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.

Stanley A. Shimko

CBWS allows eligible College and University students to use their Federal Work Study award to work off campus, at a local non-profit. Students earn their wages while supporting meaningful community work and gaining real world experiences and assisting non-profits with their impacts withing the communities that they serve by providing some additional organizational capacity to the organizations.

CBWS is designed for students who want their work to matter by contributing locally to the communities that surround their Colleges and Universities. They can gain hands‑on experience in real nonprofit settings, build skills that translate directly to future careers, explore fields like education, social services, history, environmental work, and community outreach. On top of the soft skills and opportunities for applied science, they can also earn certificates that they can add to their resumes and make a positive impact while getting paid. EPCAMR encourages students can contact their Financial Aid or Community Engagement office to learn more about eligibility and placements. Students at King’s College should inquire if they have questions or need more assistance on the process, by stopping by Kelly Gibbons’ office at the Shoval Center or book an appointment with her (in person is preferable)  Book time to meet with me

Stanley shares deep familial ties with the coal region, and intends that the lands in which he was raised, may be healed from the long history and scars of past  anthracite mining. He comes from a lineage of generational coal miners in Eastern Europe around Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. He expressed interest in working (after graduation) in a field related to anthracite mining. To this end, he expressed his gratefulness and his interest in the opportunity to participate  EPCAMR’s Work Study internship program. Stanley will use his historical insight from his education at King’s to aid in EPCAMR’s preparation for its 30th Anniversary in the Fall, during his work study and for research into anthracite mining history topics that will become a part of several of our reports and watershed assessments that we are currently working on.

Stanley expressed his desire to share EPCAMR’s history at the 30th Anniversary Reception, as bringing EPCAMR’s history and past projects to the forefront of local conciseness would bring forth a greater sense of awareness to the type of work and activities involved in EPCAMR’s abandoned mine reclamation, which directly benefits the regional population centers impacted by abandoned mines in Northeastern and Northcentral PA.

Stanley tells us, “My generation does not have the constant visual reminder of anthracite
history which past generations had. I mean coal breakers, colliery buildings, washeries, shafts, slopes, and tipples which were scatted across the Wyoming Valley have been by and large, torn down. So I have noticed that my generation has begun to forget about the long, painful and oppressive history of anthracite mining, entirely”. He later said, “Despite there being little reminders of the deep mining on the surface, there are still endless catacombs of coal veins and water-filled gangways and rooms, with their pillars removed, beneath our feet that remind of of their existence when they open up occasionally during mine subsidence emergencies in our communities, revealing with that geological hazard that comes along with living in the Coal Region, the long unforgettable history of Anthracite.”

Bobby Hughes, Executive Director mentioned, ” We’re glad to have Stanley with us through the CBWS Program at King’s College, which is an invaluable program that supports non-profits like ourselves that don’t often have the funds to financially support paid internships, but have the space and can host the positions. We also are providing some valuable experiences for the students that they can get outside of the classroom and the opportunity to network and have professional mentors in the workforce that can educate them and give them firsthand chances to engage with the surrounding local communities that they are a part of while attending College or a local University. ”

Bobby joked, “As Stan and I were talking on his first day, he recalled attending a PA American Water Wonderful World of Water Camp at The Lands at Hillside Farms when he was very young and he remembered making an AMD Tie-Dye T-shirt and was first introduced to EPCAMR in his early youth. That was rewarding to hear, since I had conducted that educational event and led the workshop to create those t-shirts for the campers, which is an Environmental Education Program that we have been doing for decades with Susan Turcmanovich, External Affairs Manager, from PA American Water, both at The Lands at Hillside Farms over the years, when the Educational Center building was first constructed up on the hill, and yearly at the Valley Library, along the Lackawanna River, in Peckville.”

Stanley will be coming in to the Office twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when he doesn’t have classes, so there is no conflict with his on campus education, and providing us with 10 hours a week for 10 weeks. His Activities are outlined in the following Volunteer Activity Description (VAD) entitled, EPCAMR Coal Region History Researcher and Archivist_Job Description

He will also spend time archiving and scanning our 30 years history of news articles, projects, photos, into a digital archive for EPCAMR. We hope to have it complete to reveal at the 30th Anniversary Reception in September 2026.

