Mountain Watershed receives grant
A Fayette County conservation group has been awarded a grant to renew a highly-acidic stream.
The Mountain Watershed Association is receiving one of four rehabilitation grants funded through the Acid Mine Drainage Set-Aside grant program. The AMD program is funded through a fee on the active mining industry established by the Federal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act.
State Senator Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin, announced that the grant of $123,543 will be used for a project titled Rondell-Correal AMD Treatment System in Saltlick Township.
“I want to congratulate the Mountain Watershed Association for their successful application and their ongoing efforts in the region,” said Stefano, who serves on the Mine Reclamation Advisory Board, which is dedicated to these activities. “Mining is a significant part of our regional heritage, and so is environmental stewardship. This grant will help improve local water quality and mitigate the effects of acid mine drainage.”
Carla Ruddock, the field project manager for the Mountain Watershed Association, said the stream to be treated is affected by runoff from a surface mine and is considered one of the worst drainage sites in the state.
“We have a mine drainage that is going into Newmyer Run. It has a pH of 3, which is a very acidic discharge,” Ruddock said. “Newmyer Run is basically a completely dead stream because of this.”
Ruddock said Newmyer Run flows into Poplar Run, which in turn flows into Indian Creek, with the acid discharge diluted as it enters each body of water, but that dilution does nothing to help the initial body of water.
“We’re going to be installing a reactive channel treatment system,” Ruddock said.
Ruddock said the system diverts the water into a channel where it comes in contact with a medium that removed the metals that cause the high acid levels.
“The water goes into a settling pond before going back into the stream,” Ruddock said.
Ruddock said the medium will need to be replaced every six to 12 months, depending on the amount of metal found in the acidic water. Some of the materials pulled from the water can be applied to the surface mine to help reclaim that area, Ruddock said.
“Some of the minerals can be used by plants for growth and others stay locked in the media,” Ruddock said.
The $123,000 grant will cover the cost of constructing the system and for two changes of the absorbent media.
“After that it will be up to us to seek more grants or to raise funds to have the media changed out,” Ruddock said.
The remediation site is located about a mile east of Clinton.
“The health of Pennsylvanians depends on the health of Pennsylvania’s waterways,” said Governor Wolf in a prepared statement. “These grants will aid projects that are committed to protecting public health by eliminating acid mine drainage.”
“Pennsylvania’s history is inextricably linked to mining,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley in a news release. “Unfortunately, acid mine drainage has also been a part of this history. The investments we are making today are essential in correcting the errors of the past to restore water quality in our streams for generations to come.”
In addition to the Fayette site, grants were awarded to two sites in Elk County and a site in Schuylkill County, with a total of $1,193,603 awarded.