on that Saturday morning to rid the community of the illegal dumping sites, valued at $3780.80, not including the use of the City’s Public Works equipment to transport trash to the dumpsters. “The entire Nanticoke Conservation Club thanks you for the support offered and to your ongoing dedication to our environment”, stated Gary Gronkowski, in his letter of request to EPCAMR for support. Chartered on April 4, 1951, The Nanticoke Conservation Club is an active organization comprised of hunters, fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts. Their goal is to protect, preserve, and manage their area’s wildlife and natural resources.

“Gary Gronkowski and I have been cleaning up trash for over 20 years together across the entire Southern Wyoming Valley. Our daughter’s went to elementary and high school together and played on many sports teams together, where we ended up seeing each other at a lot of events and began sharing our stories of our concern for our local environment, rivers, and streams. Long ago, we decided that we would make a commitment to conducting cleanups anywhere and everywhere that was necessary within our surrounding neighborhoods to rid the area of decades of past dumping on our environment.” recalls Robert Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

“I’m glad that EPCAMR with the support of Community Aid, can provide them with some funds to alleviate the costs of the hauling and dumping fees to remove the trash because it’s a local burden on the communities that we are serving to try and secure funds for these costs. The value of the time and effort that the volunteers put in on any given Saturday are staggering when you compare it to the actual cash that you have to seek and spend on the removal of the trash. Without the conservation-minded people that are members of The Nanticoke Conservation Club, and the other partners that we continue to work with and strengthen our relationships with over time, we would never be able to remove the sheer tonnage, tires, televisions, mattresses, and volume of household littered trash and debris from our coalfield communities. I can’t thank them enough!” exclaimed Robert.

On the same day at the other end of Newport Township, the Newport Township Crimewatch, led by Amy Saraka, there will be a similar cleanup effort going on with additional funds provided by EPCAMR through a small ARIPPA grant from last year that was awarded to them in the amount of $500 to support the cleanup efforts outside of Wanamie, along the Industrial Park (IP) road on abandoned mine lands too. The funds will go towards hauling, proper electronics waste disposal, dumpster, and cleanup supplies  on an abandoned mine land area in Newport Township, Luzerne County, PA where up to 40 tires will be removed and 10-12,000 pounds of illegally dumped trash, discarded furniture, construction waste, and household wastes will be removed, in partnership with Newport Township, , Newport Township Police Department, Nanticoke Conservation Club, and EPCAMR. 50 volunteers are expected to participate with their time value at $4726.00, not including support from the Newport Township Public Works Department. EPCAMR will administer the grant on behalf of the NTCW.

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Alexandria, PA (March 28, 2017) Members of the Pennsylvania Coalitions for Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation today thanked Congressmen Thompson and Cartwright for their support for the federal RECLAIM Act. If enacted, RECLAIM will speed as much as $300 million in funding from the Abandoned Mine Land Fund for projects that restore mine-scarred land and enhance local economic development in coal field communities.

The RECLAIM Act was introduced in both the House and Senate yesterday with bi-partisan support in both chambers, including the support of Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. It would speed $1 billion in funding already available in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund over the next five years to communities struggling with the impacts of the downturn of the coal industry and the scars of historic coal mining.

Espy Run AMD Treatment System in Hanover Township, operated and maintained by EC and monitored by EPCAMR.

“Representative Thompson, whose district contains the largest number of unrestored abandoned mine sites in the nation, knows all too well how these damaged lands hinder economic opportunity in the coal fields,” said John Dawes, executive director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. “RECLAIM would put out-of-work coal miners back to work restoring abandoned mine lands and readying them for uses that will attract business and create permanent jobs.”

