pa environment digest aug. 19, 2013

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PA Environment DigestAn Update On Environmental Issues In PAEdited By: David E. Hess, Crisci Associates

Winner 2009 PAEE Business Partner Of The Year Award

Harrisburg, Pa August 19, 2013

Proposed Drilling Regulations Will Be On Aug. 27 EQB Meeting Agenda

The proposed Chapter 78 drilling regulations implementing the environmental protection provisions of

Act 13 Marcellus Shale drilling law have been posted and will be considered at the August 27

Environmental Quality Board meeting. It will be the only item on the agenda.

The future of the proposed regulations was in doubt after the five members of DEPs Oil andGas Technical Advisory Board wrote a letter to DEP and members of the Environmental Quality Board

saying the proposed regulations were not ready for public review. The Advisory Board had given their

go-ahead to publish the proposed regulations for comment in April.

The EQB meeting will be held in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building starting at 9:00.

Click Here for all available Chapter 78 handouts, including for the first time, the Regulatory

Analysis Form for the proposal.

TAB Subcommittee Meeting

At the DEP Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board subcommittee meetings this week in State

College, John Walliser, PA Environmental Council, raised concerns with the TABs July 18 letter to the

Environmental Quality Board and its implications for the subcommittee process.As a result of the letter, which establishes TAB's final recommendations to the Environmental

Quality Board with respect to the rulemaking proposal, Walliser requested that TAB cede facilitation of

the process to DEP.

The subcommittees were charged with having an open dialog on important provisions related to:

public resource protection, pre-hydraulic fracturing assessment, waste management at well sites, and

water supply restoration standards.

DEP declined to assume management of the subcommittee process, but Scott Perry, DEP

Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, said DEP will weigh all comments it receives through

the subcommittee process equally, including any recommendations from the TAB.

To the extent DEP can get consensus on the issues, great, he said where they do not, DEP willmake the decision on how best to proceed and the comments they received through the subcommittee

process will be helpful in informing their judgment.

September Meeting Change

At the end of the Advisory Board meeting Thursday, it was announced the subcommittee

meetings planned for September 18 and 19 would likely be reduced to one day, but they did not say

which day.

For more information, visit the DEP Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board webpage.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pecpa.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEM8BUWa5gnVDqY89QNay-YF-Anfwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Foil_and_gas_technical_advisory_board_(TAB)%2F18260&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHdeFbnraAMeRxKMqBRhDZq-IVafwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fenvironmental_quality_board%2F14005%2Feqb_meeting_schedule_2013%2F1339599&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGrImMKQlLwn5G4G60U8OHrzEW6fQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paenvironmentdigest.com%2Fnewsletter%2Fdefault.asp%3FNewsletterArticleID%3D26088&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGLeqSzvb2vW4_b2LmZGdIkxEWgQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Foil_and_gas_technical_advisory_board_(TAB)%2F18260&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHdeFbnraAMeRxKMqBRhDZq-IVafwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pecpa.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEM8BUWa5gnVDqY89QNay-YF-Anfwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Foil_and_gas_technical_advisory_board_(TAB)%2F18260&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHdeFbnraAMeRxKMqBRhDZq-IVafwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fenvironmental_quality_board%2F14005%2Feqb_meeting_schedule_2013%2F1339599&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGrImMKQlLwn5G4G60U8OHrzEW6fQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paenvironmentdigest.com%2Fnewsletter%2Fdefault.asp%3FNewsletterArticleID%3D26088&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGLeqSzvb2vW4_b2LmZGdIkxEWgQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fenvironmental_quality_board%2F14005%2Feqb_meeting_schedule_2013%2F1339599&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGrImMKQlLwn5G4G60U8OHrzEW6fQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paenvironmentdigest.com%2Fnewsletter%2Fdefault.asp%3FNewsletterArticleID%3D11953&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFSPEUcwhnqVJLvxVyzABsEHAreLQ


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NewsClips:

Delaware River Drilling Future Embroils States

Rep. Brooks Looks To Repeal New Gas Pooling Law

Townships: State Prematurely Appeals Act 13 Drilling Law

Corbett Listens To Royalty Complaints From Bradford County$3M+ Dormant Oil And Gas Royalties Held By State Treasury

Drillers May Opt For Federal Air Quality Rules

Washington County Gas Well Accord Restored To Court Record

Complete Drilling Case Settlement Files Now Open To Public

Facts About Washington County Drilling Settlement Gag Order

Residents Head To DC To Ask EPA To Return To Dimock

New Look Sought At Dimock Water Issue By EPA

CBF Supports Proposed Nutrient Trading Program Changes By DEP

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA supports the discussed enhancements to the Commonwealths

nutrient trading regulations, presented Wednesday by the Department of Environmental Protection to

the Water Resources Advisory Committee.

