From the Progress News:
Monday, September 21, 2009
By Jane Elling Staff Writer
http://www.theprogressnews.com/default.asp?read=19323
ASHVLLE - In lieu of the annual West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Symposium, Trout Unlimited and partners decided to host a series of six abandoned mine drainage workshops and tours throughout the watershed. Saturday's Clearfield Creek tour was the fifth of the series and was sponsored by Trout Unlimited, West Branch Restoration Coalition, Clearfield County Conservation District and the Clearfield Creek Watershed Association.
The workshop, attended by more than 30 people, was held in St. Thomas Catholic Church in Ashville beginning at 9 a.m., and, following the morning education session and lunch, a bus tour was taken to the Klondike Passive Treatment System, the Ferris Wheel Revegetation Project and Dean Clay Mine/Brubaker Run, all local areas impacted by mining.
Funding for the workshops is provided by R.K. Mellon Foundation, state Department of Environmental Protection and Water Resources Education Network.
Amy Wolfe, director of Abandoned Mine Programs, and Becky Dunlap, both from Trout Unlimited, said TU has 110 full-time employees nationwide. There were no laws before 1977 concerning restoration of streams and land. Some 1,205 miles of streams in the West Branch Susquehanna River watershed are impaired by AMD and the cleanup is costly but necessary. There is 500 miles of AMD in Clearfield County alone and already $50 million has been spent on West Branch AMD cleanup. But, it was stated, the historical coal mining was critical to the success of the nation.
Kelly Williams, watershed specialist, Clearfield County Conservation District, explained what AMD is. It is caused by the flow of water through abandoned coal mine environments such as surface mines, deep mines or coal refuse piles. When surface water or ground water comes into contact with an iron-sulfide mineral such as pyrite that is found in the unreclaimed waste rock of leftover coal strata, a chemical reaction occurs in the presence of oxygen to create sulfuric acid and iron hydroxide. Photographs of the many sites were shown and seen on the tour.The history of mining in Pennsylvania was given by John E. Foreman., P.E., who said the coal production during the two world wars was extremely important as a major supplier of fuels for the nation at war. During World War I, the state produced more than 270 million tons per year and employed more than 330,000 miners. Throughout the early years of World War II, it was considered next to treason to have wasted gasoline, fuel oil or other materials and equipment that were rationed for an all-out war effort. Because of this, no backfilling or any other reclamation work was even considered.
John Gwin Foreman P.G., a consultant for CCWA, prepared and spoke on a historic summary of coal production in Pennsylvania for CCWA and Trout Unlimited. He also spoke at various sites on the tour as did Dr. Art Rose, CCWA Technical Committee chairman.
Rachael Kester, TU, spoke on the economic benefits of abandoned mine drainage remediation.
Some of the facts about Clearfield Creek Watershed are that it contains 107 tributaries that drain about 400 square miles in Clearfield and Cambria counties before flowing into the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
Half are affected by abandoned mine drainage. AMD in Clearfield Creek makes it difficult or impossible for fish and other aquatic life to survive and this limits fishing opportunities and reduces the recreational value of the stream. According to the state Fish and Boat Commission, $4.7 million dollars in sport fishing revenue alone is lost in the watershed due to abandoned mine pollution each year.
After lunch the group gathered on a bus driven by Frank Harchak, Moshannon Valley School District, to travel to the sites where they saw the need for remediation and at other locations where remediation is under way.
At the Ferris Wheel Revegetation Project site along Black Snake Road in Cambria County, rye cover crop has been planted and grass is growing. There have been 3,000-plus trees planted there that were provided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and 15 American Chestnut trees, a species not affected by the chestnut blight. They were provided by the American Chestnut Society and funded by a Dominion Peoples Gas grant.
