The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has featured Blacks Creek mine drainage treatment projects in Venango County as one of their Nonpoint Source Success Stories.

Blacks Creek, which is a tributary near the headwaters of Slippery Rock Creek, has been heavily impacted by abandoned underground and surface coal mines, affecting nearly 6 miles of stream to its confluence with Slippery Rock Creek.

For over 15 years, the Butler County-based  Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition has been working to restore this stream. Through several assessments, the sources of the impairments were evaluated and prioritized.

Three passive systems have been constructed to treat these discharges and one more system is scheduled to be constructed in 2021.

The largest of these systems, McIntire Passive Treatment System, treats one of the worst discharges in the entire Slippery Rock Creek Watershed!

Thanks to the EPA Clean Water Act Section 319 and the Department of Environmental Protection for funding these projects!

And thanks to EPA for highlighting this work on their website.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition website.

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

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[Posted: February 20, 2020]

2/24/2020