Another assignment will be to research the history of coal mining towns and communities where coal breakers were once prominent as we develop our watershed assessments for a number of watersheds in the region. In particular, he will be looking at the E.S. Stackhouse Colliery and Greater Shickshinny Area as we continue to develop our Coldwater Conservation Plan for the Shickshinny Creek Watershed and both the Paddy Run and Rocky Run Valleys, along the southern tip of the Northern Anthracite Coalfields, along State Route 11, in Shickshinny and Salem Township.

E.S. Stackhouse portrait from 1886.

The majority of the colliery history is located in State Game Lands 260. He’ll be looking for maps and history on the people, landmarks, and local communities that influenced the mining industry in those areas that EPCAMR always includes in our watershed assessments and Coldwater Conservation Plans.

A transparency over a historic mining map showing the E.S. Stackhouse Colliery Breaker original location along State Route 11 just outside of Shickshinny.

He will be helping our former AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer Dennis Dukinas, continue to build on our new Story Map on the Anthracite Region’s Historic Coal Mines, Breakers, and Washeries, in the Northern, Middle (Eastern), Western Middle, and Southern Anthracite Coal Fields, Geographic Information System (GIS), online, interactive map.

Screen shot of the online Story Map and Interactive Historical Coal Mines, Collieries, Breakers, and Washeries in the EPCAMR Region’s Anthracite Coal Fields

He expressed his interest in attending the EPCAMR 30th Anniversary Reception with his fiancée, and wishes for you to be in attendance as well, on September 19th, 2026 from 5-9PM, at the Sand Springs Country Club, in Drums. More details on the planning of this pivotal occasion will be forthcoming, so please SAVE THE DATE! We will be highlighting our accomplishments over the last three decades. Dinner and a Cash Bar will be provided. Registration will open soon and sponsorships will be sought from our regional partners across our 16-county region.

We look forward to his contributions to our organization over the next 10 weeks! Welcome aboard Stanley! Join us in welcoming him to this great opportunity for the both of us.

The post EPCAMR Brings on Stanley A. Shimko as a Community-based Federal Work Study student intern from King’s College as Our Coal Region History Researcher & Archivist 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.

Steve Cornia, EPCAMR’s recent hire as a GIS Watershed Outreach Technician grabbing a water level sample.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Lock Haven University after spending two years at LCCC. While attending Lock Haven, he managed the university’s soils and water lab. It was during his time working in the lab where he was first exposed to the true effects of AMD while working on a water quality projects testing the effectiveness of a passive AMD treatment plant. Under his supervisor, Dr. Khalequzzaman, Steve also helped implement several baseline water quality monitoring projects in watersheds in the Marcellus Shale drilling regions. His hard work and dedication in the lab earned him the Lock Haven University Environmental Stewardship award. From there, he completed his geology field camp in the Black Hills through the South Dakota School of Mines, where he honed in his field techniques.

He attended graduate school at Shippensburg University for Geoenvironmental studies, working as a Graduate Assistant in the Technology Student/Faculty Helpdesk. It is at Shippensburg where Steve gained most of his formal training in GIS and where he learned how to apply the technology to suite a wide range of different projects.

In his spare time, you can find Steve outside hiking or biking the local trails, fishing, playing music with his friends, or relaxing by a campfire.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to be able to contribute my skills and knowledge of GIS, geology, and hydrology to the many exciting projects that EPCAMR is involved with. It is exciting to be part of a team of like-minded individuals with the common goal of building a cleaner and safer environment and giving back to our community through our many educational outreach programs.”

“EPCAMR is looking forward to bringing Steve on board with his background and experience in GIS and field monitoring to help us continue to provide the much needed technical assistance that we are currently giving to our coalfield community groups and State and Federal agencies that have partnered with us for over the last 20 plus years”, enthusiastically said, Robert Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director. “From day one, we have him jumping right in once his initial orientation to the office was held and some administrative duties, to scanning mine underground mine maps and cataloging them from Western Middle Anthracite Coal fields and learning the process of inputting the data fields we need to collect to submit to the PA Historic Underground Mine Mapping System (PHUMMIS) and he’s picked it up pretty quickly. While admitting that he’s a little rusty on ArcGIS, he’s looking forward to learning how to navigate ArcGIS 10.6 and ArcGIS Pro with EPCAMR to help us create mine map mosaics, digitize, and geo-reference the thousands of maps that we are inventorying for the State’s Mine Subsidence Insurance Program.”

