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.

Joining us on September 8, 2026 as an AmeriCorps VISTA, in partnership with Conservation Legacy Stewards Individual Placements, is Kali Mellin. Kali is an anthracite region local, having been born and raised in Jermyn, Pennsylvania. A graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania in December of 2021, Kali holds a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in STEM-H (the H stands for Humanities!). Her degree comes with three minors: Biology, Geography, and Science Education. She also holds a Certificate in Desktop GIS from Pace University as of 2025. Kali will serve as a Stewards VISTA: Digital Mobilization Coordinator for a one year term with the goal of building capacity for EPCAMR to expand their education and awareness efforts in relation to abandoned mine lands reclamation, watershed assessments, and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) monitoring of flows, chemistry, and macroinvertebrate populations and stream health around the EPCAMR Region. Storytelling about our work and building databases of regional artists that we’re looking to pull together in the future to utilize our iron oxide pigment to create enough pieces of work to hold an Art Show highlighting the various mediums used for art will are just two examples of service work that are in her Volunteer Activity Description (VAD).

Graphic by Kali Mellin. A rundown on how her position falls under all of these different organizations at one time.

EPCAMR actively works toward the reclamation and redevelopment of land affected by past mining practices. This includes reducing environmental hazards to health and safety and returning land affected by past mining practices to productive use, thereby improving the economy and livelihoods of those living in the region.

EPCAMR’s current initiatives include, but are not limited to, illegal dump site cleanups (with tire recycling!), Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful “Open Your Eyes to Litter” Program for elementary students, participation in Trout in the Classroom through a partnership with PA Fish and Boat Commission and PA Council of Trout Unlimited, and water quality monitoring programs such as that at the Rocky Run Headwaters in State Game Lands 260.

Clip originally from The Times-Tribune, October 2009. Scan courtesy of Scranton Public Library.

Kali’s first impression of EPCAMR was in October of 2009 when they attended Lakeland Elementary’s “Water Festival” and introduced 4th grade students to AMD with iron oxide tie-dye. She was re-introduced during the pandemic year of 2020 through a Facebook post from PA Environment Digest, then followed EPCAMR’s Facebook page to keep up with the great work they were doing locally with hopes to get involved. Building a career in an environmental field has been the natural progression of Kali’s life; she grew up in Pennsylvania’s forests, streams, and ponds getting dirty and, most importantly, asking questions. Most recently her education has continued through volunteering as a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward and substitute teaching at her local high school. Both opportunities have offered a wealth of experiences to “teach the teacher”! Kali considers her insatiable thirst for knowledge a main personality trait.

“I’m looking forward to assisting EPCAMR in serving my community by participating in education and outreach and building capacity by creating, improving, and expanding the reach of EPCAMR’s educational and informational materials” says Kali. “This opportunity allows me to use my strengths in research and organization combined with my passion for improving environmental literacy to serve my community in a way that can cause great impact.”

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director went on to say, “I just love finding out that there are students that still remember pivotal core memories of working with us over the last 3 decades when we had conducted an outdoor environmental meaningful watershed experience when they were in elementary or high school and come to find that they continued to have a passion for the environment as they got older. Knowing that Kali was a part of a program that we ran 17 years ago is heartwarming and makes me feel very proud and happy to know that she’s found a way back to EPCAMR in this capacity as an AmeriCorps with us. She’s a coaltown kid herself. She can relate. She’s lived it and is still living with the legacy and now gets to play an active role in helping us to address these environmental issues within our most underserved communities by helping us build capacity, provide environmental education opportunities, and encourage environmental stewardship of our youth, much like I did for her when she was younger at Lakeland Elementary as a part of the Watershed Festival. She’s a natural teacher and I can see that already in her. I told her she has the same name as my only granddaughter, except she spells it with a C and not a K, and she has a lot more sass to her at the ripe old age of 6, and she gives my oldest and only daughter, Hayley, a run for her money. I’m looking forward to her service term with us over the next year and am excited that she’s hear with us. She’s off to a great start and has already become certified in our NAACC Stream Continuity Aquatic Organism Passage training program for when we go out and assess culverts and bridges for aquatic passage as a part of our development of coldwater conservation plans.”

