Recovering from our coal legacy

Pennsylvania’s coal mining legacy, unregulated mining prior to 1977, has left us with more than 250,000 impacted acres, and more than 5,200 miles of biologically dead streams. Through the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act’s (SMCRA) Abandoned Mine Lands Fund (AMLF) the state has made progress in addressing this legacy, but not without the help of philanthropy and the state’s watershed movement.

This presentation will give attendees an understanding of events leading to SMCRA’s AMLF; its reauthorization; how the reauthorization will assist Pennsylvania in addressing this legacy; a familiarization with new, DEP, AMLF project guidance; and finally an understanding of how philanthropy and watershed groups are assisting with the clean-up.

Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds (FPW) is a leading in philanthropic grant making, and has assisted more than 150 watershed groups’ grant-making and environmental project implementation. FPW has leveraged more than $80M local, state, and federal dollars, and is in large part responsible for the SMCRA AMLF reauthorization which resulted in $1.4B for the state of Pennsylvania. To date FPW’s leadership and watershed group assistance has resulted in the restoration of more than 660 miles of biologically dead, abandoned mine drainage (AMD) streams.