11th Annual PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation & Coal History Conference Set For July 13-16

The 11th Annual PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation & Coal History Conference is set for July 13-16 at theUniversity of Pittsburgh, at Johnstown’s Living Learning Center.

 

The Eastern and Western Coalitions for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and other statewide partners are organizing the event.

 

The theme for this year's conference is focused around renewing the collective energy of our state-wide patch town heritage and culture to become the new green communities of the future. Alternative renewable energy sources that can potentially be derived from abandoned mine sites and underground mine water pools are two of the focus areas that are being considered at this year’s conference.

 

With the national economy falling into a recession, consumers need to begin to think about leaning towards greater fuel efficiencies and more conservative energy consumption. Corporate responsibilities lie on the ability to find alternative clean energy sources that can diversify their portfolios and the need for consumptive use of our Commonwealth’s rivers and streams for purposes in the industrial gas and oil fields development.

 

There is a growing national support for economic redevelopment that will create green jobs related to infrastructure development. Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine lands and mining impacted waterways are now poised to become some of our greatest assets in our environment.

 

Our community watersheds have the opportunity to partner with companies that are interested in our Commonwealth’s resources on our abandoned mine lands. These problem areas could one day create sustainable communities that could decrease our carbon footprint utilizing solar, wind, hydro-electric, geothermal, and the Marcellus Shale oil and gas energy, as opposed to increasing our overall footprint based solely on fossil fuel alone.

 

Attendees will hopefully be able to come away from this year’s conference with information not only on alternative energy sources, but on ways in which they can begin to reduce costs to their overall operation and maintenance of AMD treatment systems, reclaim additional acres of abandoned mine lands through public-private partnerships through the various power industries that will be invited, and to establish relationships with corporations from within and outside of Pennsylvania.

 

It will be incumbent upon the watershed stewards to stress and inform these corporation of the importance of maintaining our coal heritage while still shaping our communities future in our modern day society.

 

 

Conference organizers arelooking for industry leaders to come and exhibit and speak to Pennsylvania’s community leaders and state-wide organizations that are interested in creating a marriage between these new “green jobs” that will stimulate the local economies of these watersheds, while at the same time protecting and reclaiming the sins of past mining practices on these former industrial brownfields of the mining industry.

 

While our community leaders are stewards of our local watersheds impacted by mining, we need to work with our economic and private sector leaders to become engaged in corporate citizenship on a local level, particularly with new industry leaders who are coming into Pennsylvania.

 

We are encouraging those industry leaders to become a vendor or a sponsor and have an opportunity to speak at the conference about your corporation interests and future innovative technologies in the field of abandoned mine reclamation.

 

 

There will be a half-day tour on the 13th in and around the Greater Johnstown Area to AMD Sites, reclamation projects, municipal wastewater treatment technologies using hydroelectric generation, and other significant places of interest to remind us of our coal heritage and culture. The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is going to play a key role in this year’s conference.

 

There will be a day and a half of abandoned mine reclamation and AMD topics as well as a day and a half of coal heritage and history topics. The Conference organizers are also looking for speakers related to Pennsylvania coal history to provide the historical context to base future decisions upon.

 

The last day, on the 16th will be a half day, with an optional tour planned for the PA Coal Heritage Museum in Johnstown.

 

The AMR conference will also focus on receiving an update from the Department of Environmental Protection on the status of the Title IV Surface Mining Control and Reclamation implementation plans, Set-Aside funding for AMD remediation projects, and the AMD Treatability Criteria Selection for AMD remediation projects.

 

Can black culm banks and orange streams in our mining impacted watersheds becoming the “new green communities” of the future? Join us and find out for yourself, if you would like to become a part of the solution to our mine water pollution.

 

Check out the Conference website for much more information.