(Click Here for a copy of DEPs presentation to WRAC.)

Pennsylvanias nutrient trading program was designed to provide sewage treatment plant

dischargers with a cost-effective alternative to meeting pollution discharge limits while promoting

pollution reductions from agriculture and other nonpoint pollution sources.

The improvements will help assure the program will be consistent with the Chesapeake Bay

Blueprint and federal Clean Water Act requirements and guidance.

Pennsylvania needs a robust and successful trading program to not only address PennsylvaniasClean Water Blueprint, but also the over 8,700 miles of sediment impaired and 2,600 miles of

phosphorus impaired streams in the Commonwealth, said Harry Campbell, CBFs Pennsylvania

Executive Director. The discussed changes assure a real, quantifiable, and defensible nutrient trading

program that strengthens Pennsylvanias efforts to address local stream pollution as well as Chesapeake

Bay restoration.

The changes, if adopted, will address a number of concerns that CBF, other stakeholders, and

EPA have raised about Pennsylvanias program. The discussed changes include:

-- enhanced calculation methodologies that will add greater precision and accuracy to projects

proposing the creation of nutrient credits,

-- increasing participation in the program by including polluted runoff from urban areas, and

-- shifting DEP staff focus towards greater verification of credit generating projects to ensure they are

properly implemented, being maintained, and are functional.

One area of reservation is the possible elimination of manure hauling as a credit generating

practice, even where the manure is used as a soil amendment in the reforesting abandoned mine land.

There are roughly 180,000 acres of abandoned mine lands in Pennsylvania. Soils in these areas

do not have the organic matter or nutrients to support growth of vegetation. Given that reforestation is a

major component of the Blueprint and Milestones, careful consideration of eliminating this incentive is
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbf.org%2Fhow-we-save-the-bay%2Fchesapeake-clean-water-blueprint%2Fupdate-on-local-efforts%2Fpennsylvania&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGzLHgKW9F6vXB1tlWgCvzr9ujtaghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbf.org%2Fhow-we-save-the-bay%2Fchesapeake-clean-water-blueprint%2Fupdate-on-local-efforts%2Fpennsylvania&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGzLHgKW9F6vXB1tlWgCvzr9ujtaghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbf.org%2Fhow-we-save-the-bay%2Fchesapeake-clean-water-blueprint%2Fwhat-is-the-chesapeake-clean-water-blueprint&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFT1auH3sH7n9Hvw70pOVivIupTLQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbf.org%2Fhow-we-save-the-bay%2Fchesapeake-clean-water-blueprint%2Fwhat-is-the-chesapeake-clean-water-blueprint&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFT1auH3sH7n9Hvw70pOVivIupTLQhttp://goo.gl/ZsfOIzhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portal.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fwater_resources_advisory_committee_(wrac)%2F14017&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEGCqD581nWYEZmbX8lhqby4AKxPghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbf.org%2Fpa&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGSWPVAaMesqRihAJwZTyppW6zgVAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fbusiness%2Fhomepage%2F20130814_New_look_sought_at_Dimock_water_issue.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWo1ntIutmbcBWGpJQjGRgjPi6WQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fthetimes-tribune.com%2Fnews%2Fgas-drilling%2Fsusquehanna-residents-head-to-d-c-imploring-epa-to-return-to-dimock-1.1535361&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGzqN_8VhSJoQl1XG3CaVt4YvPbkAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northcentralpa.com%2Ffeeditem%2F2013-08-09_facts-about-so-called-%25E2%2580%2598gag-order%25E2%2580%2599-pennsylvania&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGgOM-9wbLIFOxWw1ajLmYWKKmLswhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%2Fstories%2Flocal%2Fwashington%2Ftwo-years-after-settlement-marcellus-shale-settlement-in-washington-county-case-full-and-public-699047%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGa9Zx6aNOU-zL9Zg0hBqqQWvUt4Ahttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%2Fstories%2Flocal%2Fmarcellusshale%2Fwashington-county-gas-well-accord-to-be-restored-to-court-record-698832%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGCvgYmMaE3e4zebOVFGy1HDnlyDQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fthetimes-tribune.com%2Fnews%2Fmarcellus-drillers-consider-federal-option-1.1535292&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGoiyE_ouMYI9C6RmCJz6xg131zLAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2Fpittsburgh%2Fblog%2Fenergy%2F2013%2F08%2Fmore-than-3m-in-dormant-oil-and-gas.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHcmk8BjEAgeObr7AuHnQOiUbg10whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fstateimpact.npr.org%2Fpennsylvania%2F2013%2F08%2F16%2Fcorbett-listens-to-royalty-complaints-from-bradford-county-commissioners%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOUqVirNEkPK1ZBnZAW-mHj6FBdghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fstateimpact.npr.org%2Fpennsylvania%2F2013%2F08%2F15%2Ftownships-say-pa-prematurely-appealing-act-13-challenge-to-supreme-court%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFdVfFnOU_NMQ0uznlA2joNloP5eQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fstateimpact.npr.org%2Fpennsylvania%2F2013%2F08%2F12%2Fwestern-pa-lawmaker-looks-to-repeal-new-pooling-law%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGUfYjsKJ_vf4MhqtYPU5VZeCWbGAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fthetimes-tribune.com%2Fnews%2Fgas-drilling%2Fdelaware-river-drilling-future-embroils-states-1.1534388&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFpU6PiQW5gHdDhBC1m3pt5uN0kWA