Formed in 1995 by concerned conservation districts, EPCAMR represents a coalition of watershed organizations and reclamation partners. Members range from individuals to the active anthracite mining industry and co-generation power plants, to non-profit organizations, 16 county conservation districts, and other organizations in the anthracite and bituminous coal region of eastern Pennsylvania that are involved with abandoned mine reclamation issues. Counties covered by EPCAMR in Northeastern and North Central PA include: Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming. As of the last census (2020), the population we serve equates to approximately 1.7 million people. 

The post EPCAMR Brings on Kali Mellin as AmeriCorps VISTA Digital Mobilization Coordinator through Conservation Legacy and Stewards Individual Placement appeared first on epcamr.org.

Maria Gereda, Kingston, PA  from the Wyoming Valley, and Dennis Dukinas, Dallas, PA, from the Back Mountain, both natives of Luzerne County, will be hosted and supervised by EPCAMR until the end of December 2025 to work with us to provide volunteer services to add some capacity to the organization starting yesterday.

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director exclaimed, “We are thrilled to have both of these environmental and conservation professionals join us for the 20 plus weeks through the end of the year to assist us with a number of direct service projects that we currently have underway with a limited staff, who have the passion and commitment to follow through on a number of our awarded grants and professional services throughout the EPCAMR Region.”

Bobby went on to say, “I can’t say enough about Conservation Legacy, OSMRE, and especially AmeriCorps (State and National) and AmeriCorps VISTA and their support for our work. April Elkins Badtke has been a long-time friend and colleague for over 2 decades when the original Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team was formed to provide similar support to non-profit environmental organizations that were and are still working in coal country up and down the Appalachian Mountain Range. She is a consummate professional at Conservation Legacy who never has had a problem responding to my emails or messages at all hours of the night or on weekends and listening to my concerns about AmeriCorps and the funding cuts that we had to endure several months ago. We currently have Morgan Romanowski, Scott Township, Lackawanna County working with us through the end of September 2025 to finish up her year term as an AmeriCorps (State and National) volunteer fellow GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist and Mark Jones, who initially was an Energy Community Assistance Program (ECAP) Community Development Coordinator volunteer with AmeriCorps VISTA, who had to placed into Conservation Legacy’s AmeriCorps VISTA Program. He will be volunteering with us until the end of December 2025.”

Maria will continue her work with EPCAMR as a GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist through the Stewards Individual Placement Program. In her new role, she will help promote food security by encouraging the creation of community gardens in coalfield communities and working with local organizations to plant, maintain, and harvest them as one project that EPCAMR has already started on with the distribution of biodegradable Waterboxxes from Groasis that we have been giving away for free to groups that are interested. Community gardens were very common in what were called “patches” in the coal towns around the Anthracite and Bituminous regions. She will also support affordable housing development by advocating for new housing developments to consider being built on reclaimed abandoned mine lands. She will also continue to engage and assist with  environmental education experiences for students in school districts throughout the region that are under the poverty level.

Dennis and Maria are “kicking for macroinvertebrates on Little Shickshinny Creek in Shickshinny Borough as a part of our Coldwater Heritage Conservation Plan where we are developing a watershed assessment for the Shickshinny Creek Watershed and Paddy and Rocky Run.

Bobby said, “Maria, a Luzerne County native, from Kingston, PA in the Wyoming Valley, joined EPCAMR just two months ago as a part-time Summer Watershed GIS Outreach and Education Intern. In that short time, she has gained a wide range of hands-on experience that will serve her well in her expanding role. She was a natural fit for this longer term position that could give her full-time hours under this program.” 

