The Bucknell Environmental Center, Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies and Geisinger Center for Health Research are sponsoring the second annual Susquehanna River Symposium that will include the premiere of the third in a series of documentaries on the Upper Susquehanna by WVIA-TV.

“Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Drainage Remediation: Seeking Common Ground Along the Susquehanna,” is the theme for this year’s Symposium which will be held on September 29 from 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Bucknell Langone Center in Lewisburg.

The premier of the documentary, “Hope for Polluted Waters,” will be held on September 28 at 8 p.m. at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg.

Anthracite coal mining has a legacy that is both proud and troubling. Anthracite fueled economic growth in this country, and it still provides employment in the Eastern Pennsylvania region. Historically, mining without environmental regulation left a scarred landscape and polluted water, both of which are slowly being healed.

This symposium aims to bring together citizens whose goals include continuing production of anthracite coal, environmental protection, and healing the land from past scars. It is designed to provide a forum for meaningful communication of concerns and generation of ideas from all stakeholders, with the overall goals of finding common ground and moving forward as partners.

Goals of the Symposium are to provide an overview of mine drainage remediation efforts in Eastern Pennsylvania, provide scientific and technical background on mine drainage and potential treatment methods, provide landowner and watershed group perspectives on mine reclamation efforts and enhance communication among landowners, citizen groups, the scientific community, and regulatory and funding agency personnel

For more information or questions or if you would like to attend contact: Kim DiRocco, Bucknell University, at 570-577-1421 or send email to: dirocco@bucknell.edu or Dione Mercer, Geisinger Center for Health Research, 570-214-9934 or send email to: dgmercer@geisinger.edu .

Links: Looking to the River Premiers on WVIA

Susquehanna Expedition Team Concludes Journey

8/17/2007