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.”

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Director, Joe Sapienza II. Credit: Curtis Donar

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

Producer, Allyson Kircher

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

Colorist, Melina Smith

Motion graphics, Corey Branigan

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

Audio mixer, Dominic Zappalla. Credit: Dan Leung

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

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

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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

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Apply now for the $5,000 ARIPPA AML/AMD Award.  EPCAMR and WPCAMR have partnered with the Anthracite Region Independent Power Producer’s Association (ARIPPA) to offer a competitive award to watershed organizations working on Abandoned Mine Land (AML) and/or Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) remediation projects. Grants at a maximum of $2,500 will be awarded to at least one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Anthracite Region and one eligible environmental organization or Conservation District in the Bituminous Region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania actively working on AML/AMD issues. Grant proposals should be for on-the-ground AML/AMD construction projects with a completion date between August 2016 and August 2017. Proposals are due July 8th. The amount granted is dependent upon demonstrated need. Applying organizations must support the mission of ARIPPA, including the removal and conversion of waste coal into alternative energy and the beneficial use of CFB ash for AML/AMD reclamation. You can obtain the official Request for Proposals and supporting documents here.

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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.

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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.

Kelsey Biondo, who started as a Watershed Outreach Intern with EPCAMR in 2012, is one of our GIS Technicians, soon to be GIS Specialist working on the project. Bridgette Robinson, who joined EPCAMR in Fall 2013, was promoted from GIS Technician to GIS Specialist, however, will be moving on to full-time employment within the week and EPCAMR wishes her well. She was a very valuable asset to our EPCAMR Staff and the project.  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.

“The project’s main goal is to scan and upload cropped and plotted maps to the internet so that public users will have easy access to information about mining in this area. Although many of the visible signs of coal mining, such as collieries, breakers, and entrances to mine shafts, have disappeared from this area, the vast majority of the mines remain, leaving a massive web of coal veins beneath the region’s cities and homes. By processing these underground maps, EPCAMR, in collaboration with the PA DEP, will be able to provide current home owners and business owners with the knowledge they need to secure Mine Subsidence Insurance. In addition, making this information available will help inform prospective home and business owners about what’s located under the area they are planning on purchasing or building a house or office,”  explained EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes. “You’d be surprised at how many people in the region do not have Mine Subsidence Insurance and should!,” exclaimed Robert Hughes. If you have any additional maps from private collections, EPCAMR is looking for them to be scanned and added to the PHUMMIS digital catalog. Contact rhughes@epcamr.org to donate maps!

The post EPCAMR Looking to Fill Part-time GIS Specialist Position to work on our Anthracite Mine Mapping Project Immediately appeared first on epcamr.org.

Kelsey Biondo, EPCAMR GIS Technician, examines scanned maps on her laptop.

Kelsey Biondo, who started as a Watershed Outreach Intern with EPCAMR in 2012, and Bridgette Robinson, who joined EPCAMR in Fall 2013, have since become valued GIS technicians and part time employee working on the PA DEP MSI Project. 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.

Bridgette Robinson, EPCAMR GIS Technician, stand with her beloved 56′ ColorTrac Scanner.

After the map files are converted, Bridgette and Kelsey, with the help of Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Project Manager, 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.

Michael Hewitt-EPCAMR Project Manager, Robert Hughes- EPCAMR Executive Director, John Welsh- Philadephia Photographer, Alana Mauger- Philadelphia journalist, David Svab- EPCAMR Intern, and Bill Best- President of Membership for the Huber Breaker Preservation Society, examine an underground mine map.

“The project’s main goal is to scan and upload cropped and plotted maps to the internet so that public users will have easy access to information about mining in this area. Although many of the visible signs of coal mining, such as collieries, breakers, and entrances to mine shafts, have disappeared from this area, the vast majority of the mines remain, leaving a massive web of coal veins beneath the region’s cities and homes. By processing these underground maps, EPCAMR, in collaboration with the PA DEP, will be able to provide current home owners and business owners with the knowledge they need to secure Mine Subsidence Insurance. In addition, making this information available will help inform prospective home and business owners about what’s located under the area they are planning on purchasing or building a house or office,”  explained EPCAMR Executive Director, Robert Hughes. “You’d be surprised at how many people in the region do not have Mine Subsidence Insurance and should!,” exclaimed Robert Hughes. If you have any additional maps from private collections, EPCAMR is looking for them to be scanned and added to the PHUMMIS digital catalog. Contact rhughes@epcamr.org to donate maps!

This mine map measures 4.5×13 ft and that’s not even the largest EPCAMR has scanned!

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Generated More Than 70 New Ideas Including EPCAMR’s Innovative Way to Map Underground Mine Pools in the Anthracite Region of PA in 3D

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 6, 2013

For further information:
Bill Hall/Director
Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center
814-933-8203 / billhall@psu.edu

Ben Franklin’s Shale Gas Innovation Contest Generated More Than 70 New Ideas!

STATE COLLEGE, PA – Last fall, The Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (www.sgicc.org) announced its second annual Innovation Contest. The deadline for participation was February 1, 2013.   Like last year’s very successful competition which received more than 50 applications, this year’s statewide contest turned out to be of great interest and generated more than 70 new ideas.  A total of $75,000 in prize money is being offered, and three winners will be announced in the spring.

Bill Hall, SGICC Director, noted that the quality of the applications was very high. “We received even more applications than last year, and many of the concepts are really impressive.  Topics covered the entire gamut of the shale gas play from down-hole extraction, pad protection and environmental safety, water and wastewater focused technologies, data management concepts, and even included multiple downstream gas and NGL utilization technologies. We are excited to start the vetting process to select the best concepts.”

A list of finalists will be selected by the end of March, 2013.  After making presentations to a panel of judges, three winners will be chosen at an event held in May.  An announcement regarding the date, time, and location will be circulated once all the details have been finalized.   

The Shale Gas Innovation Contest was co-sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners (http://www.benfranklin.org), ANGA (www.anga.us), Acorn Energy (http://acornenergy.com), Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (www.cabotog.com), CONSOL Energy (www.consolenergy.com), Chesapeake Energy (www.chk.com), The Dow Chemical Company (http://www.dow.com/), First National Bank (www.fnb-online.com ), Little Pine Resources (http://littlepineresources.com), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (http://marcelluscoalition.org),OSCOMP Systems (http://www.oscomp-systems.com/) and Praxair (www.praxair.com).
For questions, contact Bill Hall at either 814-933-8203 or billhall@psu.edu.

EPCAMR has submitted its work on mapping in 3D the mine pools for the Anthracite Region of Northeast PA and is one of the 70 applications being considered.

About the SGICCThe Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center (www.sgicc.org) is designed to harness innovation and new technologies as a means to maximize the economic return to Pennsylvania’s citizens from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.  The Center’s goal is to increase sustainable employment and wealth creation in Pennsylvania that has the potential to outlast the initial exploration, production and transportation of natural gas from the formations.  The Center will also identify, support and commercialize technologies and early-stage businesses that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing this transformative energy asset. 

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