Rep. George: Region's Water Sparkles Under DEP Mine Cleanup Plan

HARRISBURG - State Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-74 of Houtzdale, today said the state Department of Environmental Protection's plan to focus federal funding and state and private resources on mine-drainage pollution will pay huge dividends for the region's waterways.

"The plan should contribute to a rebirth of the region's water resources," said George, majority chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. "Targeting abandoned-mine drainage with federal and state funding, bond forfeitures and trust funds from coal company bankruptcy settlements will bring dead streams back to life."

George said the DEP is committed to building treatment plants that would improve the headwaters of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and Clearfield Creek.

"The DEP notes that a new treatment plant it will build in the West Branch headwaters in northern Cambria County is expected to improve water quality for at least 30 miles to the Curwensville Reservoir, and possibly as far as 63 miles downstream," George said. "A second plant planned near Cresson at the headwaters of Clearfield Creek will improve 10 miles of the stream."

Another mine-drainage-treatment plant planned in Huston Twp., Clearfield County, would restore about 32 miles of the upper Bennett Branch of the Sinnemahoning Creek in one of the most scenic watersheds in the Commonwealth.

George said the DEP is outlining how it plans to allocate an estimated $1.4 billion it expects over the next 15 years as part of the reauthorization of the federal Abandoned Mine Lands fund. The DEP held 10 public meetings, including a hearing last September in Clearfield, on how best to allocate the funds.

"Central to the DEP's plan is committing up to 30 percent of its annual appropriation to treat abandoned mine drainage, which affects 4,600 miles of waterways in the state," George said. "Clearfield County is Ground Zero for so much acid-mine drainage, but this plan will target funds where it is needed and restore valuable resources."

The funding plan will support and bolster stream-restoration efforts by local watershed groups, local or county governments and conservation districts. Operation and maintenance of 250 existing passive-treatment systems also will be funded.

George said that the DEP outline cautions that President Bush's 2009 budget proposal did not request any funding for the federal Office of Surface Mining's emergency programs, which has provided almost $24 million in Pennsylvania since 2001.

According to the DEP, "If this money is not available in the future, Pennsylvania will be burdened with projects presently handled and funded by OSM... This action presents many potential problems for Pennsylvania and should be vigorously opposed until the money is returned to the budget."

The DEP's position paper for addressing abandoned mine problems is available online.