Company Cited for Failure to Conduct Reclamation, Address Water Quality

Persistent illegal mining practices, repeated water quality violations, and an ongoing failure to reclaim mined lands, which is required to protect the public from unsafe mining sites, have prompted the Department of Environmental Protection to suspend Lehigh Coal and Navigation’s mining activities in Carbon and Schuylkill counties. DEP Secretary John Hanger said the decision halts all mining activities and coal sales from the company’s sprawling operations that encompass parts of Coaldale, Tamaqua, Nesquehoning and Summit Hill.

The current Lehigh Coal and Navigation management has shown a persistent unwillingness and inability to mine in accordance with state and federal law or address the reclamation and water treatment needs of this mine site. The department does not take this type of action lightly, but we cannot allow LC&N to continue to ignore the law and leave the bill for cleanup of this site to the taxpayers.

–John Hanger, DEP Secretary

Hanger added that the permit suspension will remain in effect until the entire 8,000-acre site is brought into full compliance with conditions in the mining permit.  The site has been mined almost continually since the 1700s, long before passage of modern mining laws that require companies to post bonds to cover the cost of reclaiming a site if the mine operator is unable or unwilling to complete reclamation.  As a result, much of the site does not have sufficient reclamation bond. Also, a large mine discharge from abandoned underground workings impacts water quality in the Little Schuylkill River.

DEP has attempted to work with the current owner to continue mining while reclaiming the site and treating the discharge, however, the company has repeatedly failed to meet its obligations or maintain negotiated agreements.  DEP has issued 24 compliance orders against LC&N since 2008, resulting in civil penalties of more than $91,000, along with five three-day permit suspensions. The company has been cited twice this year for attempting to develop unpermitted and unbonded mine pits in blatant disregard for state and federal law.

For more information, see DEPs news release>>

admin Announcements Clean Water Act, mine discharges, Nonpoint source pollution, stormwater legislation, stormwater runoff, water quality, watershed protection

On May 17, PADEP and the Environmental Quality Board proposed new regulations that would require 150 foot buffers for new development on High Quality and Exceptional Value streams in Pennsylvania…and that would require wastewater from Marcellus Shale natural gas wells to be treated before being discharged into streams.

The new regulations in Chapter 102 would require that developers preserve a buffer zone of 150 feet along all Exceptional Value (EV) and High Quality (HQ) streams.   In addition, developers would be required to create or preserve a 150 foot forested buffer along EV or HQ streams where water quality does not meet current standards.  Changes to regulations in PADEP’s Chapter 95 would require that wastewater from Marcellus Shale wells be treated before being discharged into our streams.   These wells produce millions of gallons of water, 6 times saltier than the ocean.  Because many Pennsylvania fish species cannot survive with this much salt, these new rules, among the strictest in the nation, would make sure that freshwater streams are protected.

Both sets of regulations still need to be approved by the state Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) at its meeting on June 17.

The Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water urges residents and other stakeholders to write or email IRRC, urging them to approve PADEP’S proposed Chapter 102 regulations (IRRC Docket #2783) AND Chapter 95 Regulations (IRRC Docket #2806).

Comments may be emailed, mailed or faxed.   Emailed comments should be addressed to irrc@irrc.state.pa.us.   Mail to IRRC, 333 Market Street, 14th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101; or faxed to (717) 783-2664.

More Information from the Campaign for Clean Water >>

Check out our Riparian Buffer case study for a look inside a buffer in Montgomery County, PA:

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From the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) newsletter: In order to enhance communication between PADEP and the Conservation Districts, PADEP Deputy Secretary, John Hines,  will provide periodic updates on key initiatives taking place. Here’s the latest:

This has been an exciting week at DEP. On May 17, the Environmental Quality Board approved Chapter 95 Water Quality Standards and Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation regulation as final. Both regulatory packages will proceed to legislative committees and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. Chapter 95 will set new standards for total dissolved solids in Pennsylvania’s waters. Chapter 102 will enhance post construction storm water management; plowing and tilling; set new fee structures; as well as establish provisions for riparian buffers.