AML Fund Distribution Graphic

“We are ready to go, and greatly appreciate Congressman Cartwright’s ongoing support of our work,” said Robert Hughes Executive Director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). “EPCAMR and other reclamation-related groups have successfully completed abandoned mine land reclamation and mine drainage cleanup projects for decades. We already have the expertise, partnerships, and a long list of projects ready to be implemented. These projects will improve our region’s economic attractiveness, bring dead acres of land and streams back to life, and create sustainable jobs for those displaced by coal mine and coal-fired power plant closings and coal company bankruptcies. All we need is the boost in funding that RECLAIM would deliver directly to our communities to help us leverage other funds to create a just transition in our under-served coalfields of Pennsylvania. Our region and local economies are hurting and are in need of a jump-start to turn our black banks and orange streams into more productive greener landscapes and cleaner watersheds to improve our quality of life in the coalfields.”

Bear Creek AMD Treatment Pond A designed and constructed by Skelly & Loy in partnership with EPCAMR and the Dauphin County Conservation District.

“Reclamation of abandoned mine sites has been an integral part of our organization’s work since we were founded in 1994,” said Bev Braverman, executive director of Mountain Watershed Association. “In the 125-square-mile Indian Creek watershed there are over 130 known mine discharges which foul water, contaminate private drinking water supplies, and hinder tourism and economic development. Our vision is to treat the 11 worst discharges in the watershed which will result in restoration of over 95% of Indian Creek. Our analysis has shown that every dollar invested in mine drainage cleanup in the Indian Creek watershed results in a $2.40 return to the local economy in terms of recreational fishing alone. Clean water makes good economic sense, and the RECLAIM Act promises to help expedite this vital work.”

“We look forward to Congressmen Thompson’s and Cartwright’s leadership in building further support among Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation as well as their colleagues in other coal mining states,” said Dawes. “And we stand ready to ensure this legislation helps the communities it’s intended to help and get RECLAIM through Congress to President Trump’s desk.”

Jan Jarrett, Ad Hoc, LLC

Land Line: 717-697-2111

Cell: 717-503-1647

Read her blog: http://jjadhoc.blogspot.com/

Follow her on Twitter @JanJarrett

Find her on Facebook

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The Annual Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AMR) Conference is now accepting proposals for presentations.  The 2017 PA AMR Conference will be held June 21-22, 2017 at the Best Western Plus Genetti Hotel and Conference Center, Wilkes-Barre.   Abstracts for presentations which revolve around this year’s theme of  “The Future of Reclamation” should be no longer than 1 page, contain the presenter’s name and title of presentation, and must be emailed by the close of business on March 21, 2017 to Anne Daymut, at anne@wpcamr.org.

The potential for the changing Federal environmental policies to influence abandoned mine reclamation in Pennsylvania is imminent.  The return to a focus on coal production, the proposed shifting of spending of the Abandoned Mine Land Fund through the RECLAIM initiative, and the expected expiration of the collection fees feeding the Abandoned Mine Land Fund could each have their own costs and benefits to Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine reclamation community.  The PA AMR Conference will explore these ideas with an emphasis on the future of reclamation and the benefits it provides.  We also welcome presentations on treatment system design, new technologies and tools, successes and lessons learned, or anything that is useful to the abandoned mine reclamation community.

The AMR conference is going to be located in the heart of the Wyoming Valley and the Northern Anthracite Coalfields. We have not been back to “The Diamond City” since our first regional conference that was held in June of 1996 at Wilkes University.  A full day tour of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys’ abandoned mine drainage and abandoned mine reclamation projects.  An alternative walking tour of Wilkes-Barre coal history, visits to an Anthracite Altar, an Anthracite art exhibit, and a film screening will also be offered, including the release of the full documentary, Centralia: PA’s Lost Town.

Visit our conference website HERE to find further details about this year’s conference, register to attend, or find links to previous conferences and examples of prior presentations.

The post Request for Proposals due March 21st, 2017: 19th Annual PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference appeared first on epcamr.org.

