Maurice
Administrator
Staff member
An email I got from the Forest Coallition with some interesting potential results. Could bring back on line a tremendous new addition to the great fisheries of PA
Atricle below, note the info at the bottom to subscribe....I only get one or two every two weeks so its not spam.
New Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Will Improve 35-Plus Miles of the West Branch Susquehanna River
Edited for length
Barr Township, Cambria County – Construction has begun on a mine drainage treatment facility that will restore aquatic life to the upper reaches of one of America’s most polluted rivers.
The Lancashire #15 treatment plant will improve water quality in at least 35 miles of the West Branch Susquehanna River.
The new mine drainage treatment plant will treat up to 10 million gallons per day of acidic water from the abandoned 7,100 acre Lancashire #15 mine complex. In 1969, the mine blew out and caused a fish kill for more than 40 miles of the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
The influx of fresh water into the West Branch will counteract the effects of numerous acidic discharges in the headwaters, restoring aquatic habitat to an estimated 35 miles of the river and improving water quality as far downstream as the Curwensville Lake in Clearfield County.
The facility will go online by the fall of 2011. It will pump water from the mine, treat it with hydrated lime to remove metals, and raise the water’s alkalinity before it is discharged into the river.
The plant’s construction will be financed by Pennsylvania’s Acid Mine Drainage Trust Fund, created with funds set aside from the federal Abandoned Mine Lands Fund. The federal fund is supported by a tax on the modern coal industry and is distributed to states as annual grants to reclaim mine sites that were abandoned prior to passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission has placed a $3.9 million appropriation from the legislature in trust to fund partially the perpetual operation and maintenance of the plant. The commission has set aside another $2.1 million for the operation and maintenance of a planned treatment plant in the headwaters of the Clearfield Creek, which is also severely degraded by mine drainage and negatively affects water quality where it joins the West Branch downstream of Clearfield.
Through a combination of federal funds and grants from Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener program, DEP and local watershed groups have spent $85 million on 280 mine drainage projects, and have restored aquatic life to formerly dead streams, such as Babb Creek in Lycoming and Tioga counties, Toby Creek in Clearfield and Jefferson counties, and the Stoneycreek River in Cambria and Somerset counties.
For the unedited original article:
www.depweb.state.pa.us keyword: Abandoned Mines.
Dick Martin - Coordinator www.PaForestCoalition.org
The Pennsylvania Forest Coalition is a unique alliance of hunters, hikers, anglers, landowners, wildlife-watchers, paddlers, bikers, churches and conservation groups who are united in our concern for the stewardship of our public lands. Caring for what God has created
SIGN UP NOW FOR CONSERVATION UPDATES;
Please mention your affiliation(s)
(Hunter, Angler, Hiker, Watershed, Birdwatcher, etc)
These messages are brought to you as a public service; in compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed free and without profit or payment for educational purposes only.
Atricle below, note the info at the bottom to subscribe....I only get one or two every two weeks so its not spam.
New Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Will Improve 35-Plus Miles of the West Branch Susquehanna River
Edited for length
Barr Township, Cambria County – Construction has begun on a mine drainage treatment facility that will restore aquatic life to the upper reaches of one of America’s most polluted rivers.
The Lancashire #15 treatment plant will improve water quality in at least 35 miles of the West Branch Susquehanna River.
The new mine drainage treatment plant will treat up to 10 million gallons per day of acidic water from the abandoned 7,100 acre Lancashire #15 mine complex. In 1969, the mine blew out and caused a fish kill for more than 40 miles of the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
The influx of fresh water into the West Branch will counteract the effects of numerous acidic discharges in the headwaters, restoring aquatic habitat to an estimated 35 miles of the river and improving water quality as far downstream as the Curwensville Lake in Clearfield County.
The facility will go online by the fall of 2011. It will pump water from the mine, treat it with hydrated lime to remove metals, and raise the water’s alkalinity before it is discharged into the river.
The plant’s construction will be financed by Pennsylvania’s Acid Mine Drainage Trust Fund, created with funds set aside from the federal Abandoned Mine Lands Fund. The federal fund is supported by a tax on the modern coal industry and is distributed to states as annual grants to reclaim mine sites that were abandoned prior to passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission has placed a $3.9 million appropriation from the legislature in trust to fund partially the perpetual operation and maintenance of the plant. The commission has set aside another $2.1 million for the operation and maintenance of a planned treatment plant in the headwaters of the Clearfield Creek, which is also severely degraded by mine drainage and negatively affects water quality where it joins the West Branch downstream of Clearfield.
Through a combination of federal funds and grants from Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener program, DEP and local watershed groups have spent $85 million on 280 mine drainage projects, and have restored aquatic life to formerly dead streams, such as Babb Creek in Lycoming and Tioga counties, Toby Creek in Clearfield and Jefferson counties, and the Stoneycreek River in Cambria and Somerset counties.
For the unedited original article:
www.depweb.state.pa.us keyword: Abandoned Mines.
Dick Martin - Coordinator www.PaForestCoalition.org
The Pennsylvania Forest Coalition is a unique alliance of hunters, hikers, anglers, landowners, wildlife-watchers, paddlers, bikers, churches and conservation groups who are united in our concern for the stewardship of our public lands. Caring for what God has created
SIGN UP NOW FOR CONSERVATION UPDATES;
Please mention your affiliation(s)
(Hunter, Angler, Hiker, Watershed, Birdwatcher, etc)
These messages are brought to you as a public service; in compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed free and without profit or payment for educational purposes only.
