It isn't news to our community that Pennsylvania's historical unregulated coal mining practices left a legacy of environmental and socioeconomic liabilities for future generations to contend with.
Many of us are also aware of some of the ingenious ways we have dealt with the pollution caused by abandoned mine lands and were able to turn a liability into an asset.
For instance, generating electricity from the flow of abandoned mine drainage or using the geothermal properties of abandoned mine pools to heat and cool buildings are ideas and practices that have been played with in recent years.
But, have you ever made a list of all of the benefits we get from abandoned mine lands? We have, and we produced this new video to explore and highlight some of our favorites.
Looking for a holiday gift that will please the most discriminating taste and help the environment? Consider pottery products from Clean Creek. Clean Creek Products, a division of Stream Restoration Inc., a nonprofit watershed restoration organization, was formed to market the metals recovered in treating abandoned mine drainage. One of the uses for these metals is in ceramic pottery glazing.
Pennsylvania is beginning to tackle its mammoth and long-neglected stormwater runoff problems, beginning the work in some unlikely places.
Delaware River Basin Commission Executive Director Steve Tambini Wednesday announced storage levels in two reservoirs in the Schuylkill and Lehigh river valleys of Pennsylvania are quickly approaching levels that would require the Commission to issue a lower basin drought warning unless the region receives much-needed rainfall.
New drinking water testing for lead and copper by more than 2,859 public water supply systems found 11 exceeded both the lead and copper action levels, 79 exceeded only the lead action level, and 42 exceeded only the copper action level. DEP has posted the results on its Safe Drinking Water webpage that can be searched by public water system name and other criteria.
As part of its 14th year of “Prepare Now” education efforts, the Public Utility Commission Thursday urged utilities to help Pennsylvania consumers prepared for handling the costs associated with upcoming winter energy bills.
Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday applauded the work of DCNR’s Green Ribbon Task Force, a panel of forestry experts from private, public and academic sectors, that has been meeting regularly since January to analyze current limitations to forest conservation and job growth, and to develop an action plan to address both objectives. The Task Force issued its Final Report to the Governor making 5 key recommendations--
PA Environment Digest is edited by David E. Hess, former Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and is published as a service of Crisci Associates.
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