During her internship, Maria earned a certification in the Non-Tidal Streams Protocol through the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC). She worked closely with EPCAMR Staff to scan and catalog both surface and underground mine maps for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Mine Subsidence Insurance Program. She also participated in field watershed assessments, surveying bridges and culverts across the Shickshinny Creek, Paddy Run, and Rocky Run tributaries in the southern Wyoming Valley—work that directly supports EPCAMR’s ongoing watershed assessment efforts in the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields funded by the PA American Water Charitable Foundation and the PA Council of Trout Unlimited‘s Coldwater Heritage Planning grant program. 

Maria also contributed to community outreach by assisting with water quality monitoring, stream flow measurements, and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) evaluations. She also helped engage local youth in environmental learning during educational events like tie-dye workshops. Her professional network has expanded by attending conferences, including the Abandoned Mine Pools as Beneficial Resources event at Bucknell University and the 2025 ARIPPA Annual Conference.

EPCAMR Staff conducted an AMD Tie Dye T-shirt Workshop for PA Inclusive in Pittston with our recycled iron oxide pigment. Dennis assisted Morgan Romanowski, Mark Jones, and Bobby Hughes in putting on the workshop for the youth and adults.

In addition, Maria will contribute to the development of “land that channels rainfall” resource maps, combining data on demographics, economic indicators, and workforce development with information on local trade schools and community colleges. She will conduct short community surveys and polls via EPCAMR’s social media platforms, update and expand the EPCAMR Partnership Database across 16 counties within our region alone, with our Community Development Coordinator Mark Jones, and will assist in identifying grant opportunities and other organizations and foundations that might be suitable for preparing future grant applications. Her work as well and Dennis’s work will be closely aligned with the goals and objectives laid out by EPCAMR’s Strategic Planning and Education/Science Committees.

Currently enrolled in an online GIS course through Austin Community College, Maria is eager to apply what she’s learning to the real-world challenges facing Pennsylvania’s coalfield communities. Her passion, commitment, and growing expertise make her a valuable asset to EPCAMR’s mission of revitalizing the region through education, outreach, sustainable redevelopment of our abandoned mine lands, and restoration of our watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage (AMD).

Maria participated in an AMD Tour in Schuylkill County with EPCAMR where she was able to visit the infamous “Ashland Fountain”, which is a constantly overflowing AMD discharge from the Bast and Continental Collieries that drains to the Mahanoy Creek watershed as explained by Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director.

Dennis Dukinas, Dallas, PA, in the Back Mountain of Luzerne County is currently completing my final course at Bloomsburg University, where he is finishing his degree in Environmental, Geological, and Geographic Sciences with a Minor in Hydrology.

Bobby shared that “Throughout his academic career, he has gained valuable hands-on experience both outdoors as an Eagle Scout and indoors, working with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) desktop environments. He has already used mapping technologies such as ArcGIS Pro and ERDAS Imagine remote sensing imagery and software to create various hypothetical scenarios in college and now gets to take those lessons learned from the hypothetical to the real world watersheds that EPCAMR works in throughout the coalfields. His experience already includes georeferencing, story mapping, census data analysis, and using tools like ArcGIS Pro Online’s ModelBuilder. He already has earned certifications through ArcGIS Online and holds a Watershed Management Training Certification. He’s also already received a free Aquatic Organism Protocol Training from EPCAMR while a volunteering two weeks before his official internship from NAACC. Maria already has this Certificate as well, however, both of them have to assess 20 culverts and or bridges before they can become a field Lead Observer.”

In his role as a GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist, prior to his start today, he’s already gained valuable experience assessing water quality, conducting visual habitat assessments, identifying, counting, and classifying macroinvertebrates as a part of the biological assessment monitoring EPCAMR conducts for our watersheds assessments, and he’s learned how to use our field photometer and YSI Multi-parameter probe already to perform chemistry tests in-stream. He will be involved in a number of projects that were highlighted by Bobby Hughes on their first day of orientation, along with some training provided to them in EarthVision, where they will be helping to digitize mine maps for another project of ours in the Bear Creek Watershed, Dauphin County and creating 3D surface and underground mine pool models to help us calculate volumetrics of water and coal remaining a region of the Southern Anthracite Coalfields. 