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warranted.

In total, CBF believes the discussed improvements will result in a strong, more scientifically

justifiable, and therefore defensible, program.

Nutrient trading improves water quality by using market-based mechanisms to produce overall

pollution reductions at lower costs. It is a voluntary program that enables sources that exceed pollution

reduction requirements to generate pollution reduction credits that may be traded to others.A nutrient trading program that relies on creating credits that meet scientific and verification

requirements defined in regulation, will result in real pollution reduction, said Campbell.

The approved credits can be sold to off-set the cost of upgrading local sewage treatment plants,

and to meet state Clean Streams and federal Clean Water Act discharge permit limits. They can also

generate valuable income for family farmers and be used as economic incentive for third party

aggregators who work with several farms to generate credits offered for sale as a package.

Importantly, the nutrient trading program offers an economic incentive for farmers to meet and

exceed long-standing state regulations on soil erosion as well as nutrient and manure management.

They can also increase local efforts to implement projects that yield multiple benefitslike

reduced flooding, drinking water protection and improvement, wildlife habitat, and even communityrevitalization.

Pennsylvanias trading program allows those who can create verifiable credits to offer those

credits for sale at market-based pricing. Bidding on these practices occurs regularly at PennVEST

auctions.

DEP maintains aNutrientNet platform where buyers and sellers can exchange information. In

both cases, the marketplace determines which pollution reduction practices are the most cost-effective,

not a government agency or the legislature.

The discussed enhancements would not change the program, which will remain market-based.

A March 2013 auction of nitrogen credits yielded $2.98 to $3.05 per credit.

Many of these sorts of projects, particularly those on small farms and in urban communities,not only help meet local impairment issues, but they are also conservation that counts, because they

can be counted towards Pennsylvanias incremental 2-year Milestones for the Chesapeake Bay Clean

Water Blueprint requirements for agriculture and polluted urban runoff if not sold to a regulated

discharger, said Campbell.

Although the effort to update the program is ongoing, CBF commends DEP for their work to

address a number of areas of concern raised by stakeholders and the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Campbell continued. We believe these enhancements, if adopted, will result in a more vibrant

and defensible nutrient trading program for Pennsylvania.

Click Here for a copy of DEPs presentation to the Water Resources Advisory Committee

outlining proposed changes in the Nutrient Credit Trading Program.

