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More than a century after mines in Tioga County stopped producing coal, their shafts are still sending acid into the Tioga River.
Over 22 miles of the Tioga are "impaired" by acid mine discharges (AMD), according to a restoration plan prepared by Tom Clark of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC). The Tioga has no fish until it reaches the Tioga-Hammond Dam, almost 20 miles downstream.
Most of the pollution flows into the Tioga from five tributaries that connect with the river near Blossburg. Most of that comes from four deep mines near Morris Run.
A water treatment plant that will cost up to $20 million is in the works for the Morris Run area to treat those acid discharges.
Coal Creek and Morris Run have been responsible for a majority of the acid flowing into the Tioga for years, with the percentage of their contribution climbing higher since reclamation projects were completed on Johnson and Bear creeks. In 2018 testing, the two tributaries accounted for 88 percent of the total.
According to Paul Otruba, the first Upper Susquehanna Riverkeeper, a "passive" treatment plant was installed on Fall Brook several years ago. That plant was simply limestone pieces "as large as a grapefruit" put in the creek to reduce the acidity of its water.
Southwestern Energy put up money for the limestone plant, according to Dr. Lee Stocks Jr., associate professor of Geosciences and the Director of the Institute of Science and the Environment at Mansfield University.
Stream restoration is a piece by piece, long-term job, according to Dr. Jennifer Demchak, who specializes in watershed management at Mansfield.
"You clean up Fall Brook and now there's a three to four mile run before Morris Run impacts it. You start at the headwaters where you have a fishery," Demchak said
In the case of this "active" plant, which will involve chemical treatments and a small building to hold the materials, they will be placing it near the mouth of Morris Run
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$20 million Tioga River mine drainage cleanup in the works
"There's so much impact to Morris Run so many treatment plants (at headwaters) wouldn't be economically feasible," Demchak said. "You forfeit eight miles of Morris Run for the benefit of the bigger system."
The approximately $20 million cost won't be all up front. Much of the money will be put in a bank account, which will pay for staff time and treatment chemicals.
The active plant run by the Babb Creek Watershed Association has a building "like a garage," Stocks said, and they "actually produce electricity and sell it back to the grid."
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A slate dump pile in the Tioga River watershed.
Photo provided by Prof. Lee Stocks
Most of the impetus for these projects comes from grassroots organizations, like the Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee that has been involved with the development of this planned treatment plant. Treating all the damage still remaining to the West Branch of the Susquehanna would cost $15 billion up front, according to Demchak.
Without much government support, it's a long, slow process. Demchak has been involved in cleaning up creeks in her home of Clearfield County for years. It's "not two years, it's a 20-year process," Demchak said.
"When I was a kid in downtown Clearfield there was no point of going fishing in the West Branch," Demchak said. "Now people are catching sunfish and crappies constantly."
The restoration plan prepared by the SRBC that was required to get the federal money has this to say about fish restoration in the Tioga:
Once restored, the Tioga River should repopulate with fish fairly quickly. Native brook trout can be found in the mainstem of the Tioga River upstream of the AMD impacts and in many of the upstream tributaries. Fish should also move in from the many unimpaired tributaries between Blossburg and Mansfield. In addition, fish should be able to move upstream from the Tioga-Hammond Dam for the first time. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission also plans to add 1.5 miles of the Tioga River around Blossburg to its trout stocking program.
