Regional Coordinator’s Report

Regional Coordinator’s Repor= t

Bruce Golden

May 17, 2006=

2006 AMR Conference Planning

Planning activities a= re in high gear for this year’s AMR Conference. We have settled o= n the dates for the 2 day conference: Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26 with a mixer on the evening Thursday, August 24. It will = be held at the Atherton Hotel in State College. It will consist primarily of works= hops aimed at watershed groups with the theme “Back to Basics”, providing introductory and refresher materials on a variety of topics water= shed groups are likely to deal with.

We are working to kee= p costs for the participants as low as possible.&n= bsp; The program is still in the planning stage. All relevant program and registrat= ion information will be placed on the website www.TreatMineWater.com .

Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund Update

The US Senate has pas= sed an amendment that would renew the collection of per ton fees on coal production until June 30, 2007. House ac= tion has not yet happened but it is likely to pass, giving us yet another year to get a new bill passed.

Meanwhile PA Senators Santorum and Specter have introduced Senate Bill S.2616, which is largely b= ased on the Cubin-Rahall-Peterson (CRP) proposal of last year. As it stands, the major difference= from CRP is that during the first 5 years of enactment, funding to states would = be ramped up, with full funding thereafter. The money withheld in the ramp-up period would be dispersed in year 6. This is a kind of gimmick to have the bill score better by the Appropriations committee.

Although the legislat= ion has been introduced as a bill, if all goes as planned (so we are told) it will = be offered as an amendment to a pension bill.= Action in the Senate could take place by month’s end.

The AML Campaign will= likely not stand in the way of the bill as written, but holds that the fee be increased or at least held steady, as opposed to the 20% decrease as prescr= ibed in the legislation. The AML Campaign has actively solicited county commissions to pass resolutions supporting a fair bill that, among other things, endorses a fee increase or holding the fee steady. So far nearly 20 PA counties have passed such resolutions, which are being present= ed to Senators Santorum and Specter.

The Rendell administr= ation appears to support the bill.

The estimates for ann= ual funding to PA will eventually be on the order of $90 million, with a total payout of about $900 million over the 15 year life of the bill. After that = the money remaining in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund (now roughly $1.6 billion) could be used by states not yet finished with their high priority reclamation. The bill’s authors estimate only PA and WV will remain to draw on these funds. However, these estimates are= based on a number of factors that cannot be predicted with a great deal of accura= cy.

New OSM-VISTA intern for the Monitoring Support Growing Greener grant

Please welcome the ne= west member of the WPCAMR family, Jeffery Gerard, who is our new OSM-VISTA intern for the Monitoring Support program. Jeff is a new graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with a BS in Computer Science and several minors. Just as importantly for us, Jeff i= s a dedicated conservationist and volunteer with a broad and impressive skill s= et, and the will to make a difference. We have every confidence that Jeff is exactly the right person for t= he multi-discipline requirements for our Moni= toring Support for Passive Treatment Systems program.

Quick Response Program soon to be up and running= .

We are waiting for th= e final contract to be executed for the Quick Response program. WPCAMR received a $350,000 Growing Greener II grant that is meant to fund emergency repairs of Growing Greener eligible BMP’s, which would include passive treatment systems. WPCAMR is the fiscal pass through = to facilitate funding quickly. Otherwise DEP handles all other aspects of the program. Should your project be in need of emergency repairs, contact you local DEP Watershed Manager who will be your point of contact. Once the pr= ogram becomes operational, we will place the procedure and needed form on our web= site www.AMRClearinghous.org .

DEP Grants for innovative technologies

WPCAMR is the sponsoring (fiscal) organization for inn= ovate grants dealing with mine water treatment and resource recovery:<= /span>

In-situ treatment of mine pool water (Bioremedial) ($299,000)<= /li>
Innovative treatment technology utilizing activated iron solids for the removal of iron in a variety of chemical environments. (Deitz et.= Al. Consulting) ($279= ,221)
Investigation and optimization of vertical = flow pond flushing systems for vertical flow ponds (Hedin Environmental) ($= 189,813)

Contracts have been r= eturned to DEP for final approval. WP= CAMR will need to execute agreements with the firms doing this work. Since = Bob Eppley has had considerable experience with such arrangem= ents through Blacklick Creek Watershed Association, he has offered WPCAMR boiler-plate language as a basis for these agreements.

WPCAMR may charge up = to 2% administration for these grants.

Newly Awarded Growing Greener Grants<= /span>

Monitoring Support for Passive Treatment Sy= stems II ($166,000) – continuation of existing grant.
South Sandy Watershed Association Startup Grant ($5,000) – WPCAMR is fiscal sponsor as a service since group has not yet finalized their 501(c)3 status.

Contracts have been r= eturned to DEP for final approval. As above, WPCAMR will need to execute an agreement with SSWA.

Existing Growing Greener Grants

WPCAMR is currently administering 3 Growing Greener gr= ants which should be completed by end of first quarter 2006.

Revisiting 18 WPCAMR Passive Treatment Proj= ects: (most field work complete, final report needed - good training for Jeff Gerard= ).
TAG II: Scarlift Digitization and Website. (final report almost re= ady to be submitted)
Decision Maker Grant. (final report submitted)=

We have one Growing G= reener grants which is ongoing:

Monitoring Support for Passive Treatment Sy= stems: this grant is has gotten under way as and the data management system w= ork is in full swing. <= /o:p>

Bruce’s Computer Dies

With just a week to g= o before Growing Greener applications were due, my computer (which also acts as our = file server) refused to turn on. T= aking it to 4 different repair facilities, I got 4 different tentative diagnoses,= and estimates all in the several hundred dollar range and at least a week to fix. Given the almost 5 year = old computer was probably not worth the repair cost, I opted to buy a new compu= ter for less than $500 instead. D= uring the down-time, I was able to limp along by working from home. Fortunately my defunct computer wa= s well backed up, and I didn’t suffer any permanent data loss. Unfortunately, the transition to a= new computer when the old one is inoperative is laborious to say the least and = cost much valuable time. However, = I was able to finish my most important Growing Greener applications, provide the mandatory letters of acknowledgment to other GG applicants having AMD relat= ed problems, and configure the new computer, which is now up and running just fine.

Post script: After th= e above debacle, I was semi-convinced that I could figure out a cost effective way = to repair the old computer. In t= he process of taking things apart to determine part model numbers, I discovere= d a loose module. After firmly reseating said module and putting it back togeth= er, the old computer started up without fault.= I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a lesson in here somewhere.

Search for new Watershed Coordinator<= /span>

With the resignation = of Deb Simko as Watershed Coordinator, we are in the midst of a search for a replacement. Newspaper ads have been placed in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Johnstown Tribune Democrat, as well as email news letters DEP Update, Environmental Digest, and Watershed Weekly. Response has been quite good, with= 33 candidates. There appears to several with excellent credentials. Bob Eppley and Greg Phi= llips have provided the leadership during this transition.