EPCAMR

Call for Presentations for the 2011 AMR Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact Robert Hughes-EPCAMR Executive Director 570-371-3523 or rhughes@epcamr.org Planners for the 13th Annual PA Conference on Abandoned Mine Reclamation Seek Presenters The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), acting as the host for the 13th Annual PA Conference on Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Coal Mine Heritage is seeking presenters to talk at this year’s Conference. EPCAMR will again join forces with the PA Conference Planning Committee to coordinate efforts in the Anthracite Region on August 4-6th, 2011 at the Best Western Genetti Inn & Suites, Hazleton, PA. This year’s conference will focus around the theme of showcasing coalitions “Working Together for Innovation and Success”. The presentations will begin on Friday morning, run through the evening, and again on Saturday morning through lunch. 22 competitive presentations are planned for this year’s Conference and will be divided into two simultaneous tracks. The presentations and abstracts that we are looking for in 2011 should be related to the following topics: • Marcellus “Gas Rush” and ties to AMD / Mine Pool Use • Land Reclamation and Brownfields Redevelopment Projects on AML • PA Coal Mining History and Coal Mine Heritage • Innovative AMD Treatment System Designs • Watershed Implementation Projects utilizing Landscape Architecture Designs • Developing Qualified Hydrologic Unit Plans for AMD Impacted Watersheds • Sustainable Alternative Energy Initiatives • Showcases of Successes in AMD Treatment • Partnerships between Watershed Groups and Industry • Geothermal Projects utilizing Underground Mine Pools • Operation, Maintenance, & Repairs (OM + R) of AMD Treatment systems • Status of State funds for maintaining existing AMD Treatment systems • Future Coal Market Predictions in PA. Professional development hours will be offered and certificates will be available, upon request, with an authorized signature by members of the PA AMR Conference Planning Committee for approval. Presenters are eligible to receive additional credits beyond attending sessions presented throughout the Conference. Please submit to Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director, a one page Abstract of your presentation, with your Name, Title, Work Affiliation, Presentation Title, and Brief Biography by April 30th, 2011. PowerPoint Presentations are acceptable. There are no specific text or font size limitations on your submission to simplify the submission process. Presenters selected will be expected to pay the Conference Registration Fee which will be very reasonably priced for all to attend. If your presentation is not selected, due to the competitive nature, you will have an opportunity to it in a poster presentation format as a secondary option. See more details as they become available on the www.treatminewater.com website.

