Earth Conservancy

101 South Main Street, Ashley, PA 18706 Ph: 570 823.3445 Fax: 570 823.8270

RECLAMATION EFFORTS

From the early 1800's to the 1970's, deep and surface mining throughout the Wyoming Valley of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, resulted in remnant mine openings, ground subsidence, abandoned mine water discharges, unreclaimed pits, dangerous highwalls, and unstable spoil piles. Remnant structures used for coal processing and preparation also remain on some lands, posing physical and environmental hazards, as well as a wide array of waste material.

When EC purchased 16,300 acres of land from the bankrupt Blue Coal Corporation in 1994, more than 2,000 acres needed major reclamation.

Reclamation involves removing mining spoils and other waste, such as illegally dumped trash and scrub vegetation, and filling in pits/silt ponds from pre-regulation mining. The site is then graded, re-seeded and sometimes mulched to foster plant growth, resulting in a more aesthetic and environmentally stable site.

Through the end of 2007, EC has worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in reclaiming more than 1,136 acres of land in Luzerne County at a cost of more than $17 million and has another 1,017 acres in process.

Current land and watershed reclamation projects include:

ü Avondale Pit – reclamation work being performed through DEP to eliminate dangerous pit from Plymouth Township location.

ü Bliss Bank –funded through DEP Energy Harvest Program grant to remove culm from site and re-utilize in the generation of electricity.

ü Concrete City – funded through an EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant program, for which preliminary engineering work has been performed. Click to follow link.

ü Franklin Bank – funded through EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant program, reclamation work is underway. Click to follow link.

ü Huber Bank Area – reclamation work funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and EC to reclaim areas located in close proximity to the Hanover Industrial Estates and major transportation routes.

In addition to the physical reclamation process, EC's reclamation efforts also include:

    Asset Sales/Leases: Some culm banks and silt ponds on EC lands have potential value as a fuel for coal-burning electric generating plants so could be sold or leased. Timbering and selective cutting of hardwood is another asset. Sales of these assets help to fund our environmental remediation efforts. Sand, gravel and topsoil is yet another potential asset. Some EC lands are leased for farming and utility rights-of-way.

    Ash Reclamation: EC is using coal combustion by-products on large reclamation projects. Fly ash and bed ash from co-generation plants can be used to reclaim strip mine pits located throughout our properties.

This ash is an environmentally benign substance, which aids in neutralizing water affected by acid mine drainage. Not only can the use of coal combustion by-products for reclamation be an environmentally sound technique, it can also be a revenue-producing opportunity for EC. Income from these projects will be used to fund more reclamation.

Water Reclamation: EC is using an innovative method to decrease mine drainage into the Susquehanna River Basin. In 1996, a 0.3-acre artificial wetland was built in Hanover Twp. to study its effectiveness in treating a mine drainage seep into Espy Run Creek. Construction of a 2.2-acre artificial wetland to treat mine drainage into Nanticoke Creek was completed in 1998. Both of these waterways eventually flow into the Susquehanna River, an American Heritage River, and ironically, one of the largest polluters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

These artificial wetlands intercept the iron-laden water from its original source, use vegetation and oxidation to remove iron particles and other pollutants, and return clean water to the original waterway.

EC will use the Phase II Wetland as an educational site, to teach local school students about the Wyoming Valley's mine drainage problem and how it can be improved.

Trash Removal: Illegal dumping is a problem across Pennsylvania, and Luzerne County is no different. With more than 16,000 acres to manage, EC has a recognizable problem with illegal dumping. Because the Blue Coal lands were in bankruptcy for more than 20 years, illegal dumping abuses are visible throughout parts of all EC’s lands. Illegal dumping has become a major concern not only for the environmental hazards but also because of the potential health hazards it presents.

EC actively partners with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) Northeast Regional Office and other area entities to conduct dumpsite cleanups through the COALS program. Clean Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) is a statewide illegal dumpsite cleanup program started by the DEP to rid the state of sites, prosecute offenders and promote education of community.

The long-term results of EC's continued reclamation and land use work will be the restoration of industrially-scarred land; the creation of business, recreation, and conservation opportunities using innovative land use techniques; and, the reclamation and development of these lands for the best use of the community.