The post EPCAMR Welcomes Newest Staff Member, Steve Cornia as a GIS Watershed Outreach Technician appeared first on epcamr.org.

The project will also include an educational aspect where children are taught about the importance of growing their own fruits and vegetables along with coal mining history of the Wyoming Valley and even nutrition. Laura Rinehimer, Watershed Outreach Education Specialist at EPCAMR, explained, “This project provides an opportunity for youth to learn about plants first-hand through engaging in the process of growing vegetables from seed to table.” Rinehimer is responsible for creating a multidisciplinary, standards aligned curriculum for the project that will be provided to area teachers in the targeted school districts we would like to work with in the Wyoming Valley.  In addition to the Growboxxes^© and gardening supplies, several iPads will also be distributed to local schools so that they can share their experiences with children around the world through a concurrent project taking place in Ethiopia. Claudia Meglin is managing the project for Inquiring Systems, Inc. “We are looking forward to deepening our collaboration with EPCAMR to empower communities that have suffered under the demise of capitalistic extraction”.  Additionally, a documentary will be filmed to monitor the growth of the project, run by videographer John Welsh.

The mission of the grant is to help youth in the coal region reclaim their backyards. This region was heavily extracted for Anthracite coal for nearly 200 years. Many of the miners lived in company houses and already spent the majority of their earned income at the company store through the use of scrips. In order to become more self-sustaining people grew their own foods in patchwork gardens. In doing so, they reclaimed their freedom from the mining companies. “While EPCAMR normally focuses on reclaiming land and polluted mine water, this project will allow us to reclaim the backyards of residents located in previously mining impacted areas and provide families with an option to garden together and grow some healthy food options much like the mining families of the past,” said Executive Director at EPCAMR, Bobby Hughes.

Today, children in the region face a different type of oppression. 58% of individuals lie below the poverty level. For families with no transportation, often times, the easiest and cheapest food options are fast food or processed food options from local convenient stores. The focus area for the project can be seen as a food desert in many ways and it is difficult for people without vehicles to make trips to grocery stores to obtain nutritious, fresh fruits and vegetables. By teaching kids to grow their own food, it will help reclaim the freedom to eat healthy and make informed nutrition choices.

EPCAMR plans to partner with local Luzerne County children in the 4^th grade class in the following schools and organizations: The Graham Academy, Wilkes-Barre Area, Nanticoke Area and Hanover Area. Mt. Zion Baptists Church youth and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church youth from the Greater Wilkes-Barre Area will also be involved. Staff will be reaching out to the School Districts and the Churches shortly. EPCAMR is patiently awaiting the arrival of 200 Growboxxes. If it is successful with the classrooms that we will be looking to work with, we will be making an appeal to Groasis to provide us with additional Growboxxes to get them to each of the other 4th grade classes in each of the school districts to reach even more youth and families in the Wyoming Valley. A pilot program will start in the fall with the full-blown program commencing in the spring.  For more information on the project, contact EPCAMR at (570) 371-3522.

A lemon tree in combination with melons using Growboxx technologies to flourish.

The post EPCAMR Pairs with Groasis to Provide Food Growboxxes for Youth in Coalfield Communities appeared first on epcamr.org.

The grant program provides assistance to the region’s watershed groups. This year’s awards cover program expenses in three areas: water quality monitoring, watershed restoration, and organizational promotion and outreach. Since 2005, WPC and the Dominion Foundation have collaborated to help enhance water quality and watershed initiatives through this grant program, which has awarded $313,475 to more than 110 organizations.

“The Mini Grant Program offers invaluable funding for smaller volunteer-based organizations and helps them to administer and complete a variety of projects – like tree plantings and water monitoring – that are important to sustaining and enhancing local watersheds,” said Don Houser, Dominion’s Director of Government Affairs.