Director, Joe Sapienza II. Credit: Curtis Donar

Over a four-year period, they successfully completed a documentary that will tell Centralia’s fate through the perspective of Centralia’s former and current residents, the government’s own actions, and local news archives. Joe screened a private rough cut of the documentary twice in the fall of 2016 to former cast, crew, and residents of Centralia and Byrnesville. It received positive reviews with only minor cuts that will be removed from the film and with the addition of an extended introduction including author David DeKok and former resident Tom Dempsey before the opening credits roll.

Producer, Allyson Kircher

The documentary will go through the final stages of post-production with Melina Smith, one of the camera operators on the film and colorist at Company 3 in New York. She will color the entire feature giving the film its final beauty. Corey Branigan who works for a production company that specializes in motion graphics – Konrad & Paul in New York – will apply motion effects to the vintage photos, the animations of the mines and tunnels that run beneath Centralia, and the street sign markers that tell the viewer exactly where a scene was shot.

Colorist, Melina Smith

Motion graphics, Corey Branigan

Dominic Zappalla, a commercial freelance audio engineer in Philadelphia, will mix the entire feature with a music score and sound effects that were left out and not heard at the screenings. The music is essential and will add a complement to the narrative, correlating with the drama that unfolds during each scene. The music tracks were scored by John Avarese, a feature film composer and audio professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Audio mixer, Dominic Zappalla. Credit: Dan Leung

The opening title segment features a rare acoustic version of, “Ain’t It The Life?” by singer songwriter Erik Peterson of Mischief Brew. Erik and his wife Denise hold a special place in their hearts for Centralia and reached out to Joe last spring. Joe asked Erik to record an acoustic version of “Ain’t It The Life?” and loved it so much that he put it in the opening track of the film. Sadly, Erik Peterson passed away in July of 2016 and Joe has dedicated the film in his honor along with another close friend who introduced him to Centralia back in 2005, Sue “Suzie Q” Berkheimer, a resident of New Columbia, Pennsylvania.

After the film’s release in May, it will be screened at local theaters throughout Pennsylvania including Pottsville, Tamaqua, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Williamsport, Blue Bell, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia, among others. Check local theater listings for release dates in Pennsylvania. The documentary will also be submitted to over a thousand film festivals worldwide through 2017 and 2018. In addition, Joe is considering distributors such as Amazon Video Direct and Netflix in 2018 for final distribution release.

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In 1999, along with Growing Greener, Pennsylvania signed into law the Environmental Good Samaritan Act (EGSA).  This law is intended to encourage landowners and others to undertake projects to reclaim abandoned mineral extraction lands and abate water pollution caused by abandoned mines and oil and gas wells. The EGSA protects landowners and individuals who volunteer to do such projects from civil and environmental liability. Eligibility and specific protections are described in this Fact Sheet.

WPCAMR and EPCAMR, along with multiple local and national environmental agencies and organizations, have been pushing for Federal Good Samaritan legislation for abandoned mine reclamation projects for several years now. Recently, lawmakers have been taking notice and a proposal is expected soon that will be modeled after Pennsylvania’s EGSA. Further, proponents of the law hope that projects already registered with the PA EGSA will automatically benefit from the added protections of a federal law.

Not all AMD remediation projects across Pennsylvania have been registered with the PA EGSA. The lack of PA EGSA registration for your project could be putting your organization and project cooperators in jeopardy. WPCAMR and EPCAMR are pushing to have a great number of existing systems registered in the next couple months as any proposed federal legislation gains steam. A full list of registered projects can be viewed at HERE.

It is up to local watershed organizations, who own most of PA’s AML projects, to become the best example they can be to further the movement of any Federal Good Samaritan legislation. Please do your part and register your AMD treatment systems for the PA EGSA. Anne Daymut of WPCAMR will be directly contacting those responsible for AMD treatment systems across Pennsylvania that have yet to register in the coming months.

Registration materials can be found HERE.

Any Watershed Groups, Conservation Districts, Conservancy Groups, or other organizations that have received funding through Growing Greener over the last 7 years should seriously consider registering their completed projects for coverage under the PA EGSA legislation. Groups in the EPCAMR Region are encouraged to contact Anne Daymut, should they need assistance.

