Ed Wytovich, President of the Eastern Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, appeared before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Conservation, Rural Development and Research this week to outline the successes and needs of watershed-based reclamation efforts in Pennsylvania.

Wytovich described the EPCAMR partnership and its activities and services in the 14 county area it serves in Northeast Pennsylvania.

He pointed to his own experiences in helping to organize 10 watershed associations and a project with his students in the Williams Valley High School on Wiconisco Creek as examples of how much local partnerships can accomplish with the right support.

“In order for a project to be successful, local community support on all fronts must be in place,” said Wytovich. “Local involvement has the potential to turn into a comprehensive watershed project with the potential of attracting more financial resources.”

But, those local partnerships need support, and since 2003 the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service has not provided dedicated staff to programs like the Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) to help with local reclamation projects.

Projects in the Catawissa Creek Watershed, like the Oneida #1 passive mine drainage treatment system, were made possible in large part because of NRCS help in designing and building the project. This and other projects on the Catawissa will restore 36 miles of the stream to what supporters hope will be a world class trout stream.

“Pennsylvania’s watershed groups can point to several successes, but there is much work left to be done,” said Wytovich. “We believe our efforts to bring all parties to the table may be stifled due to the elimination of important programs such as RAMP, lack of federal funding for Resource Conservation and Development Council’s and staff, and program flexibility.”

A copy of the full testimony is available online and visit the Eastern Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation webpage for more information.

12/9/2005