Both students are from opposite mountains surrounding the Wyoming Valley. Levi Sunday-Lefkowitz is from the Back Mountain and Kyle Argenziano, is from Mountain Top and will be working together with our EPCAMR team. Levi is a rising Junior at the University of Rochester, NY, studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering and was a former Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School graduate that had worked with EPCAMR while he was at Seminary and a part of Dr. Andrea Nerozzi’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science Class, who is now an active EPCAMR Board Member at Large. He came highly recommended by Dr. Nerozzi and had completed a humorous educational demonstration video using a layered cake his team made on understanding coal mining beneath the Wyoming Valley and Wyoming Seminary that can be found on YouTube. Levi, for the longest time, said, “I’ve had a passion for the outdoors and improving the stunning environment in Northeastern PA. In my spare time, you’ll find me hiking, fishing, and generally spending time in the beautiful Back Mountain, I call home.”

He went on to say passionately, “The desire to better our natural ecosystems and improve sustainability in commercial and industrial sectors is what lead me to my current career path. Although the unforeseen complications of this Spring have made this past semester more difficult, I’ve been able to rise to the occasion and close out the season with confidence. In the past two years, I’ve worked on several research projects investigating topics such as methane emissions due to hydraulic fracturing and constructing a functioning solar-powered water heater. Back on the University campus, aside from my academic coursework, I’m an active member of several organizations to explore my passions.” Levi participates in the University’s branch of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and intends on running for a position on the Leadership Board this coming semester. He is also a member of many performance groups, including the University of Rochester Chamber Singers, as well as multiple musical theatre troupes. He went on to say, with regards to juggling his priorities and responsibilities, “I do my best to keep a well-balanced lifestyle at home and on campus, balancing my academics and social work with care.”

Levi Sunday-Lefkowicz taking a break along a stream while enjoying nature.

Levi recalled his enthusiasm and first introduction to EPCAMR while in High School by saying, “I was first introduced to EPCAMR during my Senior year at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School. It was through my AP Environmental Science course that I was able to get an up-close look at the work being done by EPCAMR to reclaim abandoned mine lands, provide educational programming to area students from schools all across the region, and restore waterways polluted by abandoned mine drainage, and I was very intrigued. To see an organization so dedicated to improving the natural resources of Pennsylvania and educating others on the importance of environmental awareness, I soon started doing my research. Later that year, a few classmates and I presented our research on former coal mining practices and the cleanup efforts being made by EPCAMR, during our Founders Day celebration. Recently, I reached out to Bobby Hughes, the Executive Director to request an interview to be considered for a Summer internship and become involved with the amazing work he and his staff have completed over the last 25 years. He was gracious enough to meet with me and we discussed the potential for working with them this Summer. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to join the EPCAMR team. I believe I can offer a unique, analytical, yet grounded perspective, from my chemical engineering background. The work being done on the reclamation of abandoned mine drainage (AMD) is of particular interest to me and I hope to be able to aid EPCAMR on field sample collections, chemical and biological monitoring of area streams, culvert assessments, cleanups, tree plantings, and stream recovery project designs. The opportunity to get my hands dirty and contribute something meaningful to the area is a valuable experience for both professional and personal growth. I hope to be able to help EPCAMR in making our beautiful area, even more inviting once restored and reclaimed.” Levi is currently a seasonal Lab Technician for Harrold’s Pharmacy in South Wilkes-Barre, PA, and will be working part-time over the next 8 weeks with EPCAMR with a flexible schedule.

EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes stated, “While the EPCAMR Staff are not able to get any fieldwork completed at the moment, there is plenty of work and research to be completed online that both Levi and Kyle will be doing until we can get outdoors again. They both have already completed their North American Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) Stream Continuity Aquatic Organism Protocol Training where EPCAMR has taken a leadership role to assess culverts for aquatic passage of fish and animals throughout Northeastern PA. They will become certified Lead Observers with EPCAMR once they get 20 culverts assessed and shadowed by the EPCAMR Executive Director later this Summer. They will also get started on doing some background research work on historic places, landmarks, institutions, and areas like the Huntsville Reservoir in the Huntsville Creek subwatershed of the larger Toby Creek in the Back Mountain to assist with our development of the Huntsville Creek Coldwater Conservation Plan. They will then focus their attention on the Mill/Gardner Creek watershed across the Wyoming Valley and begin doing the same to assist the staff with the compilation of historic reports, data, water quality, relevant studies, historical land uses and impacts within the watershed, and fishery information on the coldwater resources. They will have plenty of work ahead of them.”

Huntsville Creek Watershed Map.

Kyle Argenziano taking a break in the Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming.

Mill/Gardner Creek Watershed Map.

Kyle Argenziano is currently a graduating senior from the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania pursuing a B.S. in Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences (E.G.G.S.). His tract was Geography and Planning with a minor in GIS and Spatial Analysis. Kyle said “I went into environmental science because I have always had a love of the outdoors. I have been running through, wading in, and fishing in creeks ever since I was a child. My current hobbies still lie heavily in the outdoors. I love backpacking, rock climbing, trail running, hiking, and I even sometimes fly fish. However, I also enjoy music and playing video games which I can do from the comfort of my home.”