13th Annual PA Conference on Abandoned Mine Reclamation to be held August 4-6th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact Robert Hughes-EPCAMR Executive Director 570-371-3523 or rhughes@epcamr.org 13th Annual PA Conference on Abandoned Mine Reclamation to Showcase Coalitions Working Together on Innovations and Success in the Anthracite Region The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR), acting as the host for the 13th Annual PA Conference on Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Coal Mine Heritage will again join forces with the State-wide Conference Planning Committee to coordinate efforts in the Anthracite Region on August 4-6th, 2011 at the Best Western Genetti Inn & Suites, Hazleton, PA. This year’s conference will focus around the theme of showcasing coalitions “Working Together for Innovation and Success”. This year’s Conference, will also coincide with celebrating EPCAMR’s 15th Anniversary, as a State-wide leading environmental organization committed to reclaiming PA’s abandoned mine lands, restoring streams impacted by abandoned mine drainage, building coalitions and partnerships to address water quality problems in PA associated with mining, and educating PA’s youth and communities inherently impacted by past mining practices on ways in which they can become an active part of restoration of their watersheds. A Dinner/Fundraiser Event being held on the Thursday evening August 4th, prior to the start of the Conference, on Friday morning, August 5th to mark this special occasion. Artwork commissioned by local artists and created utilizing recovered iron oxides harvested, collected, and processed by the EPCAMR Staff will be auctioned off and several awards and certificates of recognition will be presented to partners and long-term Board Members. The EPCAMR Staff will present highlights of EPCAMR’s success and growth over the last decade and half. Discounted block room rates are available at the Best Western Genetti Inn & Suites, Hazleton, PA for $70 plus taxes until June 30, 2011. A Conference Pre-Tour is planned for the early arrivers including a boxed lunch, on Thursday afternoon prior to the EPCAMR Anniversary celebration that will bring folks to various reclamation and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems that are both innovative and successfully treating polluted water from the underground mines within the Anthracite Region. Tentative stops will take tour attendees to AMD sites, possibly Eckley Miner’s Village, and treatment systems in the Catawissa Creek, Nescopeck Creek, and Schuylkill River Watershed led by volunteers and community leaders from the Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Friends of the Nescopeck, Schuylkill County Conservation District, the Catawissa Creek Restoration Association, and the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation. The presentations will begin on Friday morning, run through the evening, and again on Saturday morning through lunch. Invited to attend will be the PA Department of Environmental Protections’ newly appointed Secretary of Mineral Resource Management-Michael Krancer, the Director of the Federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement- Joe Pizarchik, and Renew Growing Greener’s Executive Director-Andrew Heath. 22 presentations will be divided into two tracks and two ½-day workshops on Grant Writing and Seeking Community Foundations for Support will run concurrently with the Conference. The presentations will vary from topics such as the Marcellus “Gas Rush” and ties to AMD / Mine Pool Use, Successful TMDL Implementation, PA Coal Mining History, Watershed Implementation Projects utilizing Landscape Architecture, Developing Qualified Hydrologic Unit Plans, Coal Mine Heritage, Mine Pool Mapping, Sustainable Alternative Energy Initiatives, Showcases of Successes in AMD Treatment, Partnerships between Watershed Groups and Industry, Geothermal Projects utilizing underground Mine Pools, Operation, Maintenance, & Repairs (OM + R) of AMD Treatment systems, the status of State funds for maintaining existing AMD Treatment systems, and Future Coal Market Predictions in PA. Professional development hours will be offered and certificates will be presented by EPCAMR Staff and members of the PA AMR Conference Planning Committee for authorized signature approval. Presenters at the Conference are eligible to receive additional credits beyond attending sessions presented throughout the Conference. Travel scholarships, to be reimbursed for vehicle mileage only, will be offered to members of non-profit and community watershed organizations, historic preservation, and conservancy groups. Please be aware that financial assistance will only be granted as a reimbursement basis, as funding allows. In certain instances, discounted registration prices will be provided to groups that can show need, to be determined by the EPCAMR and the AMR Conference Planning Committee. Friday evening, August 5th, as a part of the 13th Annual AMR Conference, there will be a formal dinner where the Annual Mayfly Award will be presented to this year’s yet to be announced winner. The Mayfly Award is presented to those individuals who exhibit long-term efforts in addressing mine drainage remediation projects in PA and has contributed greatly towards cleaning up PA’s environment from abandoned mine drainage impacts. EPCAMR is actively looking for sponsorship of this year’s Conference at the following levels: Platinum ($2000+), Gold ($1000+), and Silver ($500+). Details of the benefits of each of the levels of Sponsorship will be posted on the www.treatminewater.com website shortly as will other Conference materials. A sponsorship wish list is being created to assist with covering costs of the Conference expenses such as the Pre-Conference Tour, Meals, Breaks, Box Lunches, Entertainment, and Travel Scholarships. Exhibitors can set up at the Conference at a cost of ($250) for a space near the hustle and bustle of the Conference happenings in the major hallways and within the large banquet room and a complimentary Conference registration. Non-profit, community groups, student poster presentations, historic preservation groups, and watershed groups will be allowed to exhibit for free, however, will not have access to electricity.

The Inquest into the Avondale Colliery Fire

110 dead miners, mostly welsh men and children! What was the cause of this tragedy and who is to blame? The Eckley Players perform a reenactment based on a book by Robert Wolensky and Joe Keating: Tragedy at Avondale.
At the Irem Temple Country Club, 1340 Country Club Road, Dallas
Saturday February 19th @ 3PM. Please see the flier for more details.