Bobby joked with Dennis before this week to get as much sleep in over the Holiday Weekend because he will be shifting from volunteering a few days a week to a full 40 hours a week through the end of the year. “He was in this morning ready to go and get some administrative paperwork out of the way, hear about the myriad of projects that we are going to be working on, work on his background article notes for this release, and to begin his initial training on EarthVision with Mike. I’m really looking forward to the energy, enthusiasm, willingness to jump in and learn from the Staff about all of important work in the region and the value that their efforts are going to have in the communities that we are working in that we have maintained positive, trusting relationships with, for nearly 3 decades.”

Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Program Manager and Frank Sindaco, GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist is teaching Maria and Dennis how to use our field monitoring equipment at the Askam AMD Maelstrom Oxidizer Treatment System on Earth Conservancy’s property along Dundee Road in the Nanticoke Creek watershed.

The post EPCAMR Hosts 2 Stewards Individual Placement Program (SIPP) GIS Watershed Outreach Specialist AmeriCorps (State and National) Interns Administered by Conservation Legacy through the end of December 2025 appeared first on epcamr.org.

During her term of service, she engaged in projects throughout Texas that included trail maintenance and construction, invasive plant species removal, basic carpentry, and backcountry camping. Although she fell in love with the hands-on aspects of land stewardship, she also wanted to learn the more technical side of conservation work.

This led her to discover and pursue an education in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Currently enrolled in an online GIS course through Austin Community College, Maria is excited to put her skills to use to help the efforts of EPCAMR and her local coalfield communities. “My experience in GIS so far has mostly involved map making, creating story maps, and data analysis, so I’m very excited to gain skills in scanning, digitizing, cataloging, georeferencing, and mapping for the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Mine Subsidence Insurance (MSI) program. This internship is an opportunity to gain these hands-on skills, while also being able to learn from some of the most well respected and experienced GIS professionals here at EPCAMR.” For instance, she has created a previous data analysis dashboard on World Happiness. From the looks of it, we can use more happiness in the US.

Bobby Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director said, “She is a detail-oriented professional with a strong
background in outreach, GIS, and conservation. She already has a proven track record and expertise with coordinating AmeriCorps Programs, managing outreach initiatives, is moving in the direction of building her technical skill sets in GIS, which is exactly what we are looking for. We have plenty of work to be done in the Mine Subsidence Insurance Program area of our work on scanning, catalouging, georeferencing, digitizing, and mosaicking. Her resume shined with skills in project management, social media content creation, and event coordination. These are all great skills to have as an intern. She’s a problem solver and a team player, both qualities we need here at EPCAMR since we are a small shop and tend to be the ones helping others in our communities to help them solve environmental problems. Her fluency in Spanish at an intermediate level may come in handy as well knowing how may students and families we come in contact with throughout our region that speak Spanish.”

Maria is seen here at a farm-to-table restaurant in Antigua, Guatelmala.

Maria even has certifications from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations as an Apprentice Electrician, Wilderness First Aid, and a Green Careers Texas Solar Installer.

Maria Gereda is learning how to fell a tree as a part of her Texas Conservation Corps term.

Maria will have plenty of opportunity over the Summer to pick up and assist EPCAMR with our many projects throughout the region and improve upon her GIS skills as well as learn much more about the legacy mining impacts in the region.

We look forward to her giving us a hand, just as we are our Bonner Leader Program student, from Wilkes University, Ian Padden. He is able to give us 2 days a week and she is able to give us 3 days a week.