I want to thank all who provided input to help make these packages better in their final form. Additionally we continue to conduct meetings in the development of an EPA required Watershed Implementation Plan for reductions necessary to meet goals for the Chesapeake Bay. Four workgroups have been established. Those workgroups include a Management Team; a Wastewater Workgroup; an Urban, Suburban, and Rural workgroup; and an Agriculture Workgroup. These workgroups will be working on the methodologies necessary to develop target loads for Pennsylvania as well as actions necessary to meet those target loads. District involvement is vital to each of these workgroups. I greatly appreciate everyone’s time and commitment.

–John Hines, Deputy Secretary, PA DEP

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Harrisburg, PA–(May 6, 2010)

Contact Tom Rathbun, PADEP at 717-787-1323

Twenty years of coordinated efforts to restore life to the West Branch Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania have led to marked improvements in water quality, as well increases in fish populations and diversity that are detailed in a benchmark study released by Trout Unlimited, in cooperation with PADEP, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and an alliance of approximately 30 watershed associations, conservation districts, and local businesses comprising the West Branch Susquehanna Restoration Coalition.  Final results of the benchmark study will be released in the fall.

The West Branch Susquehanna River is the centerpiece of the Pennsylvania Wilds, yet more than 1,000 miles of this majestic river and its tributaries are sterile or badly degraded from mine drainage and pollution from thousands of acres of abandoned mine sites. However, a renaissance has begun, and we are seeing measurable results that are leading to recreational and economic opportunities that will benefit the entire state.

–J. Scott Roberts, DEP’s deputy secretary for Mineral Resources Management

The study compares chemical and biological conditions of the Susquehanna from the mid-1980s to 2009, finding dramatic improvements in water quality with a 72 percent reduction in iron and an 87 percent reduction in aluminum in Clearfield County.  Alkaline treatment of mine discharges has significantly reduced acidity levels in the river, while pH has steadily increased from 3.9 in 1984 — a toxic level for most aquatic life — to 6.4 last year.

A 1998 fishery survey in Clinton County found only three species in the West Branch, contrasted with surveys from 2009 that found 16 species at this location and a 3,000 percent increase in catch rates.  Overall, researchers assessed water quality and habitat data at 11 sites on the river and at the mouth of 69 mine-drainage-impaired tributaries.  Fish populations were assessed at nine sites.

This remarkable progress is the direct result of cooperation among government, the mining industry and the environmental community to seek out innovative and cost-effective ways to reclaim old mine sites and treat historic mine discharges. Under Governor Rendell’s leadership, we have created the Mine Drainage Trust Fund to finance systems that will treat some of the most significant mine discharges in the watershed and restore water quality in the headwater of the West Branch, as well as Clearfield Creek and the Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek.

–J. Scott Roberts, DEP’s deputy secretary for Mineral Resources Management

PADEP has committed significant resources to restoring the West Branch Susquehanna River, including:

• $73 million in Growing Greener grants to watershed groups and local governments for 620 projects;
• $14 million through 63 bond-forfeiture projects that have reclaimed 1,131 acres of abandoned mines;
• More than $50 million in Abandoned Mine Reclamation contracts to reclaim 2,357 acres; and
• $2.1 million to plug 115 abandoned natural gas wells in four counties in the watershed.

For more information, visit  www.wbsrc.org.

admin Announcements, Chesapeake Bay acid mine drainage, Chesapeake Bay, clean water, fish habitat, Nonpoint source pollution, Susquehanna River, water quality

There are now two ways for you to find and publicize upcoming events, deadlines, and announcements on StormwaterPA:

Go to our new Events page at the top of the Blog. We’ll be updating this weekly, so visit often to ensure you don’t miss out on opportunities to get involved, share your experiences, and learn from others who face the same issues as you.

Select Events under the category list on the right side of any page of the Blog to find details on events that we’ve  called out in specific posts in the past.

We want to be sure that you’re able to find what you’re after, but our information is only as good as that provided by our users, so let us know when you have something you want to share with other folks that visit our site.

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