Rendell Awards Smallest-Ever Round Of Growing Greener Grants

Gov. Rendell last week announced the awarding of $14.1 million in grants for 87 projects in 36 counties-- $8.13 million from Growing Greener Funds, $4.17 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and $1.8 million from forfeited bonds from mining companies. The combined state and federal investment is being matched by more than $6.7 million from outside sources. Read more from the PA Environmental Digest Here are the projects that were awarded in the EPCAMR Region: EPA 319 Program Funding Bradford County Bradford County Conservation District received $161,938.00 for Mill Creek Stream Rehabilitation and Habitat Improvement in West Burlington & Springfield Townships. Lancaster County Lancaster County Conservation District received $159,675.00 for the Mill Creek Stream Restoration Project - Phase III in the municipalities of Earl, Leacock, and Upper Leacock. Luzerne County The Borough of Harveys Lake received $565,700.00 for Design & Installation of Large Stormwater BMPs at Harveys Lake in Harveys Lake Borough. Multiple Counties Tri-County Conewago Creek Association received $108,980.00 for Conewago Creek Stream Restoration Projects (Old Hershey Road to Route 230) in the municipalities of Conewago, Londonderry, and Mt. Joy. Schuylkill County Schuylkill County Conservation District received $132,035.00 for the Implementation of the Pine Knot AMD Watershed Study Priority Projects - West Branch Phase #2 in Cass Township. Growing Greener Program Funding Bradford County The Wysox Creek Watershed Association, Inc. received $157,109.00 for Wysox Creek Streambank Stabilization in Wysox, Rome, Orwell, Pike, Windham Twps and Rome Borough. Carbon County Carbon County Conservation District received $347,814.00 for Nesquehoning Creek Phase 2 Stabilization. Lackawanna County Lackawanna River Corridor Association, Inc. received $54,120.00 for the Lackawanna River Corridor Association Misty Ridge Project, Phase 2 in the municipality of Old Forge. Lancaster County City of Lancaster received $225,000.00 for Lancaster City Green Streets in the City of Lancaster Lancaster Farmland Trust received $75,000.00 for Conservation Plans - Conestoga River Watershed in Multiple municipalities. Lebanon County Jonestown Borough received $41,373.00 for Jonestown Rain Garden BMP Design / Construction in Jonestown Borough. Palmyra Borough received $50,000.00 for Swatara Creek Watershed Stormwater Improvements in Palmyra Borough and North Londonderry Township. Luzerne County Earth Conservancy received $400,000.00 for the Hanover 9 Phase II / Parcels B, C and D Reclamation Project in Hanover Township. Lycoming County Lycoming County Commissioners received $32,277.00 for the Lycoming County Water Quality Improvement Program Multiple Counties Montour County Conservation District received $285,565.00 for the Chillisquaque Creek Watershed Restoration Project in the municipalities of Anthony, Limestone, East Chillisquaque, and Liberty. Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy received $165,829.00 for Agricultural Impaired Northcentral Stream Restoration. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society received $200,000.00 for TreeVitalize - Phase VII. Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. received $349,305.00 for the PACD Engineering Assistance Program. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. received $155,954.00 for Watershed Restoration through CREP Buffers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Inc. received $116,883.00 for Statewide Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Implementation. Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation & Development Council received $300,000.00 for the Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds (C-SAW VII). Trout Unlimited, Inc. received $236,000.00 for the AMD Technical Assistance Program. Stream Restoration Incorporated received $150,000.00 for Passive Treatment O&M Technical Assistance. Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation received $130,000.00 for Quick Response V. The Pennsylvania State University received $170,500.00 for the PaOneStop: Online Conservation and Nutrient Management Planner. Stream Restoration Incorporated received $79,591.00 for the Datashed - Web-based Data Management Tool. Schuylkill County City of Pottsville received $300,000.00 for the Sharp Mountain Phase VII Reclamation Project in the City of Pottsville. Wyoming County Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association Inc. received $449,000.00 for Phase 3 Windy Valley Construction in Forkston Township. Borough of Factoryville received $27,450.00 for The Factoryville Borough Stormwater Plan in the municipality of Factoryville. For a complete listing of the grant awards, please visit DEP's Growing Greener Webpage.