She’s already starting scanning and cataloging some of the Industrial Archives Library mining maps, Shickshinny Creek Historical Society & Museum mine maps from the E.S. Stackhouse Collliery and Salem Coal Company, and will be starting to get her Aquatic Organism Protocol (AOP) Training through NAACC to eventually become certified  and later a Lead Observer to survey bridges and culverts as a part of our watershed assessement and coldwater heritage planning work for the Shickshinny Creek, PaddyRun, and Rocky Run tribuaries to the Susquehanna River in the southern end of the Wyoming Valley at the southern tip of the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields.

The post EPCAMR Welcomes Kingston native, Maria Gereda as a Summer Watershed GIS Outreach/Education Intern appeared first on epcamr.org.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rachael Grube will work with EPCAMR on our GIS mapping and 3-D mine pool modeling projects. She will also develop training workshops for AmeriCorps/OSMRE and assist in monitoring water elevation of mine pools, sampling water quality of mine pools, and monitoring flow and chemistry of regional abandoned mine discharges.

Rachael, in Iceland for her senior research thesis

The GIS work Rachael will help with is mine pool mapping in the Rausch Creel watershed and at the Mocanaqua AMD Tunnel within the Susquehanna River watershed, in partnership with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and others.

Originally from a farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Rachael is a 2016 graduate of Gettysburg College with a degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Studio Art. Rachael’s studies focused heavily on Earth Systems Science and GIS, giving her a solid background in the mapping and AMD work EPCAMR does. Her field experience ranges from surveying the geology of abandoned strip mines in Central Pennsylvania to collecting elevations, coordinates, and sediment samples with her professor in Northern Iceland as part of her senior research thesis. Rachael spent the summer interning for the Lackawanna County Conservation District. In her free time, she enjoys painting, running, hiking, traveling, and playing with her cat, Ralph. “I am incredibly excited to put the skills I have learned in the classroom to use in a way that can actively help to improve my community,” Rachael stated.

Abigail Keefe, born and raised in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, has always had a love for being creative and a passion for environmental issues ever since she could remember, so you can imagine her excitement when learning about the Outreach & Education position with EPCAMR and Americorps/OSMRE. “Combining a position with communication and environmental outreach opportunities? What could be better? I’m very excited and can’t wait to help create programs and educate the community on how much of an impact elements from our historical past has on today’s local environment and society,” Abbie enthusiastically stated.  

Abigail on a hiking adventure with her boyfriend, Nick

Abbie received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from a small social justice institution in suburban Philadelphia, Cabrini College. She dedicated her time to serving as the Managing and News Editor of the student-run newspaper, the Loquitur. She also lobbied at the nation’s capital for poverty-focused international assistance, with an emphasis on natural disasters. After graduating in May of 2016, she traveled to Arbolito, Ecuador for a service trip, where she aided in after-school programs and community activities. There, she learned first-hand about the hardships the impoverished community faced, such as the lack of clean water. Abbie’s love for animals is perpetual, as she spends most of her free time hanging out with her furry white feline, rescued pit bull, leopard gecko, among others. When she’s not home with he pets, you can assume she is hiking, kayaking, painting, eating pizza, or taking pictures.

Abbie will assist EPCAMR with our social media presence, telling stories about and taking pictures of the lands we’ve reclaimed and restored in our mining-impacted region. She will also be reviewing our marketing, branding, and recently updated Strategic Plan to see how she can build on EPCAMR’s mission and to let our mining-impacted communities know we are here to assist them. Finally, she will help organize education, outreach, and community events around AMD and watershed restoration for our partners and community volunteers. Hopefully, we can build on our RECLAIM Crew volunteer program that encourages volunteers to not only come to our community cleanup events, but also allow them to ultimately spearhead their own environmental volunteer projects.

Welcome aboard, Rachael and Abbie!

The post EPCAMR Hosts Two AmeriCorps/OSMRE Positions to Help Build Capacity in Coalfield Communities appeared first on epcamr.org.

