WPCAMR Regional Coordinator’s Report
Bruce Golden
Feb 27, 2007

SMCRA Title IV Reauthorization Passes in Congress…  Emphasis Passes to PA Planning

As most everyone likely to be reading this knows by now Congress last December passed into law important new amendments to SMCRA Title IV.  This includes reauthorization of reclamation fee collections on every ton of coal mined in the U.S. for 14 more years.  The revamp of the law also means significantly more abandoned mine reclamation funding, estimated at $1.4 billion, will be coming to PA over the next 15 to 20 years. 

We’re very proud to have played a role in the legislation’s passage as a member of the AML Campaign, whose perseverance over the past 3 years was vital in getting the job done.  John Dawes of the Western PA Watershed Program doggedly led this coalition of conservation and reclamation minded organizations through numerous ups and downs as we educated a host of constituents on the merits of the continuation and the tune-up of Title IV.  It was a true team effort with thanks to many.  We firmly believe our efforts were essential to the outcome.

The focus of the AML Campaign now turns to Pennsylvania in helping insure this wonderful opportunity afforded by the new funding is used wisely.  While $1.4 billion is a great deal of money, it is still dwarfed by PA’s estimated $15 billion worth of abandoned mine problems.  The legislation does provide for greater flexibility, especially in regard to water issues, on how funding can be utilized.  With this flexibility will come the responsibility of making perhaps difficult choices selecting an appropriate mix of problems to address.   Just gearing up to spend this money will be challenging.

DEP Secretary Katie McGinty has announced a series of public roundtable meetings to be held around the state to both inform and to gain input on the issues.  Deputy Secretary Scott Roberts is leading that effort, which should be commended for its openness and inclusiveness.  A firm schedule of meeting dates is not yet available

WPCAMR along with the AML Campaign recognizes the opportunity and obligation to provide stakeholders with the information needed in helping them draw their own conclusions.  As such, we will continue to immerse ourselves in the issue and provide educational materials to our various constituents, as well as recommendations where appropriate.  With AMD being a major concern to WPCAMR and its constituents, it’s reasonable to expect a preference toward those issues.  We plan to survey our member conservation districts on how strongly they believe additional funding should be devoted to AMD problems.

Along with other members of the AML Campaign, Bruce and Andy are scheduled to meet with Gov. Rendell and Sec. McGinty on February 28 to discuss the future of directions of Title IV funding for Pennsylvania.

A variety of materials related to this subject are available at http://amlcampaign.wpcamr.org .

Secretary McGinty Informed of OM&R Concerns

Regarding the issue of operations, maintenance and replacement of AMD passive treatment systems, WPCAMR President Bob Eppley sent DEP Secretary Katie McGinty a letter as per a resolution passed in the November 2006 meeting.  The letter is included in the meeting materials as is her reply.

WPCAMR Moves to new Digs in the Greenforge Building

In December, we spent a week moving to the newly renovated, AND GREEN, Greenforge Building, a stones throw from our old offices at the Donohoe Center.  As construction continues, we are the second tenant in the building.

The move itself was performed by Jeff, Andy, and me.  It was great having Jeff and Andy doing much of the heavy lifting – literally - and the other stuff associated with a move.  Thanks, guys!  Andy picked a bad time to be sick, but hung in there.  Jeff did a great job of getting the network, computers and phone up and running in spite of the difficulties we had with Verizon getting their act together with DSL.  Because there are no storage areas, we had to be inventive in creating storage space. 

All in all, the space is pleasant and we’re sure we’ll enjoy our new home.  We have a bit more room to accommodate extra staff.   Stop by if you get a chance.

Quick Response Program Providing Needed Assistance for Treatment System Repairs… Runs into Bureaucratic Complications

Through a Growing Greener II grant, the Quick Response program provides funding for emergency repairs of Growing Greener eligible BMP’s.  So far, two groups with troubled treatment systems have used the program.

  1. Washington CD for JB2 Treatment System:  construction complete.
  2. Schuylkill CD for Onieda Treatment System: construction complete.

Because this funding only pays for items directly related to construction and capital improvement, WPCAMR needs to absorb all administrative expenses. We were able to get the normal 20% upfront working capital,  but still anticipated a potential problem cash flow - which has unfortunately come true.  Requests for payments exceeded the working capital on hand.  We are working with the grantees to provide partial payments for their contractors while reimbursements are processed in Harrisburg.  Once the reimbursement is received, we again make payment to the grantees to the extent we can.  Repeat as necessary.  A bridge loan or a line of credit would allow this situation to be mitigated, but any costs with that are on WPCAMR.  The DEP Grants Center has shown no flexibility on this issue.

New Growing Greener Round Comes with Strict Accounting Strings

While the 15% match requirement remains for the 2007 grant round, the rules for providing and proving the required match for grants have changed.  This will likely add a considerable administrative load in proving in-kind match.  The rules also come with teeth, with cash penalties for non-compliance.  Be sure you understand these new provisions when you apply and be prepared to comply.  See complete Growing Greener info at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/growinggreener .

2007 Annual Statewide AMR  Conference planning underway

The various partners who’ve previously planned the annual AMR Conference have started the process for 2007.  WPCAMR and EPCAMR alternate yearly taking the lead.  It’s EPCAMR’s turn this year.  The planning group will again convene primarily through conference calls and using listserves.  The consensus is to again return to State College, with the Ramada and Atherton hotels being considered.  Late July or early August are the times being considering.  The subject matter and format are still being decided, but Title IV, OM&R, sucess stories, and permitting issues have emerged as likely subjects.  We are open to other suggestions.  We have learned how to keep costs very reasonable and hope to approximate last year’s costs.

Abandoned Mine Posts E-mail Newsletter Proves to be Popular

Judging from the amount of positive feedback from readers of the Abandoned Mine Posts e-mail newsletter, our eclectic blend of short articles on subjects that somehow and sometimes remotely relate to abandoned mine reclamation is a success.  Jeff, Andy, and I take turns authoring articles, each adding a bit of ourselves in the process.  We’re always looking for new subjects and wouldn’t mind guest authors from time to time, so if you have suggestions or your own article idea, let us know.

Welcome to new members of WPCAMR family

Please welcome two new members to the WPCAMR staff.

Stefanie Chidister is our latest OSM-VISTA member who joined us in late January.   Stefanie has just finished her Environmental Studies degree from Edinborough State.  She has a split assignment:  half of her efforts are made for the Appalchian Coal Country Watershed Team where she will be the northern team leader.  The other half of her efforts will be devoted to WPCAMR work.  Specifically, she will be developing WPCAMR board orientation materials.  Additionally, she will assist three watershed groups in improving sustainability.  So far, Turtle Creek Watershed Association wants to be one of those groups.  We would like to find 2 other watershed groups ready for a partnership that are reasonably near to our Greensburg office, due to a lean travel budget.  Contact Stefanie with your ideas.

Vanessa Good is a senior Pitt student majoring in Environmental Studies and is doing an internship as part of her degree program.  She joined us in early January and will be with us throughout the semester.

WPCAMR 2007-08 Budget Cut

Due to cuts in the DEP's 319 funding, WPCAMR will experience a decrease in funding for the 2007-08 fiscal year of $1,500, representing a 1.2% decrease.