Kyle also mentioned why he applied for a competitive internship with EPCAMR. “I applied for EPCAMR’s internship because I wanted to be involved in something and an organization that is directly making a positive impact on the environment. I feel that “grassroots” organizations are the most effective at making a direct impact because the people who start them are committed and funds aren’t channeled in too many directions other than to support Staff, Programs, and Projects. Another major reason I applied for this internship is that it’s very close to home. EPCAMR’s office is located adjacent to where the historic Huber Coal Breaker Colliery was located in Ashley, Pennsylvania until April of 2014 and EPCAMR was one of the organizations along with the Huber Breaker Preservation Society to try and save it for historic preservation and to educate area youth on the importance the coal industry played, both positively and negatively in the Anthracite Coal Region. My grandparents live less than a mile from that breaker and I would see it every weekend as a child. I respect that EPCAMR located their office directly adjacent to a source of environmental contamination, the Huber Breaker, and have tried for decades with its partners to salvage the last remaining breaker in the Wyoming Valley.”

A recent short documentary entitled, Beyond the Breaker, is currently on a film festival circuit that discusses the importance of the breaker locally as the community struggled to preserver its identity in the face of apathy and loss, by two EPCAMR Board Members, John Welsh, and Alana Mauger, and also features the work of EPCAMR, the Huber Breaker Preservation Society, Mr. Ray Clarke, and a host of other local community leaders and artists, including Sue Hand from the Back Mountain.

Kyle also reassured EPCAMR of his commitment to the region, when he passionately stated, “I was raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania and want to help clean up the Valley scarred by the past coal mining industry. I know how much coal has damaged the area because I’ve seen it first-hand hiking the mountains, fishing the streams, and driving past the large culm banks that line our roadways and there no other economy at the time of the boom.  I am hoping that this internship will provide me with valuable field experience in environmental conservation that I need to better understand how I can make a difference in the local communities that EPCAMR serves throughout the Coal Region. I also am looking forward to learning how EPCAMR, one of the most reputable and respected regional non-profit organizations, operates and builds capacity within Pennsylvania.” Kyle has some experience with controlling invasive species and that is something that will be experienced during our watershed assessment work in the watersheds we will be working in. He has also been an Assistant and Instructor with Bloomsburg University’s Q.U.E.S.T. and has interacted with youth and created a positive growth environment for them through various life skills, leadership development, and outdoor learning experiences.

EPCAMR Executive Director Bobby Hughes mentioned, “Kyle came recommended to me by one of the most respected Environmental Education Specialists for the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (PA DCNR), Diane Madl, from Nescopeck State Park. She and I have been colleagues and educators for 25 years together and if she tells me that someone is a great fit for EPCAMR, there are usually no questions asked. Kyle and I were able to have a video call interview, the first I’ve had to do for an internship due to the pandemic and it went very well. As soon as I saw that we had the same Patagonia hat bearing a familiar logo, I knew he already had a jump start on the internship. I wasn’t looking for a suit and tie interview given the circumstances that we are all under at this time and he presented himself very well. With his background in ArcGIS Pro and 3D Visualizations, I’ll be putting him on the hunt for some data acquisition of publicly available information on the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture that will build on our understanding of the patches and connections that we can make in both the Hunstville and Mill/Gardner Creek watersheds in the Wyoming Valley and Back Mountain. He’s up for the challenge. EPCAMR has had a long, positive relationship with Bloomsburg University and has seen many interns and volunteers come through EPCAMR’s doors over the years. Kyle will be starting officially on the 18th of May.”

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

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

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

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

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Peek-A-Bug collection being displayed at the Bear Creek Charter School Earth Day Program at Camp Kresge

The new “Macros on Ice” samples will be used, along with the older ones, for future environmental education programs. The old plastic vials contain a mixture of distilled water and alcohol to preserve the aquatic insects. The vials sometimes leak, causing the samples to dry out. EPCAMR has nearly 120 vials of macro invertebrates that have been used at hundreds of environmental education programs throughout the coal region.

Previously, the vials were placed in a bug viewer to magnify the macros only from the side. The specimens could not be viewed from the top of the viewer. The 3-D two-way viewers can be used for a variety of objects, including leaves, flowers, and of course, macro invertebrates. The viewers have a top lens that enables the students to view a specimen at 6 times its size, while the lower lens views a specimen from the underside at 4 times its size. The 3-D two-way viewer is a perfect observation tool for both the field and the classroom. It is very durable and kid-friendly, as are the vials.

DragonFly Nymph on ice!

“Macros On Ice” in the mold

The new samples are created by pouring clear polyester casting resin into a mold, resembling an ice cube tray, that holds duplicate macro invertebrate samples from the Peek-A-Bug collection. The resin is then left to harden. At this time, there are 24 “Macros On Ice”. These samples can now be viewed from the top, bottom, and sides of the bug viewers.

New EE materials created by Haley and Mallory

EPCAMR Interns are also working on new educational materials to go along with the new samples, including a Pollution Tolerance Index, a macro invertebrate fact sheet, and an EPA macro invertebrate adaptation information sheet. These sheets are laminated for outdoor environmental education program use.

Macro invertebrates are the “canaries of the coal mines” in our rivers and streams. They are great indicators of stream health and ecology, fishery health, and water quality. EPCAMR not only collects these macro invertebrates for use in our educational programs, but also for stream assessments, to determine stream health of AMD and non-AMD impacted waterways.

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

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

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

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

Underground Mine Map

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

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

Figure 1.

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

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

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

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