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Pennsylvania budget makes room for abandon mine reclamation |
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New budget sets aside a large chunk of the environmental monies to monitor abandoned mines and environmental hazards they may cause.
By
DEBRA MASSIC |
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HARRISBURG, Pa. - Governor Rendell released his 2004-2005 budget and it is green all over. Spending for the state’s Growing Greener program increased eight times the amount allotted last year, benefiting crucial areas such as abandoned land mines. The state appropriated $107 million last year for Growing Greener. This year’s funding includes an $800 million voter-approved bond issue, which will add less than 1 percent now, and no more than 6 percent later, to the state’s total debt portfolio. Abandoned mines reclamation is a serious issue currently facing the state. Coal mining was once a major source of income and jobs, but now the state has at least 2,000 abandoned mines. Prior to 1977, there was no legislation keeping a mining company from mining and then walking away, Steve Jones, chief of the division of mine hazards, Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation said. “It’s been an ongoing problem since the 1920 and 30’s,” Mike Hewitt, watershed outreach coordinator of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mines, said. “The businesses went belly-up and no one claimed them. Today, people are like, ‘That’s not cleaned-up yet?’ Don’t necessarily assume we’ve gotten enough money.” The abandoned mines are now a major source of water pollution in the state, according to the DEP website. They are left un-vegetated; exposing rock that is acidic. Erosion and rain causes settlements to be washed away into streams, Jones said. Acid mine drainage has resulted in the contamination of 2,400 of Pennsylvania’s 54,000 miles of streams. One study, “Pennsylvania’s Wildlife and Wilde Places: Our Outdoor Heritage in Peril” estimates that 15,000 miles of streams are being polluted and nine species of fish are now listed as endangered as a result. In addition, 40 mine fires are burning, adding carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen sulfide to the air. The Division of Mine Hazards is kicking off a study to determine how much mercury the fires are contributing to the air. It will be completed in one to two years. Last year, the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation received $2 million from the Growing Greener Program. This year, agencies dealing with mine reclamation will receive $10 million split between grass roots organizations, oil and gas programs, watershed monitoring and water quality improvement projects, according to Jones. The Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation expects to receive $2 million again this year. The issue of mine reclamation also receives money in the form of state grants. “From 1980 to 2002, we’ve pulled in $561 million in federal grant money,” Jones said. “This goes towards mine reclamation, as well as filling in vertical spaces around mines that people could walk through. An awful lot of abandoned mines have been remedied with this money.” Mine reclamation consists of reclaiming the area and cleaning up the sites. The area is re-vegetated so the land doesn’t erode, and wetland treatment systems are installed to abate the acid drainage. Mine fires are dug up and put out. The mines can be re-permitted and re-mined also, saving the state the cost of clean-up. About $550 million worth of reclamations have been done since 1980, Jones said. Re-mining is consists of letting another operator run the mine and take care of the whole site, Joe Pizarchik, director of the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation of the DEP said. The owner of the land and the operator work out at lease. The state does not own any title to the abandoned mines. Since 1992, the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation has been working with the state’s General Assembly to have surface mining legislature changed to make re-mining easier. From 1996 to 2002, around 2,500 acres of mines as part of 496 projects have been re-mined, at an estimated value of $21,691,321. Other groups also work with the DEP and their budget, like the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mines. Their goal is to work with community and watershed groups to clean up streams. Hewitt estimates 75 percent of Pennsylvania’s streams are affected. His group receives funding through the EPA 319 Program, which comes through federal funding. For the last five years, this has been a total of about $2 million, which include funds matched by volunteers. Their funding, along with the Western PA Coalition’s, was cut this year however, making the 60 projects they’ve completed in the past, unlikely to be possible again. Since 1982, 96 mines have been reclaimed, according to EPA’s Permit Forfeiture and Land Reclamation report. In 2002 alone, 324 projects were started, 1,444 acres were reclaimed and 203 miles of stream were improved, at an estimated cost of around $48 million. As coal mining continues to make up 1 percent of the state’s gross economic product, prevention of abandoned mines problems is also in consideration. An estimated cost to address all current abandoned mines drainage problems is about $5 billion, according to the DEP website. “Five to 10 million dollars a year is enough for abandoned mine problems,” Hewitt said, “but that doesn’t take care of the problems in streams.” All stories in this magazine are the intellectual property of the individual authors. You may email comments about this story to: dlm352@psu.edu
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