The following article written by Andy McAllister, WPCAMR Regional Coordinator, appeared in this week’s Abandoned Mine Posts by the Western PA Coalition of Abandoned Mine Drainage.

As you are all aware, even with the Title IV funding from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, there isn't enough money to totally clean up Pennsylvania's immense AMD/AML problems. 

Our challenges far outweigh available resources.  No one organization or government agency   can do it alone.  We as a community have been very well aware of this for quite some time.  Many in our community think it's about time that  we start seeing AMD as a resource.

Pennsylvania's Abandoned Mine  Reclamation community has a long history of working cooperatively with industry, government, and others for our common good.  Our community, perhaps more than any other environmental movement, has understood the value of working together and partnering with industry.

Several years ago, some forward thinking individuals thought to encourage the use of AMD by the shale gas industry.  That idea progressed and more and more people thought it was a good idea.

Not long after the DEP began crafting the white paper, "Utilization of  Mine Influenced Water for Natural Gas Extraction Activities, " conversations ensued about liability in using AMD.  Representatives from the shale gas industry were concerned that liability, from their   standpoint, would be one of the issues that would stand in the way of   widespread use of AMD for fracking.

The use of AMD by the shale gas industry holds a lot of potential for our community.  Making lemonade out of lemons, it could be a way for watershed groups and Conservation Districts to secure operation and maintenance funds for their AMD treatment systems and, quite possibly, to work with industry to secure funding to construct additional treatment systems. 

Another plus for this idea is that our existing potable water supplies and our healthy streams and rivers can be conserved.

Are there hurdles to the use of AMD by the shale gas industry?  Absolutely.  According to   experts in the shale gas industry, sulfate concentrations in AMD and the issue of liability are the two biggest hurdles that need to be overcome. 

Is this some sort of cure-all for our AMD problems?  No way. However, it is an opportunity that needs to be explored.  As we hear many times, "It's another tool in the tool box".

During the last legislative session, the PA General Assembly considered Senate Bill 1346 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) which limited liability for those involved in using AMD for shale gas operations or for any other industry for that matter.  The bill never got the traction it needed to   progress [although the bill did pass the Senate unanimously in 2012].

The concept of liability protection for using AMD  by industry has been resurrected in this session as Senate Bill 411,   "An Act Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for definitions, for   eligibility and project inventory, for landowner liability limitation and exceptions, for project liability limitation and exceptions and for exceptions," again sponsored by Senator Kasunic and endorsed by 15 other legislators.

Senate Bill 411 is currently on the table in the Senate.  It may be up for a vote soon.

At this time, there is a lot of push back from environmental groups outside of our AMR community regarding the use of AMD by the shale gas industry. 

To our knowledge, they have not proposed any alternate plans for providing operation and maintenance funding to ensure the perpetual treatment of AMD or alternate ways to find construction funding to build AMD treatment systems.  Most have not been instrumental in providing solutions to help the AMR community achieve its goal, they simply wish to stop fracking.

Now is a very good time for you,  who are out in the trenches working on AMD treatment and support the AMR community, to weigh in on the issue and have your voice heard by the General Assembly, both on the use of AMD by industry and the importance of protecting watershed groups, Conservation Districts, and their partners from liability as they seek to find innovative ways to secure operation and maintenance funding for their treatment systems.

A quick email to your legislator or perhaps a phone call to his or her office will ensure that they hear your voice.  Send an email to your legislators and let them know how you feel.   Click Here to find your legislator by your home address.

NewsClips:

Some Groups Oppose Effort To Reuse Acid Mine Water

Using Abandoned Mine Drainage To Frack

3/18/2013