On April 9th, Butler County's Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition participants Tim Danehy, Buck Neely, and Cliff Denholm were invited to provide a workshop at the annual American Society of Mining and Reclamation Conference.

This year’s conference, which was held in conjunction with the West Virginia Mine Drainage Task Force and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, took place April 9-13 in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Cliff started things off by providing an overview of water monitoring, chemistry, and acid mine drainage characterization. Buck then discussed all the types of passive treatment and how to design a treatment system. Finally, Tim talked about project implementation, costing, and operation and maintenance.

Many of the examples, photos, and experiences discussed during the workshop were about our very own passive treatment systems located in the Slippery Rock watershed.

Also attending the conference representing Stream Restoration Incorporated and the SRWC were Shaun Busler and Vickey Michaels, who sold Clean Creek Pottery.

Many conference attendees were interested in learning about how the metals recovered from our treatment systems are used as pigment in many beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery, made locally and hand thrown.

If you’d like to see for yourself, check out the amazing collection of “products with a purpose” at the Clean Creek Pottery.

Online purchasing is easy, with a wide variety of items for sale, including plates, bowls, mugs, vases, bird houses, jewelry, outdoor-themed trinkets, holiday ornaments, and more.

The raw materials (iron oxide and manganese oxide) are also available to purchase.

Many interesting workshops, field trips, presentations, and social gatherings filled four days of conference time, with plenty of chances to network and reconnect with old friends, as well as meet new folks with a shared passion for reclaiming land and water impacted by mining.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition website.

(Photo: Tim Danehy & Buck Neely describe how a trompe works on one of the AMR Conference tours.)

NewsClip:

Op-Ed: We Should Rebuild Our Coal Communities, Restore Our Natural Resources

(Reprinted from the May edition of The Catalyst newsletter from the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition. Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

[Posted: May 24, 2017]

5/29/2017