The presentations given at the 2016 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference the end of June are now available, including an overview of Pennsylvania’s new $30 million pilot program to combine abandoned mine reclamation and economic development opportunities, including a proposed project listing, given by Acting DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a webinar on the pilot program July 14.

The other presentations include--

-- AMD In The Bolivian Highlands, Tim Danehy, BioMost;

-- The Future Of AML Funding and Changing Prospects For Coal Mining, Joe Pizarchik, Director of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement;

-- Manganese-- Misunderstood, Mis-Regulated & Mistaken For A Problem, Tiff Hilton;

-- State Of The Kiski-Conemaugh River, Melissa Reckner, Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team;

-- Economics Of Conservation Recreation, Len Lichvar, Somerset County Conservation District;

-- Sewickley Creek Cleanup Cost/Benefit Analysis, Mark Killar;

-- Rock Tunnel Passive Treatment System, Greg Shustrick, Somerset Conservation District;

-- The Impact Of WW I On Western PA’s Coal Economy, Elizabeth Ricketts Marcus, Indiana University of Pennsylvania;

-- Rules For Non-Profit Lobbying, Anne Daymut, Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation;

-- Making Sense of The Federal SENSE Air Quality Regulation Reform Act, Vince Brisini, Olympus Power, LLC;

-- Dialogical Communication and Digital Citizenship In The Anthracite Coal Region, Melissa Meade, Temple University;

-- PA AML/AMD Program And Funding Overview, Brian Bradley, DEP;

-- Drones and Their Use In Environmental Monitoring, Luke Monette, federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement;

-- Trout Unlimited’s Long-Term Maintenance Of Passive Treatment Systems: A Jobs Analysis, Rachel Kester, Trout Unlimited Eastern Abandoned Mines Program;

-- State Regulatory Authority Perspectives On AML-Related Federal Legislative Activity, Ryan Ellis, Interstate Mining Compact Commission;

-- An Anthracite Coal Heritage Area? Mike Korb, MikeKorb, LLC; and

-- Trompe: Design And Analysis Of A Passive Aeration Mechanism, Kevin Kraus, Saint Francis University Environmental Engineering Department.

Copies of the presentations are available online.

NewsClips:

Mining Company Bankruptcies Jeopardizes Money For Reclamation

AP: Environmentalists, Coal Refuse Site Operator Reach 1-Year Pact

Study: CO2 Emissions From Coal Mine Drainage Higher Than Expected

As Fire Burns On, Centralia Residents Remember Hometown

(Photo: Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition, Butler County, Accepting The Challenge.)

7/11/2016