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

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

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

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

Project Title for Position 2:

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

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

OSMRE.AMERICORPS Member Program One-Pager final

OSMRE AmeriCorps Site ApplicationEPCAMR

OSMRE AmeriCorps Member Compensation Summary

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

Robert and Kelsey holding up a map of the Holmes vein; it’s nearly 20′ long!

EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes, tasked Samantha, following her recent evaluation and promotion, with creating a poster of the many mine map symbols that she and other staff have come across over the past year or so. She picked up quickly on some graphics design software tools and shortcuts, thanks to Gabby’s design knowledge. “I wanted her to be able to take the mine map symbols and create a quick reference guide, not only for the EPCAMR staff, but also for the general public (mining enthusiasts, preservationists, future interns, and the like). I wanted to produce it as a public service to those who may own old mine maps and don’t understand how to interpret them. My co-worker, Mike Hewitt, and I were trained by some of the best mining engineers in the Pennsylvania over the last few decades, and for this knowledge, we are forever thankful. There are many Anthracite mining company secrets, including proprietary use of symbols and mining terms (i.e., the same coal vein spanning across these mines having different names in each company). EPCAMR is now deciphering some of those ‘Anthracite Hieroglyphics,’ as I like to call them. The EPCAMR staff did a great job and public service by putting this quick little reference guide together.”

The EPCAMR staff can create digital points on the maps’ surface to locate these mining features within a geographic space and give them a latitude and longitude in terms of global positioning. The location then allows us to obtain a topographic elevation of the surface in order to make a determination of depth, such as to water levels, tunnels, drifts, slopes, shafts, gangways, and faults, among others.

This is an underground mine map of the Holmes Vein within the Silver Creek Colliery in Blythe Twp., PA.

Water elevations in the boreholes help us estimate volumes of water present in the underground mine pools and points underground at which mine water flows around, over, and sometimes through barrier pillars as it makes its way to the surface and discharges as abandoned mine drainage. We believe that much of the symbology is the same for the Bituminous Region of Western Pennsylvania, so the poster may prove useful to our counterparts like WPCAMR and Trout Unlimited, to assist them in interpreting the intricacies of underground mine mapping. EPCAMR is sure to find many more of these symbols as we continue to work through the thousands of maps that have yet to be processed. We may add another poster to this as a series if there prove to be more symbols.

EPCAMR provides this image online for free, however, should anyone want a paper copy of the poster mailed directly to them, it is available for order at the EPCAMR Online Store for a minimal processing fee.

EPCAMR Mine Map Symbology poster

Mine Map Symbology Poster (PDF Download)

EPCAMR is also looking for mine maps to add to our digital collection, which can then be provided to the state to upload to the Mine Subsidence Insurance Program website for public viewing. We will scan them and provide a digital copy back to the owners of the maps for free as a public service.

Should anyone have a collection in their homes and don’t know what to do with them, EPCAMR will take them as a donation or will scan them digitally for you and give them back. Contact Robert Hughes at (570) 371-3523 or rhughes@epcamr.org.

The post EPCAMR GIS Specialist Samantha Schafer and Staff Work to Design Quick Reference Mine Map Symbol Poster appeared first on epcamr.org.

Samantha Schafer at “Ringing Rock” State Park, outside of Allentown, PA. Ringing Rocks Park is a 128 acre State Park nestled in the woods in Upper Black Eddy. Located within the park is a field of boulders, about 7-8 acres in size, that have an unusual property. When the rocks are struck with a hammer or another rock, they sound as if they are metal and hollow and ring with a sound similar to a metal pipe being struck.