Regulating the Regulators: WVDEP Forced to Issue Permits to Itself

Commonly know as the "Keeley Decision", an opinion of the 4th Circuit Court in West Virginia. As seen on COAL POWER, published by POWER magazine. On November 8, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its decision in West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, et al. v. Huffman (Appeal No. 09-1474). It's an opinion that should be of great interest to government agencies and others who find themselves in a position of seeking to remediate water quality problems left by third parties. The appeals court decision in Huffman affirmed a district court ruling requiring that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits to itself, to address water discharges emanating from abandoned coal mining sites. Though the case dealt with so-called bond forfeiture sites (areas that were permitted after passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977), the legal principles that lie behind the decision are equally applicable to work done at mining sites that were abandoned before 1977 (abandoned mine lands or AML sites), for which no site-specific bond monies are available. In essence, the Fourth Circuit held that the federal Clean Water Act establishes a structure whereby states that are delegated NPDES permitting authority are also required, by virtue of that delegation, to regulate themselves. The case arose in the context of an effort by the WVDEP to use monies available in its "Special Reclamation Fund" to address acid mine drainage problems at various bond forfeiture sites in northern West Virginia. Under state law, the WVDEP is required to "take the most effective actions possible to remediate acid mine drainage" at such sites. In most cases, this takes the form of in-stream treatment works such as waterwheels, which mechanically release neutralizing agents, bringing the stream back to a more healthy condition. Here, the plaintiff groups took the position that this kind of effort devoted to actual stream conditions "was not enough." Instead, plaintiffs pressed the district court to require that the WVDEP issue NPDES permits to itself for each site, regulating the types and concentrations of pollutants in discharges from those sites, requiring monthly reporting (to itself), and exposing the Mining and Reclamation Division of the WVDEP to potential enforcement actions brought by the WVDEP for violations of effluent limits and other NPDES permit conditions. Though there can be little doubt that imposing these obligations will increase the costs of such reclamation projects—and thereby reduce the number of areas that may be remediated—the Fourth Circuit agreed with the district court's decision requiring that NPDES permits be obtained. In so ruling, the appeals court emphasized several principles that would apply to any person who seeks to treat water discharging from property that he or she owns or controls. Of primary importance is the observation that "there is simply no causation requirement in the [Clean Water Act]." In other words, that statute "takes the water's point of view: water is indifferent about who initially polluted it so long as pollution continues to occur." Equating the WVDEP to a subsequent "operator" of a mine, the court held that whenever an owner abandons a mine, any other person who steps in to address polluted runoff at that mine site becomes "the party responsible for obtaining a permit." The Clean Water Act, the court pointed out, is a "broadly worded statute." Thus, when that statute prohibits the discharge of "any pollutant by any person," it means just that. In the words of the court: " 'Any' is a powerful statutory term. The Clean Water Act uses it frequently." In short, the court's opinion is fair warning to anyone who would try to tiptoe around the implications of these statutory prohibitions—regardless of how good one's intentions may be. Recognizing that the Special Reclamation Fund represents a limited pool of recourses available to address a large number of bond forfeiture and AML sites, is easy to foresee that the immediate result of this decision will be to restrict the number of such sites that the WVDEP is able to address. This would presumably be contrary to the goals of the conservancy groups that brought the lawsuit. However, looking beyond the short-term implications, it is also reasonable to expect that this decision will lead to a renewed push for both an increase in the $5,000-per-acre cap on bonds for coal mine permits and more frequent denials of permit applications where it can be shown that long-term water treatment may be required after mining. Under either or both of those scenarios, the ultimate result will likely be less coal mined in West Virginia, which would be consistent with the plaintiff groups' goals. Though the potentially severe consequences of this decision are evident based upon existing law and regulations, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently initiated an effort in this region that may make the situation even worse. Specifically, on April 1, 2010, the EPA published "Guidance" that imposes a pseudo water quality standard for conductivity—limited in its application to coal mining sites in the Appalachian states (including West Virginia). The WVDEP, which has its own narrative water quality policy that is intended to address the aquatic ecology concerns cited in the EPA's guidance, has challenged that policy in federal court. According to the WVDEP's complaint, the EPA is improperly usurping the role of the state in setting water quality standards under the Clean Water Act, and the proposed conductivity "threshold" represents "an overbroad, generic criterion" that is "unattainable" at many sites. The application of the April 1, 2010, EPA guidance will not only greatly restrict permitting of new coal mines; if applied to bond forfeiture and AML sites, it will also further reduce the number of those areas that may be remediated by the WVDEP. Nevertheless, on November 16, 2010—eight days after the Fourth Circuit's decision in Huffman—a number of groups petitioned the court to intervene on behalf of the EPA, to help it defend its action. Included among that group: the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, lead plaintiff in Huffman. These legal skirmishes may be all about coal. But other industries—and those who regulate them—should keep a close watch on how far mining opponents are allowed to go in hampering all efforts to maintain an effective permitting program.