Robert Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director receiving an Mini-Grant Award Plaque from Don Houser, Director of Regional Federal, State, and Local Affairs for Dominion to support the development and creation of a new EPCAMR Brochure.

Our original request was for $2000. The brochure describes EPCAMR’s intentions to look to create new partnerships with community groups working on abandoned mine drainage (AMD), abandoned mine reclamation, and outdoor environmental education efforts in the Bituminous Coalfields Northern Tier county of Tioga, and in Dauphin county, located in the Southern Anthracite Coalfields. Dominion Energy services both of these counties throughout NorthCentral and Northeastern PA  and they overlap with the EPCAMR Region as our polar opposites, in terms of the counties furthest to our north and furthest to our south of our centrally located office in Ashley, PA, Luzerne County.

EPCAMR intends to support organizational promotion and awareness of our non-profit environmental group in the two targeted coverage areas. Travel budgets sometimes limit our physical presence in these areas, however, EPCAMR believes that we need to become a more involved and engaged partner on abandoned mine reclamation and AMD remediation projects in these counties, specifically.

This grant helped EPCAMR to attain its primary goals and objectives by allowing us to: 1) reach out to additional partners and make them aware of our Coalition’s efforts and technical services offered in the region, in those two respective counties where we work, 2) update them on regional projects and technical assistance of importance to their watersheds, and 3) offer additional free technical and assistance and services to those community leaders and groups with similar goals and desires to clean up their mining impacted watersheds.

Word Cloud describing some of the actions that EPCAMR can provide to community groups.

EPCAMR has some existing partnerships in those counties with the County Conservation Districts and a few community groups, however, we would like to dedicate some time and effort to creating more awareness and outreach efforts within these two vital counties in our region that have experienced their share of abandoned mine problems and water quality issues dealing with AMD. Both the Tioga County Conservation District and Dauphin County Conservation District are active member organizations to EPCAMR and have been long-time Coalition partners.

Bear Creek AMD seeps that eventually flow into the Wiconisco Creek.

EPCAMR works with the Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee, Tioga River Watershed Reclamation Projects Inc., PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, PA DEP Moshannon District Mining Office, Hillside Rod and Gun Club, and Blossburg Elementary School. EPCAMR hopes to make contact with the Cowanesque Valley Watershed Association, Kettle Creek Watershed Association, Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group, Ellen Run Watershed Projects, Corey Creek Watershed Association, Mill Cove Association, Crooked Creek Coalition, and the Sugar Branch Lake Watershed Association to determine if they have any abandoned mine impacts where we could assist them in the future. We will be sharing our brochure with these organizations in the hopes that they can help to disseminate them within their watersheds.

Bear Creek AMD confluence with the Wiconisco Creek.

EPCAMR works with the Wiconisco Creek Watershed Association, SRBC, PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, PA Game Commission, PA DEP Pottsville District Mining Office, Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Schuylkill County Conservation District, and the Rausch Creek Partners, in the Dauphin County area. EPCAMR hopes to make contact with the Tri-Valley Watershed Association, Swatara Creek Watershed Association, and any efforts in the Clark and Stony Creek Watersheds in Dauphin County.

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

As a regional service provider, with a small professional staff, that are entirely grant funded, it is rare that EPCAMR secures all of the funding necessary that could support our outreach and organizational promotion throughout the year. EPCAMR will spend some staff time researching the groups and organizations that we would like to reach out to in order to promote our technical assistance and public services, create a database from which we can work from, and provide them resources on EPCAMR that will allow us to build up our Coalition’s presence and support in those respective counties. We utilized the portion of the grant funds that we were awarded to create an updated brochure, will be making poster boards for outreach and awareness of EPCAMR’s work in the region, and will be adding additional elements or links to our existing website at www.epcamr.org that will allow us to direct groups to our page for additional resources, outreach materials, or technical assistance.

We have an outreach campaign idea that we would like to expand on called “Actions Speak Louder than Words” that will allow us to create posters and pictures of EPCAMR Staff and volunteers doing various work in our field of interest through the depiction of environmental action across the region in our mining impacted watersheds and abandoned mine landscapes. EPCAMR would like to use action verbs to promote our organization and the photos to back up those actions since a picture is worth a thousand words. It will also help us regionally develop a presence as well beyond the two targeted counties in Dominion’s service area as a secondary benefit. Although, EPCAMR does not cover many of the other counties listed in the grant application that are primarily found in Western and Central PA, we do service many of them through our existing partnership with the WPCAMR, during our annual PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference, that has been held yearly for the last 19 years (www.treatminewater.com).