 Since Fall 2013, the EPCAMR Staff have been working to scan underground mine maps as part of the PA Department of Environmental Protection Mine Subsidence Insurance Program (PA DEP MSI). The 3 year project, which awarded EPCAMR approximately $340,000 in funding to process maps owned or controlled by the Commonwealth of PA, U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) or from private collections, will aid the public in determining whether or not it is necessary to purchase Mine Subsidence Insurance. The scanned maps will include information about the four Anthracite coal fields, with some of Earth Conservancy’s maps from their Blue Coal collection also being scanned. EPCAMR was the only regional non-profit to receive funding due to our expertise and knowledge of the Anthracite region. All other funding was awarded to universities and colleges. By the end of the project, EPCAMR will complete a total of 8000 maps, with 2000 from DEP’s Pottsville Bureau of Deep Mine Safety (DMS), 5000 DEP Wilkes-Barre Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR), 1000 maps from Earth Conservancy’s Blue Coal collection, unless some of the map numbers are reallocated due to underestimates within the State’s collections. In addition, EPCAMR will georeference 1000 maps from Pottsville District Mining Office (DMO) and 500 maps from Earth Conservancy’s Blue Coal, while digitizing 300 maps from Pottsville DMO, 500 maps from Wilkes-Barre BAMR, and 200 maps from Earth Conservancy’s Blue Coal. The total catalog of scanned maps will include 2000 maps from DEP’s Wilkes-Barre BAMR and 5000 mine images from DEP’s Mine Image Inventory.

The maps, which come in a variety of materials such as Mylar, Sepia, etc., are usually very wide and long, making them difficult to process using normal scanners. In order to mediate this issue, EPCAMR purchased two 56′ Color Trac Scanners in order to make the maps accessible by computer. Once the maps are scanned, they are uploaded into a system called PHUMMIS, which stands for Pennsylvania Historic Underground Mine Map Inventory System, where they are cropped and aligned. After this the images, which enter PHUMMIS as tagged image files, or TIF files, are converted to seamless image database files, or SID files. Converting the images to SID files allows for them to be compressed 20x smaller than their original size, making it easier for the files to be uploaded over the internet and used in other software programs, such as ArcGIS.

After the map files are converted, with the help of Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Project Manager and Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director, Staff will georeference the maps in order to align them with base maps and aerial photos. Georeferencing is a crucial part of the process because it ensures the greatest amount of accuracy for aligning the map with the actual land. Many of the maps are very old and hand-drawn, meaning that the map alone cannot serve as an accurate picture of where the mines are located. After the maps are georeferenced, Mike uploads the images and lines up the maps in order to look for specific features such as mine entrances, shaft length, depth, coverage area, and mine shaft elevation.  Determining these features allows for development of an accurate model of the underground mines. After features are determined, the plotted images are uploaded into geodatabase, the common spatial data storage and management framework for ArcGIS. If the elevation of the mine shaft can be determined, then a 3-D digital model of the mine can be produced.

Samantha has previous experience using GIS and field geophysical equipment which will come in handy right away on the job. She is a team player and very self-motivated.  She is a member of several Geology Professional Affiliations, such as the Geological Society of America, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and was a member of the Pittsburgh Geological Society earlier in her collegiate career. She spent time studying geology in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming with SUNY Buffalo taking a geological field course and camp.  Her Senior research consisted of geologically mapping an area north of Bloomsburg, PA to further understand the folding associated with the Appalachian Mountains in the Fishing Creek Watershed and is already familiar with the “Whaleback” Geologic feature in Bear Valley, in the Shamokin Creek Watershed down in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfields.  Samantha stated, “Geology has been a very exciting and rewarding topic to study for me.  It encompasses my love of nature, geologic landscapes, and the outdoors.  Hiking, kayaking, and climbing are more enjoyable with the knowledge of the environment in which I play and now get to work in, especially having an opportunity to understand and gain experience in the coalfields of Northeastern PA with one of the premier state-wide environmental organizations across PA working on abandoned mine reclamation, watershed restoration, underground mine mapping, and outdoor environmental education.” 
She has worked at Whitewater Challengers as a River Guide for eight years on the Lehigh River where she utilized her hydrology expertise to guide up to 120 guests down river and coordinate whitewater trips. While she was in College at Slippery Rock University, she organized and led trips for rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, and canoe trips and became a certified belayer at the indoor climbing wall for Slippery Rock University Outdoor Adventure, where she was an Outdoor Adventure Specialist.