Abandoned Mine Drainage: An Epic Tale Video

The much awaited time is finally here, WPCAMR and EPCAMR have teamed up to produce an educational short film on the formation of AMD. Informational? Yes! Entertaining? Yes! Will it go viral? Absolutely! Directors Comments: By Anne Daymut, WPCAMR Watershed Coordinator There is a new tool for individuals to learn about how Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) is formed and the severity of the problem in our region. WPCAMR has published an educational video on YouTube titled “Abandoned Mine Drainage: An Epic Tale”. It is the first in a series of three short films related to AMD to be published by WPCAMR over the next couple of years. If you are sitting there thinking, “Oh no, not some boring educational video about the chemistry of AMD”, don’t worry! We guarantee this will be the most entertaining fifteen minutes of AMD education you have ever received. And you may recognize some of the stars of the show.

EPCAMR organizes tour for OSM/VISTAs to the Huber Breaker

Contact: Robert Hughes, Executive Director. rhughes@epcamr.org ****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**** EPCAMR organizes tour for OSM/VISTAs to the last historical mining industry dinosaur in the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields Huber Breaker Ashley, PA – November 15, 2010 The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation in conjunction with the Huber Breaker Preservation Society offered a full informational outside tour and inside look of the last standing coal breaker in the Northern Anthracite Coal Region for OSM/VISTAs within the Anthracite Heritage Alliance. The tour was led by current Huber Breaker Preservation Society Membership President, Bill Best, who imbued his extensive knowledge of the history and functions of the Breaker and all of its parts of both the remaining structures and those long since demolished or removed. Mr. Best took a party of eight people, including five OSM/VISTAS and two supervisors through the major remaining buildings, including a climb directly up the conveyor belt that supplied coal to the top of the 10-story high coal breaker. Participating in the tour was Chris Deemer with Eckley Miner’s Village, who initiated the interest in having a full educational experience at the site. Megan Blackmon of Schuylkill Co. Conservation District, Michael Stanton of Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Michael Bloom with Hazleton Civic Partnership/Delaware and Lehigh Rails to Trails, Wren Dugan-EPCAMR Community Watershed Development Coordinator through the OSM/VISTA Anthracite Heritage Alliance, and Sarah Koontz with Susquehanna Greenway Partnership rounded out the party. Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR’s Executive Director shared his thoughts on the tour by saying, “ EPCAMR hopes that through this regional collaboration tour with our fellow regional volunteer watershed community development coordinators that work for the OSM/VISTA Anthracite Heritage Alliance that we could expand our outreach and publicity efforts to gain additional support for saving this fossil of a building. Once it’s gone, there will never be another structure as ominous and telling as this one that could explain to our next generation of children the reasons for the rise and the fall of the Anthracite Mining Industry in Northeastern PA. Coal mining history of the Anthracite Region will become a thing of the past.” The Office of Surface Mining’s Volunteers In Service To America (OSM/VISTAs) work on a great variety of projects including water monitoring, biological sampling, historic preservation and clean up efforts, community mobilization and revitalization, event organization and fund raising/grant writing. The goal of every OSM/VISTA is to lower poverty by improving the environment on a grass roots level within the community. In addition, the EPCAMR Executive Director Robert Hughes, and Program Manager Michael Hewitt, attended to provide insight to the support that they have provided to the Huber Breaker Preservation Society over the last decade. Wren Dugan has been assisting the Huber Breaker with developing grant proposals to secure additional funding for various phases of construction of the Anthracite Region’s Miner’s Memorial and park development. The Huber Breaker Preservation Society is a 501c3 dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the Anthracite Region’s last standing coal breaker. Established in 1990, the HBPS has been working towards creating a public park on the three acres they own in front of the Breaker, including an 8’x10’ black Vermont granite Anthracite Region Miner’s Memorial to be installed in the park. A Buy-A-Brick Campaign is still underway and pavers that will be laid out at the site will be made from recycled pervious pavement and iron oxide, a metal commonly found in local abandoned mine drainage discharges. The HBPS hopes to have benches, and plantings along walking trails, interspersed with interpretive educational kiosks detailing the workings of the Breaker and life in a patch town. The Huber Breaker still remains under ownership of #1 Contracting, Inc. and is private property. Trespassing is illegal and not encouraged. EPCAMR received and signed liability waivers provided by #1 Contracting, Inc. in order to conduct the tour at the site. For more information or to schedule a tour of the Huber Breaker, visit www.huberbreaker.org.

