PADEP announces $7.8M in abandoned mine reclamation grants; all but one project is out west
HARRISBURG – The PA Department of Environmental Protection announced today that 16 abandoned mine land projects will receive $7.8 Million in funding, and, despite our area being ravaged by hazardous abandoned sites, only one project is in our area.
In fact, that project is the only one announced east of the Susquehanna.
The projects, the state says, are being funded as a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), primarily focus on the reclamation of abandoned mine land (AML), abatement of acid mine drainage (AMD) through reclamation, and/or treatment of AMD through the construction, operation, and/or maintenance of an AMD treatment facility.
“Restoring these minelands and streams is a critical part to improving Pennsylvania’s environment and growing our economy. Every penny we invest into projects like these results in a better Pennsylvania for all of us,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. “These newly approved projects are just the first of many that are now possible as a result of the new IIJA funding, and we are going to continue to put these dollars to work in Pennsylvania.”
According to DEP, the AML/AMD Grant program prioritizes:
- Reclamation of serious human health and safety problems resulting from abandoned coal mines;
- Reclamation or AMD treatment that will continue restoration efforts that were identified or begun under the AMD Set-a-side Program;
- The operation and maintenance needs and/or upgrades of existing AMD treatment systems where the failure to do so will result in loss of restored stream miles;
- Significant measurable water quality improvements that will contribute towards watershed restoration.
All but one of the 16 projects announced Friday are located west of the Susquehanna River, if not in western Pennsylvania.
The only project in the Anthracite region is an abandoned mine drainage project near Oneida, which, DEP says, will provide continued treatment of the Tomhicken and Catawissa Creeks. The project will see 4,000 gallons per minute of acid mine drainage treated from the Oneida #3 dischage, and that treatment “will help remove over two miles of stream from the impaired waters list.”
One of the projects approved out west includes the reclamation design of four abandoned mine land features between Point Stadium and the Inclined Plane in Johnstown, Cambria County. That project’s design will include: recapping a vertical mine shaft, installing a permanent bat gate over a mine entry, and stabilizing a rock highwall and an existing haul/access road.
The future reclamation of the that abandoned mine land, PADEP says, will allow for public access to existing and proposed recreational trails as well as access for maintenance of the Johnstown Inclined Plane.
Meanwhile, abandoned mine lands have been the site of several deaths in northern Schuylkill County, many of which were drownings, including one seven years ago Thursday. A Shenandoah Valley High School student, Tolik Stutts, drowned at an abandoned mine site near Lost Creek on May 26, 2015.
Since the 1990s, several people have died at abandoned mine sites in the Shenandoah and Girardville areas. The Shen Penn pit east of Shenandoah was the subject of protest in the early 1990’s after three back-to-back-to-back deaths at the abandoned site.
South of Girardville, multiple people have died at two abandoned pits, including in 2021.
None of the local abandoned mine land sites where fatalities have occurred have been reclaimed, despite PADEP prioritizing health and safety in reclamation efforts.
PADEP says five more projects have been recommended for funding but must be approved by the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
The current AML/AMD Grant Program that began in the fall of 2022 will continue with three more application rounds in 2023. A total of at least $96 million total for the year is available under the 2023 AML/AMD Grant Program, with at least $32 million available to award in each of the three grant program rounds. In addition, any unused funds from the previous grant program round for the year will roll over to the next program round.
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