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George Ellis, Executive Director of ARIPPA, sent us a note along with the donation stating, “Your passion and dedication to reclaiming and redeveloping lands and streams affected by historic mining practices is admirable and truly makes a significant impact on PA’s environment. Accordingly, ARIPPA is proud to contribute to your AML/AMD efforts by making a monetary donation in the amount of $2500. While it is a relatively small amount, we hope that it will make a difference in the environmental remediation work that you continue to perform. We genuinely appreciate your continuous support and look forward to working with you in the years to come”.

This year, EPCAMR has selected the following recipients for the AML/AMD Mini-Grant Program.

Newport Township CrimeWatch Organization–$500 towards hauling, proper electronics waste disposal, dumpster, and cleanup supplies for a planned 2017 Spring Cleanup (between April and May 2017), on an abandoned mine land area in Newport Township, Luzerne County, PA where up to 40 tires will be removed and 10-12,000 pounds of illegally dumped trash, discarded furniture, construction waste, and household wastes will be removed, in partnership with Newport Township, Newport Township Community Organization, Greater Nanticoke Area Community Garden, Newport Township Police Department, Nanticoke Conservation Club, EPCAMR, and the Spooky Off-Road Club. 50 volunteers are expected to participate. EPCAMR will administer the grant on behalf of the NTCO.

Illegal dumping in Newport Township.

Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association–$800 towards the purchase of lime to be placed on food plots on State Game Lands #57, adjacent to the Mehoopany Creek, Wyoming County, PA  in partnership with the Whitetails Unlimited, PA Game Commission, who will be donating machinery to spread the lime, and EPCAMR. During rain events, lime will eventually reach the stream, having already benefited the food plots, and will increase the pH of the acid mine water entering the watershed. The liming will occur in the Fall of 2016.

Lime pile

Luzerne Conservation District–$700 towards a pressure transducer that will be installed at the Plainsville AMD Borehole in Plains Township, Luzerne County, PA to obtain real-time data that will allow for the Luzerne Conservation District, Plains Township, EPCAMR, and the landowner, Mr. Greg Price, to gain a better understanding of the actual flows, chemical loadings of iron and other trace metals reaching the Susquehanna River, and to help learn more about the underground mine pool complex in that area of the Wyoming Valley. EPCAMR and the Luzerne Conservation District will be taking the lead on the monitoring of the Plainsville AMD Borehole discharge and have developed a feasibility study that they are going to be submitting for grants to perform the necessary background data collection to begin looking at AMD Treatment options and finding ways to improve the water quality of the Susquehanna River.

Plainsville AMD Borehole

EPCAMR–$500 towards the cost of hauling trash to the landfill to cover the tipping fees and for supplies to assist with the third cleanup of Centralia on September 24, 2016, led by EPCAMR Staff, former and current residents of Centralia, Pagnotti Enterprises, Centralia Hose Company No. 1, Wicked Jeeps of Central PA, Joe Sapienza, II, and nearly two dozen other contributors of funds to support the annual cleanup on the abandoned mine lands, roads, and streets throughout the Borough. Dozens of volunteers are expected to turnout at the annual event. Sexy Pig BBQ will be providing lunches for the volunteers. TARGET donated funds towards the cleanup. Community Aid donated funds towards the cleanup and will be picking up any donated clothes that volunteers would like to bring to the event. See the event details here. To donate towards the cleanup, go to EPCAMR’s “Cleanup Centralia for Centralians, Past and Present!” GiveGab Online Campaign!

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EPCAMR staff and colleagues review underground mine maps from the Wyoming Valley

EPCAMR intends to utilize these funds for staff time and printing costs of the mine maps for each of the municipalities within the Anthracite coal measures, such as Wyoming Borough, Jenkins Township, Plains Township, and Shickshinny Borough. If there are any municipalities, central to Wyoming Valley, that would like to host a few workshops to aid in conducting the underground mine map outreach component of the grant, please contact Robert at (570) 371-3523.

