DEP: Funds awarded for mine reclamation projects in Cambria, Somerset counties

Russ O Reilly, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 22—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday announced $38.7 million in funding for six environmental restoration projects of abandoned mine lands, three of which are in Cambria and Somerset counties.

One of the projects in Cambria County is focused on the Little Conemaugh River in the Portage area; a reimbursable grant will be used to design and implement Phase One of the Little Conemaugh acid mine drainage treatment facility, state officials said.

Phase One of the project will address the Sonman and Hughes pre-1977 mine discharges, according to the DEP.

Also in Cambria County, a project in the area of Krayn, an unincorporated community in Adams Township, will receive a grant to design and permit the removal and reclamation of a large refuse pile and haul road, along with the demolition of five abandoned structures and the reclamation of two clogged stream areas caused by a pre-1930s abandoned coal mining operation.

A project in Somerset County involving Shade Creek, a tributary of the Stonycreek River, is set to receive a grant to complete a development plan for an acid mine drainage active treatment for five discharges that impact Shade Creek.

The plan will include the collection of historical water quality and flows, mine pool mapping, mine pool drilling and monitoring, plant site selection, discharge conveyance plan, estimated design and construction costs, and a sludge disposal plan.

A press release from the DEP did not include the amounts of grants for individual projects. The three other projects receiving portions of the nearly $39 million in grant funding are located in Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Northumberland counties.

The funding announced on Thursday is the first of three rounds of the state's 2023 Abandoned Mine Lands and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program. Those projects focus on reclaiming abandoned mine lands, decreasing abandoned mine drainage and constructing treatment facilities.