PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP Awards $2.55 Million In Federal Funding To Support 5 Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Projects

On November 22, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of more than $2.5 million for five projects to restore abandoned mine lands and clean streams affected by abandoned mine drainage as a part of the Abandoned Mine Lands and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program.

Pennsylvania has the largest inventory of abandoned coal mines in the nation, with a roughly $5 billion need for reclamation and stream restoration.

DEP said to date, Pennsylvania has rehabilitated more than 91,000 acres of abandoned coal mines, and with this federal funding, will be able to continue this vital work that protects the health and safety of our communities.

“Reclaiming these abandoned mine lands improves our environment and makes Pennsylvania a more beautiful place. We will get stuff done by getting rid of eyesores like coal waste piles and orange streams and help to revitalize these communities,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It’s also creating jobs and bolstering the economy not just today, but in the future when these communities can grow and thrive without the pollution of the past.”

The funding was awarded through the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act, which has invested more than $700 million into reclaiming Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine lands since 2022.

DEP has received $244 million from the IIJA this year for projects to clean up abandoned mine lands and protect Pennsylvania communities – removing waste piles, re-grading dangerous highwalls that can result in loose dirt, trees, and other hazards, treating abandoned mine drainage that affects streams and rivers, and preventing and treating mine subsidence underneath homes and businesses across the Commonwealth.

Grant recipients will be reimbursed on project costs.

The following projects will be awarded funding under the Abandoned Mine Land and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program:

Fayette County

-- Natural Streams Foundation - $594,880: Hereford Hollow – Project work includes completing a project designed to reclaim 36 acres of abandoned mine land, including over three million tons of refuse, in Luzerne Township.

Schuylkill County

-- Schuylkill County Conservation District - $280,800: Ravine East (Franklin Breaker Levee) – Project work includes design and permitting required to reclaim AML resulting in over 1,500 feet of clogged stream along the Swatara Creek in Pine Grove Township.

Tioga County

-- Trout Unlimited, Inc. - $1,225,091: Basswood Run - Project work addresses major maintenance needs for Hunters Drift, a passive AMD treatment system, in Morris Township.

Westmoreland County

-- Jacobs Creek Watershed Association - $114,469: Donnelly (Stauffer Run Watershed Assessment) – Project work includes the completion of an assessment of AMD sites along the headwaters of Stauffer Run, a tributary to Jacobs Creek in East Huntingdon Township.

-- Westmoreland County Conservation District - $343,642: Bovard (Refuse Pile) - Project work includes the completion of a Phase 1 project design for the Bovard coal refuse site remediation in Hempfield Township.

Click Here for original announcement.

Visit DEP’s Abandoned Mine Lands and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program webpage to learn more about this program. Look for 2025 application dates!

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog, Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.