NewsClips:

Op-Ed: State Misses Chesapeake Bay Milestone

Underwhelming Spawn Class For Smallmouth On Susquehanna

Lancaster County Looks To Change Stormwater Ordinance

PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference A Success, Watershed Heroes Recognized
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Flancasteronline.com%2Farticle%2Flocal%2F882295_County-looks-to-change-stormwater-management-ordinance.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEOUHUGORQReotOMtlF9fZthNsefwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pennlive.com%2Fmidstate%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F08%2Fearly_yet_another_underwhelmin.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHwmRFpRDuEAs8_zFtURvzbYmPQawhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sungazette.com%2Fpage%2Fcontent.detail%2Fid%2F595649%2FState-misses-milestone-mark.html%3Fnav%3D5011&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFEudCSPQ3_R7MxEuJr3IsvSnyzEwhttp://goo.gl/ZsfOIzhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fpa.nutrientnet.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE_Hnk2AAOiNiI5I4WVcECQYqLgWghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pennvest.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fnutrient_credit_trading%2F19518&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHb32ksmG3iyWYeDR8rF8yjYBsh6whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pennvest.state.pa.us%2Fportal%2Fserver.pt%2Fcommunity%2Fnutrient_credit_trading%2F19518&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHb32ksmG3iyWYeDR8rF8yjYBsh6w


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By Robert Hughes, Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation

The 15th Anniversary PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference in State College has been

deemed a huge success by its Conference Planning Committee and from the written surveys of the

more than 150 people who attended.The Conference was highlighted by this years presentation of the Mayfly Award and

recognition of five Watershed Heroes. (Click Here for links and photos from the Conference.)

Mayfly Award Winner

Friday nights Annual presentation of the Mayfly Award Winner was also no exception to great

folks that we recognized at the 15th Anniversary Conference which this year recognized Mr. Bruce

Leavitt, a Consulting Hydrogeologist, from Western PA who figured out a way to use an ancient device

known as a Trompe to achieve mechanical aeration without the need for electricity, motors, or any

moving parts to aid in AMD remediation.

He was presented the Award by Tim Danehy, BioMost, Incorporated, who had many kind

words to say about Bruce, and stood for the award with his most esteemed colleagues, from StreamRestoration Inc. and Bio-Most, Incorporated. The welded sculpture was created by Michael Bestwick,

Fennelton, PA.

The Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AMR) Conferences coveted Mayfly

Award recognizes individuals who have dedicated a lifetime of knowledge and expertise to the

reclamation of abandoned mines in Pennsylvania. The mayfly was selected as the symbol for this award

because its presence in a stream signifies clean water.

Watershed Heroes

Bruce also assisted EPCAMR and WPCAMR with choosing the 5 Watershed Heroes that

were selected among all the submissions for the first ever Trading Cards that were a fun addition to the

15th Anniversary Conference.An anonymous donor provided $1,000 towards the cash awards to the 5 Watersheds that were

selected for awards based on submissions of Watershed Hero Trading Cards. The winning submissions

were chosen out of a hat to make it fair. EPCAMR will work to secure the addresses and proper

payment to the winning organizations.

The winners were:

1. Rob MacLachlan donating $200 to Allegheny Land Trust, Land Protection Fund

2. Dennis Hawley donating $200 to Crooked Creek Watershed Association

3. Gracie Angelo donating $200 to Shoups Run Watershed Association

4. Max Sapinsky donating $200 to Kiskiminetas Watershed Association and

5. Tom Clark would like to donate $100 to Paint Creek Regional Watershed Association and $100 to

the Lackawanna River Corridor Association

Conference Summary

The Pre-Conference Workshop at the Civil Engineering Lodge in Stone Valley, sponsored by

the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), was exceptionally informative and provided tech

savvy information from the Bayer Center for NonProfit Managements Cindy Leonard, Consultant

Team Leader at Robert Morris University, on how to utilize Social Media outlets like FaceBook,

Twitter, RSS Feeds, websites, Tumblr, Flickr, Photobucket, Pinterest, and others to your advantage.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2F2013.treatminewater.com%2F15th-anniversary-pa-amr-conference-deemed-a-huge-success%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHSHb5Lo7crdCQFMeI_JvP0C-X__Ahttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2F2013.treatminewater.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG21eKfqzOhztC0yzBa-51R50q3Rw


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Mark Critz, President, Mark Critz LLC, Vice President National Sales-Print & Copy Center,

and former US Congressman for the PAs 12th Congressional District (2010-2013), that stretched

from Johnstown, to the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh did an excellent job on educating those in

attendance on how to establish relationships with Staffers from legislative offices at the State and

Federal level to communicate our environmental issues with Congressmen and women, and Senators in

PA.Andy McAllister, WPCAMR Regional Coordinator gave a dramatic and theatrical presentation

on legislative issues, normally a dry topic to expound upon, facing PAs AMR Community from both the

National, State, and Local perspective and rhetorically asked everyone, how are they going to

approach these issues, proactively, or re-actively with a collective voice.

Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director provided each of the speakers with a small

token of appreciation for their talks and insight, a commemorative 15th Anniversary PA AMR

Conference magnet that was made out of EPCAMRs Yellow Boy recycled iron oxide from an AMD

passive treatment system in the region, coal ash from a Wyoming Valley home that still burns anthracite

and a regional clay from the Harveys Lake area of Luzerne County. The magnet was created by Skip

Sensbach, Artist in Resident, with assistance in the design concept by EPCAMR, and his art students atMisericoridia Univeristys Art Department. The magnets were provided to all conference attendees as

well on Friday and Saturday.

The Friday morning Keynote Address provided by Glenn RIder, PA DEP Bureau of

Conservation and Restoration, highlighted the new bureau with his new mission of getting dirty water

off the dirty waters list and that means AMD and other non-point source pollution across PA. He

discussed funding opportunities, the Bureaus goals related to AMD, their priorities, and acknowledged

our PA AMR Conference Committees vital collective efforts, and EPCAMR and WPCAMRs

steadfast coalition-building across PA, along with their partners to continue to make AMD a priority in

PAs Coalfield communities.

The Friday and Saturday presentations will be uploaded soon and we cant tell you howpleased we were with the quality of the presentations. All were great! Our Friday lunch speaker, Peter

Stern, was personal, introspective, seemed to have made a connection with many in the audience, and

provided us all with a new aerial look of PAs abandoned mine lands and mining activity from above

with his stunning photography captured using aerial photography as he flew across PA.

Robert E. Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director set the tone of the Friday evening Dinner with

a recap of the PA AMR Conferences 15th Year Anniversary, having coordinated all of the previous

Conferences as either Chair or Co-Chair, back to 1996 and gave an inspiring 10 minute speech on why

it is important for the PA AMR Community to continue to do the work that we do in the hopes of

achieving clean water for our future and our children, the next generation.

He acknowledged his first Supervisor, Mario Carrello, from the PA DEP Moshannon District

Mining Office, who mentored him as an intern while at Penn-State back in 1994-1995, who was in the

audience on Friday night, and is to this day, a trusted colleague and friend that EPCAMR continues to

work with on AMD projects some 20 years later.

Robert highlighted many fun themes, activities, presentation tracks, and places that weve toured

over the years that connected us all to our roots in the PA Coalfields where we have successfully turned

orange water into clean water and have brought trout fisheries and bugs back in increased numbers and

diversity.


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He told us to be proud of who we are and take pride in what we are doing against all odds and

to stand up for what is right in our communities. We need to continue to develop the partnerships with

all levels of government and non-traditional groups like the Coal Industry, Co-Generation Plants, the

Gas Industry, and others keep our goals in line. Clean water.

Removing the dirty water, from the dirty waters list reiterated by Glenn Rider, PA DEP BCR.

We are the local liaisons and boots on the ground that have to take care of ourselves and not wait forprojects and initiatives to tell us what to do and when. We need to remain vigilant and have

perseverance in our approach to AMD remediation and abandoned mine land reclamation.

The PA AMR Conference Committee even sprung for a 15th Anniversary Cake created by

WEIS Markets in State College, PA, complete with a marble-looking photo of the Manor AMD

discharge that was visited on last years tour to Western PA and our PA AMR Conference logo

bookmarking both sides of the two-tiered butter-cream chocolate and vanilla cake.

Saturday mornings presentations were also a big hit. We may have lost 40 percent of our

audience, however, those that were able to stay through lunch received a good education on the

differences between Anthracite and Bituminous Mining, Geology, and Water Chemistry and Flows of

AMD discharges across PA, learned about what the Media is looking for in stories about our issues,got a look at a comprehensive Restoration and Assessment Plan for the Lackawanna River and photos

of what may be the largest AMD pollution source in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in the Old Forge

Borehole, and a presentation on utilizing Macro-Invertebrates as Indicators of AMD impacts and

recovery efforts, to name a few.