She exclaimed, “I am very excited to join the team here at EPCAMR.  This is an amazing opportunity to gain experience as a GIS Technician.  I expect to learn a lot about the Coal Region that I call home. It’s going to be very rewarding to be able to learn about the surface abandoned mines and underground coal mining hydrogeology and structural geology that will increase my knowledge of the Coal Region. This is a huge undertaking by EPCAMR, but from what I’ve heard and seen about their quality of work, level of expertise and professionalism from others, I’m confident that this position will suit me well and help to advance my career in the future.”

Robert stated, “I’m very happy to bring on board yet another “rock hound” like myself who I think will bring her goal oriented, determined, and productive attitude to the work that EPCAMR is currently going full steam ahead on. She will be a nice compliment to our existing team and will get started scanning right away on the mine map collections as well as some initial training on interpreting and reading Anthracite Mine Maps, both from the surface perspective, and the underground mining perspective. It’s sure to give her a whole new level of understanding of the work that EPCAMR has been doing in the Coal Region for the last 20 years.”

The post EPCAMR Hires Samantha Schafer, Emmaus, as a Part-Time GIS Technician to Work on the Mine Subsidence Insurance Mapping Project appeared first on epcamr.org.

Kelsey is a hard worker, efficient, often quiet, yet focused, on fulfilling the scope of work of our MSI Mine Mapping Project. She has agreed to step into a leadership position where given her seniority and experience in the EPCAMR Office, she will now be able to train other Staff coming in to work on the project as positions are filled. She has done a great job to date and will be providing some training and technical assistance to David Svab, another former Watershed Outreach Intern, who is now in the GIS Technician position, fulfilling the scanning and cataloging of the mine maps for the Northern Coal Fields. EPCAMR is still taking resumes to fill the other GIS Technician position that has room to move up, following training and provided that they can show they have achieved a high level of competency in the work load that they are given.

Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director, stated, “I’m confident that from my very positive evaluation discussion with Kelsey earlier today, that since she is moving into the GIS Specialist position, knowing I expect her to take a more assertive leadership role from within the EPCAMR Staff, especially within our GIS Team, which, albeit is small at the moment, she will do an exceptional job! She is easy going, soft-spoken, goes with the flow, is a problem solver who works around hurdles, is getting more and more comfortable with the EPCAMR Staff, who are also laid back, yet very professional, have strong work ethics, and are very efficient and produce high quality work products, no matter what we are working on. She represents EPCAMR’s exceptional work standards that are a cut above the rest. It’s my job to put my Staff in positions where they can shine, allow them to grow professionally, mentor them, help them to find their passion, interact with the public, and develop strong positive working relationships among the Staff to build the strongest team that I possibly could to promote and support the mission and goals of EPCAMR. Like I’ve told her today, I am as sincere as they come and I like to treat my Staff like Family, because we spend as much or more time with each other on a daily basis than we do at home with our own families, and when we can make work seem like play and do it together as a family or team, it makes all of our work that much easier and enjoyable.”

Mike Hewitt, EPCAMR Program Manager, who oversees the GIS Team working on the project even went out of his way to create name templates for Dave and Kelsey yesterday with their titles on them out of fancy recycled bond paper and provided them to the two of them today. They were surprised and had a chuckle at the same time. Noone has ever made them a homemade name plate before. Robert joked, “It’s the little things we do to make our EPCAMR Family happy!” The smile on her face was priceless and bigger than the one that she had when she was an intern and I caught her off-guard and took a photo of her for the Staff Page when she first started with EPCAMR.”

Kelsey Biondo, who was promoted today from her old title of GIS Technician to EPCAMR GIS Specialist is all smiles as she gets handed her new homemade name plate.

The post EPCAMR Promotes Kelsey Biondo to GIS Specialist to Lead the Way on our Mine Mapping Project for the PA Mine Subsidence Insurance Program appeared first on epcamr.org.