About Dominion:

Dominion and the Dominion Foundation are dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies. Dominion and the Dominion Foundation support nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, support education and promote community vitality.

About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of about 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.

The post EPCAMR Creates Brochure to Create New Partnerships in Tioga & Dauphin Counties to Combat AMD appeared first on epcamr.org.

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.

The post Official Trailer: CENTRALIA, Pennsylvania’s Lost Town appeared first on epcamr.org.

Check out this link on the history of Parsons (Parsons History). The first successful coal mining in Parsons was done in 1866, when the Mineral Spring mine was opened. The first breaker was built by the Mineral Spring Coal company. The spring from which Mineral Spring Coal Company takes its name was on the lands of Calvin Parsons. It had gained notoriety for its curative qualities and an effort was made a few years prior to the opening of the coal mines to buy the property, in order to establish an infamous water cure. When the mining commenced in 1866 the source of the spring was tapped, and it was dewatered. The Laurel Run Breaker shortly followed and opened in 1867-68 by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. Patch Town histories and where their names were often derived from can be found in this Citizen’s Voice article from August 9th, 2015.

Francis Dombrowksi, III Mineral Springs Mine Map Collection-Parsons, PA donated to EPCAMR

The dates on the maps range from 1905-1952. The Local coal vein names or Formal Names shown are the Skidmore, Red Ash, 3′ Vein, Lower Baltimore Vein, Upper Baltimore Vein, and the Checker Vein. The veins are all located in the Northern Anthracite Coalfield in Luzerne County and the majority of the map types are underground mine maps (12), cross-sections (2), plan map (1), surface maps (3), and a surface topography map (1). The scale on each of the maps are 1″=100′, except for the plan maps for the No. 2 Slope Extension, which is 1″=20′. 2 of the maps are original linens and 17 of the maps are paper copies. The datum is 500′ below tide. The maps were acquired from a Mining Engineer who formerly worked for the Mineral Spring Coal Company.

Upper Baltimore Vein Mineral Springs Coal Company-Parson, PA

The maps shows various stages of underground mining development during this period of mining activity. Various barrier pillars are shown. Other adjacent collieries and coal companies are also mapped, along with elevations, historic property owners, culm and silt banks, Water Company lands and reservoirs, slopes, stripping operations, Laurel Run, State Routes 115,  Engine houses, haulage roads, old mining roads, borehole locations, mined out areas, section lines, cross sections, and rock tunnels, drainage tunnels and single, double, and even triple compartment mine shafts. It is truly amazing what one can find on these historic mining maps, once they know what they are looking for. EPCAMR has developed a mine map symbology PDF key to assist the public with identifying many of these mining features above.

EPCAMR has given the distinction of naming this collection of mining maps the Francis Dombrowski, III Mineral Springs Mine Map Collection for archival purposes. It took 22 GB of storage to create the collection digitally to be properly archived at EPCAMR. EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert E. Hughes, stated, “We would like to thank and acknowledge Mr. Dombrowski, III for reaching out to EPCAMR and for seeing the value in the preservation and archival purposes of them for the future. EPCAMR is going to use them to update our regional underground mine pool models and to assist in identifying probable locations for mine subsidence. The maps also allow us to determine where surface water from our mountain streams, like Laurel Run and its’ tributaries are being lost to the underground mine workings where from the looks of many of the maps that were reviewed in this collection, have been mined out completely. We also want to make people aware of the PA Mine Subsidence Insurance Program and the benefits that obtaining coverage can offer to residents, particularly, in the Coal Region, and more importantly, in this case, in the Parsons area of the City of Wilkes-Barre and Plains Township.”

Mine Map showing various stages of mining advancement

The post Francis Dombrowski, III Donates Historic Mine Maps to EPCAMR Archive from the Mineral Spring Coal Company appeared first on epcamr.org.