The Conference couldnt have been made possible without the financial support of the PA DEP,

the PA Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., PACD Sponsor and the PA AMR Conference

Planning Committee, and a special thanks to Agri Drain Corporation and our colleague Joe Shueck, for

providing us with note pads for all Conference attendees.

Hy-Tech Mushroom Compost, Inc. also auctioned off a large mushroom block that netted

some donations to the Conference thanks to Lisa Van Houten that was won by Eric Rosengrant, PADEP Moshannon Mining Office.

In the next several weeks, EPCAMR will be converting the presentations from the 2 Tracks into

.PDF documents on the website for those who were not able to attend or get to visit the other

sessions during the Conference.

The PA AMR Conference Committee makes every effort to make all of our presentations

public on this website for the larger AMR Community that was not able to attend due to financial

reasons or other conflicts.

Please check back to the site for the updated information for next years Conference and

location slated for June 26-28th, 2014.

In the meantime, if you attended the Conference and did not have a chance to complete the

written survey in your packets, here is the online link. We would appreciate you filling out this survey so

that we can compile and aggregate the information for our wrap up and debriefing meeting on August

29th, at 10 a.m. So please, if you have the time, and attended, please complete the online survey by the

26th of August.

Click Here for photos and links from the Conference.

For more information, visit the PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference website.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2F2013.treatminewater.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG21eKfqzOhztC0yzBa-51R50q3Rwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2F2013.treatminewater.com%2F15th-anniversary-pa-amr-conference-deemed-a-huge-success%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHSHb5Lo7crdCQFMeI_JvP0C-X__Ahttps://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surveymonkey.com%2Fs%2FMT9G9DF&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEgXnknf3MbAQKJ67WiL87Wkkxy-w


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Did You Know You Can Search 9 Years Of Digests On Any Topic?

Did you know you can search 9 years of back issues of the PA Environment Digest on dozens of

topics, by county and on any keyword you choose. Just click on the search page.

Also take advantage of these related services from Crisci Associates--

PA Environment Digest Twitter Feed: On Twitter, sign up to receive instant updates from:

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announcements on environmental topics in Pennsylvania of immediate value. Sign up and receive as

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alerting you to new items posted on this blog.

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blog.

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NewsClips, coverage of key press conferences and more. Sign up and receive as they are posted

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new items posted on this blog.

PA Capitol Digest Twitter Feed: Don't forget to sign up to receive the PA Capitol Digest Twitter feedto get instant updates on other news from in and around the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule

Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as well as a

list of new environmental bills introduced--

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

House

September 23, 24, 25, 30

October 1, 2, 15, 16, 17 (Non-Voting), 21, 22, 23

November 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

December 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 (Non-Voting)
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FPaCapitolDigest&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGWrE0J29KeaafDM7MJyMC8ers1CAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fpacapitoldigestcrisci.blogspot.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEsEHXOUzs6gT1RCKAugVwOVKqPwAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fpaenvirodigestvideo.blogspot.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEmKqFvZOkdb3_B7R1MBSPh3LLnzAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fpaenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFRzy2G1pqBkPajQhREHSFOtt9DyQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGXriPf7nAwCc24P4VynFe1LpqWFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crisciassociates.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHXIVMkGh_c7n4BmGVntccrLXM7eghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paenvironmentdigest.com%2Fnewsletter%2Fsearch.asp&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG3YMJhJTavF8eWahj5px0Dtv-fMQ


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Senate

September 23, 24, 25, 30

October 1, 2, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23

November 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

December 3, 4, 9, 10, 11

Bill Calendars

House (September 23): House Bill 302 (Moul-R-Adams) transferring funds from the Oil and Gas

Lease Fund to DEP for a competitive grant program to convert small mass transit bus fleets to natural

gas House Bill 303 (Moul-R-Adams) transferring funds from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to DEP for a

competitive grant program to convert large mass transit fleets to natural gas House Bill 304

(Marshall-R-Beaver) funding conversions of transit buses to natural gas House Bill 306

(Pickett-R-Bradford) redirecting the Alternative Fuels Incentive Fund to create the Keystone Fuel

Incentive Program to fund conversions of vehicles to natural gas House Bill 308 (Saylor-R-York)

redirecting $6 million annually from the Clean Air Fund to finance vehicle conversions to natural gas.

pa environment digest aug. 19, 2013

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