EPCAMR Releases Current List of Environmental Education Programs

Contact: Robert Hughes, Executive Director. rhughes@epcamr.org EPCAMR’s new “Mine Drainage Menu of Place-Based Environmental Education Programs” Now Available! Ashley, PA – The Place-Based environmental education programs have long been a cornerstone of EPCAMR’s philosophy and community services. Executive Director, Robert Hughes, and Program Manager, Michael Hewitt, have been working with schools, clubs, and community organizations for more than a decade, educating children and adults about the aquatic welfare throughout the region. EPCAMR emphasizes knowledge of students’ immediate environment, teaching about the local waterways, the affects of abandoned mine drainage on the ecosystem throughout the watershed. Presently there are 13 different educational programs being offered, and each can be specifically tailored to reflect current in-class curriculum. Prices for the programs will be assessed based on the size of the group and distance traveled to the teaching site. If you would like to receive a full color brochure by mail, you may request one through our website, www.epcamr.org or email info@epcamr.org. The online version is available at our Environmental Education and Outreach Programs Page.

A New Facelift for the EPCAMR.org Website

We have recently made updates to the EPCAMR.org website based on a document called “Fire the Web Committee” by SpinWeb, a great document that lays out some common misconceptions and the building blocks of a good non-profit website. EPCAMR never really had a true "brochure website" (but have seen hundreds and created a few for partners with limited desktop programs). EPCAMR uses a database driven content management system (CMS), called CPG Nuke, that boasts quick page load times and supported flashy dynamic features. Back in 2002-2003 the homepage turned into a "What's New" page to get people hooked and join our cause. We started adding news scrolls and badges to connect to the “flavor of the month” and the history of our organization. We got a lot of good comments at first, but then it started to have way too much on the homepage and it became increasingly difficult to navigate to the real content. One person thought it was overloaded and looked like a TGI Fridays Restaurant. Most of this was in response to some of the social networking sites that had been popping up and other group’s success in recruitment / marketing with such web content. About a year ago, we made a fan page for EPCAMR on facebook and suggested that members go there for specific updates. We share news, project photos and use the list-serve features for upcoming events. There is a preview of the facebook fan site in a side bar on the EPCAMR.org site. Another plus is that EPCAMR staff share the updating responsibility for facebook now rather than 1 person whose responsibility (among many many other things) is to update the website. So we have created a "happy medium" which displays our resources and content organized in less-colloquial categories with some text links to news, calendar, photo gallery and things that work better in a navigation bar. We like to think of our website now as clearinghouse and reference for issues that are important to our goals. We are working on possibly integrating more forms and an online store with instant payment, but are not setup to take credit card payments online and frankly do not want to after a little research. However, there is badge that hooks us up to accept funds through Network for Good. We also created a web page to explain our "chalk board" style background. We acknowledge that our web pages may be in convenient to see and difficult to print off for some people, but there are inherent energy saving properties to the style. EPCAMR, being an environmental organization, just recently made the switch to Host Gator, a hosting company that derives some of its power from renewable "green" resources. This webhost is has also granted our non-profit with a year of free hosting through a Technology Grant. We also took a page from the "Fire the Web Committee" article and printed and posted an article on "Writing content for the web" which explains the need for brevity and concise information, especially on the web. People will devote up to 15 minutes to reading something in print, however, attention spans on the web are measured in seconds (most of you will never read the entirety of this article...but to those of you who do, Thank You for your dedication). Effective paragraph structure is also different and should include bulleted points, double spaced line breaks and no indentation. Polished grammar is also a must. We will endeavor to follow these steps in future article and page creation. Please enjoy the new site and provide comments through our feedback form. Sincerely, EPCAMR Staff

