On September 23, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced it has awarded the 2024 Appalachian States Regional Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Award to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation for its exemplary reclamation work in Allegheny County.

The award was presented to Pennsylvania by OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino during the National Association of AML Programs conference in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, on Sept. 23.

This is the fifth consecutive year Pennsylvania has been recognized by OSMRE for outstanding reclamation, earning national awards in 2020 and 2022 and regional awards in 2021 and 2023.

“The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards showcase the best reclamation projects done by our State and Tribal partners,” said OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino. “Pennsylvania is consistently recognized for reclamation projects that make communities safer, while improving the quality of life for its citizens.”

The Penn Hills Township project remediated dangerous conditions that affected 11 residences, with acid mine drainage saturating backyards and seeping into basements, while putting the homes at risk for potential landslides.

The homeowners now have safer homes with dry yards, dry basements, structurally intact foundations, and increased property values.

The project also addressed hazards associated with acid mine drainage flooding a well-traveled road that made driving and walking conditions treacherous for the neighborhood, and restored a dilapidated park for future recreation opportunities.

Click Here for a video about the project.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandon Mine Reclamation is honored to earn this year’s Appalachian States AML Reclamation Award for the Penn Hills AML Reclamation Project and to improve public health and safety,” said Patrick Webb, director of the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation at DEP.

The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards, established in 1992, recognize exemplary state and Tribal reclamation projects that reclaim coal mine sites abandoned prior to the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

Pennsylvania is one of five recipients of the 2024 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards recognizing reclamation excellence.

The national award is presented to the State or Tribe with the best overall reclamation project.

The small project award is presented to the State or Tribe that receives less than $6 million annually in AML fee-based funding that has the best project costing less than $1 million.

Regional awards are presented to the State or Tribe with the best project within each of the following regions: Appalachian States, Interior States, and Western States and Tribes.

Click Here for complete announcement.

Visit DEP’s Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation webpage to learn more about this program.

Related Article:

-- Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation: Penn State, Critical Green Concepts Seeking Acid Mine Drainage Samples To Evaluate For Rare Earth, Critical Mineral Production Potential  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: DEP Working To Repair Abandoned Mine Opening In Toby Creek, Luzerne County 

-- WNEP: DEP Working To Fill Abandoned Mine Openings On Toby Creek

-- WNEP: DEP Monitoring Abandoned Mine Opening On Toby Creek, Luzerne County  

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: New Abandoned Mine Subsidence Opening Causes Water Loss In Toby Creek Months After First Problems  

-- Citizens Voice: DEP Confirms Water Loss In Toby Creek Near Site Of April Abandoned Mine Subsidence

[Posted: September 26, 2024]

9/30/2024