“EPCAMR is skilled in interpreting surface and underground mine maps and would like to continue to provide technical assistance to the public and our local governments. We also have the printing capabilities to produce large maps, which are easy to view,” says Robert.

Large maps are available for review at the Pittsburgh Office of Surface Mining (OSM), where many maps were transferred, following the closure of the Wilkes-Barre Regional Office several years ago. Maps are also available at Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (PA DEP BAMR) and the PA DEP Regional District Mining Office Bureau of Deep Mine Safety in Pottsville, PA. Due to the condition, size, and continual use of the maps by these state agencies, a large majority of the maps generally stay within these offices.

Underground Mine Map

EPCAMR has been able to acquire a large majority of the OSM Folio maps in digital format over the last few years and are still actively acquiring maps under a 3-year grant agreement with the PA DEP Mine Subsidence Insurance Program. EPCAMR staff scans, catalogues, geo-references, and digitizes the maps for public use. Nearly 10,000 maps have already been approved by the PA DEP and posted to the PA Mine Map Atlas. However, our scope of work requires us to take certain map collections, based on specific storage locations of the maps. The PennEast Community Connector Grant will allow us to focus on some of the maps that we have already processed. Many municipalities do not have the staffing, expertise, funding, or printing capabilities to acquire the maps needed for their own planning efforts or efforts of the public seeking information about the underground mine or surface maps.

EPCAMR staff catalogues the data collected from these maps in the Pennsylvania Historic Underground Mine Map Inventory System (PHUMMIS). This database contains information relevant to past and present underground mining throughout Pennsylvania, including, but not limited to, maps, indices, mine locations, and the like. The information contained in this database has been compiled from various sources and, as a result, neither the DEP or EPCAMR can guarantee its accuracy. The DEP and EPCAMR assume no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained in the database. The DEP and EPCAMR disclaim any responsibility for any actions, or lack thereof, taken in reliance on the information contained in the database. Users agree that the DEP and EPCAMR employees, officers, agents, and contractors are not and will not be liable for any damages or losses of any kind, resulting directly or indirectly from the reliance on the information contained in the database.

Figure 1.

EPCAMR is an advocate for the environment and protection of land and water resources that have been adversely affected by past mining practices throughout Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania. During the grant review process, the Selection Committee identified a number of strengths in our proposal. EPCAMR is an advocate for safe practices when it comes to the construction of the pipeline in the chosen area. Given the Wyoming Valley’s past mining and flooding history, we recommended redirecting the pipeline around the Valley, however, PennEast still chose to fund EPCAMR, based on our merit to provide valuable technical assistance to the downstream communities in the Wyoming Valley.

The sets of maps that will be provided to local municipalities will ultimately provide PennEast with geologic and hydrogeologic conditions of the proposed pipeline crossing area. EPCAMR was very upfront with PennEast at the initial public hearing and in our comments to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC). PennEast may have difficulty finding a safe river crossing for placement of the 36-42 inch transmission line. “EPCAMR has a means of researching the conditions of the underground mine workings in the Wyoming Valley to make a determination as to what lies beneath not only our homes, but our river as well. This funding could not have come at a better time for EPCAMR, when funding sources are getting harder and harder to come by. We feel privileged for the opportunity to provide these valuable technical services to our local governments in need of this information. EPCAMR staff seeks funds from all types of sources that will allow us to work in the best interest of the public,” explained Robert.

Alisa E. Harris, Head of Government and Community Affairs, mentioned in her award letter to EPCAMR that “the PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC, is pleased to support your efforts and we look forward to building a strong partnership to advancing our mutual commitment to environment and energy education. Community engagement is important to PennEast. The Community Connector Grant Program is another excellent opportunity for us to support the communities where we operate and where our employees make their home.” The PennEast press release can be found here.

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