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PLANTS GRANT $20K TOWARD REMEDIATION OF ABANDONED MINE LANDS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/30/2010 CONTACT: Jeff A McNelly, ARIPPA Executive Director 2015 Chestnut Street Camp Hill PA 17011 Phone 717 763 7635 Fax: 717 763 7455 Email:office@arippa.org Web: www.arippa.org ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PLANTS GRANT $20,000 TOWARD REMEDIATION OF ABANDONED MINE LANDS (AML) AND ACID MINE DRAINAGE (AMD) IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. Celebrating 20 Years of Environmentally Beneficial Alternative Energy Production CAMP HILL – ARIPPA’s Executive Director, Jeff A McNelly, reported today that ARIPPA plant members have collectively donated $20,000 to various deserving watershed and conservancy groups actively battling Pennsylvania’s largest environmental problem. To commemorate its 20th Anniversary, the Anthracite Region Independent Power Producer's Association (ARIPPA) awarded $20,000 to watershed organizations working on Abandoned Mine Land (AML) and/or Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) remediation projects. Award recipients included: Earth Conservancy, Eastern Middle Anthracite Region Recovery, Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Clearfield Creek Watershed Association and Evergreen Conservancy. Awards were granted under the guidance and administration of Eastern and Western Pennsylvania Coalitions of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR and WPCAMR respectively). EPCAMR and WPCAMR are non-profit associations organized to encourage the reclamation, remediation, and redevelopment of lands and streams polluted by historic coal mining Watershed protection is one of the fastest growing areas of community-based collaboration. Throughout the country, watershed groups are playing an increasingly prominent role in environmental management. With their local focus and community base, watershed groups are building consensus and expanding participation within communities across Pennsylvania. AML remediation projects in particular are costly and long-term endeavors. According to the Pennsylvania Mining Reclamation Advisory Board, the average cost of an AML project is at least $8,000 per acre. The ARIPPA AML/AMD Reclamation Awards were designed to help environmental organizations and Conservation Districts to continue their tireless efforts toward improving our landscape and environment. Organized in 1988, ARIPPA is also a non-profit trade association representing alternate energy plants that remove coal refuse from the landscape, convert it into alternative energy, and beneficially utilize the ash by-product to reclaim over 4,700 acres of mine-scarred lands and hundreds of miles of formerly dead streams back to their natural state.…without any expenditure of tax dollars. To date over one hundred sixty two (162) million tons of coal refuse has been processed and converted into alternative energy by member plants. Further, the technology used to convert coal refuse into electricity, known as Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), is not only one of the cleanest energy technologies available but it also produces alkaline-rich ash by-products. The CFB ash by-products have been beneficially used in a highly regulated and safe manner: · to fill unsafe, abandoned mines and reclaim abandoned mine lands, · for acid mine drainage remediation, · as a soil amendment at mining sites, · And as a concrete/asphalt additive for roadways. The unique nature of ARIPPA's environmental efforts combined with the desire to coordinate these efforts with “hands-on” environmentally oriented groups and governmental agencies symbolizes its commitment to improving our community’s landscape and environment.