Friday July 19, 5:30 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Commonwealth Court Orders Mining Companies To Continue Treating Polluted
Mine Water At 15 Sites In Clearfield, Centre Counties
Discharge Estimated at 173 Million Gallons Per Year
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- On behalf of Gov. Mark Schweiker,
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David E. Hess
today announced that Commonwealth Court has issued an injunction that
orders the operator of 15 closed bituminous coal operations in Clearfield
and Centre counties to continue the treatment of polluted water coming
from those mines.
The mines, operated under Al Hamilton Contracting Company, Bradford
Mining Company and Manor Mining and Contracting Corporation, are discharging
an estimated 173 million gallons of polluted mine water a year.
"We brought this action because company officials said they did
not have the funds to continue mine-water treatment, while at the same
time they were selling off company assets," Secretary Hess said.
"We are pleased the court granted our request to continue treating
the mine water, ending, for now, a serious threat to Pennsylvania's
waterways."
DEP filed the action in Commonwealth Court on July 8 after company officials
said they would cut off treatment at the end of July. DEP also filed
administrative orders on June 27 to require continued mine- water treatment
at two of these closed mines as part of a coordinated series of enforcement
steps to gain the cooperation of the mining companies.
Should treatment stop, the polluted water would significantly threaten
several waterways within the Upper West Branch Watershed, including
Shimmel Run, which has a native trout population, and Mountain Branch,
a stocked trout stream that is home to a backup water intake for Houtzdale
Municipal Water Authority. Both streams flow into Moshannon Creek, which
is a tributary of the west branch of the Susquehanna River.
"We stand ready to work with the mining companies involved to establish
a trust fund they would finance to provide for the permanent treatment
of the discharges," Secretary Hess said. "Other mining companies
in similar circumstances have made these kinds of arrangements to fulfill
their treatment obligations, and we hope that is the outcome here."
DEP estimates it would require at least $6 million to establish a trust
fund for permanent treatment. The companies involved originally posted
just over $4 million in bonds for the areas they mined, which would
be forfeited and applied toward maintaining the pollution controls if
the companies stop treating the drainage.
Al Hamilton Contracting Company operated 13 of the sites in question,
Bradford Coal Company operated a coal processing plant and Manor Mining
and Contracting Corp. operated an underground mine. Some of the mines
date as far back as the early 1970s; however, they are all currently
closed. The last to close was the Manor Mining underground facility,
which closed two years ago.
All except one of the mines are located in Clearfield County. The remaining
mine is located in Rush Township, Centre County.
The companies operate both passive and conventional discharge-treatment
systems at the sites. If electricity is shut off, the sites with the
conventional systems are in the most immediate danger of causing pollution
because water pumps and other equipment would stop running. The passive
system sites would continue to treat drainage for an undetermined amount
of time.
Acid mine drainage occurs when rain or ground water enters a mine site
and comes in contact with pyrite in coal or coal refuse. The water then
becomes contaminated with various heavy metals and becomes highly acidic,
and, as it drains out of the mine, becomes a threat to the local watershed.
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