Clinton County project among $7.8 Million in grants for environmental restoration projects

HARRISBURG, PA –The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has announced funding for 16 environmental restoration projects on abandoned mine lands, totaling $7.8 million dollars, including one in Clinton County. The county project will serve to improve Two Mile Run, a tributary of Kettle Creek in the northwestern corner of the county.

These projects, which are being funded as a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), primarily focus on the reclamation of abandoned mine land (AML), abatement of acid mine drainage (AMD) through reclamation, and/or treatment of AMD through the construction, operation, and/or maintenance of an AMD treatment facility.

The Clinton County project: Robbins Hollow (Swamp Area Rehab)

Routine maintenance of the Swamp Area passive treatment system will be performed to assure proper function of the system and continued treatment of the Twomile Run, a Class A Trout Stream. The maintenance will include improvements to the access road, cleaning the collection and conveyance methods, replacing limestone in the drainable limestone beds, replacing and or patching liners and organic material in three vertical flow ponds (VFP), cleaning and deepening the treatment wetlands, clearing unwanted vegetation, and postconstruction monitoring.

“Restoring these minelands and streams is a critical part to improving Pennsylvania’s environment and growing our economy. Every penny we invest into projects like these results in a better Pennsylvania for all of us,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. “These newly approved projects are just the first of many that are now possible as a result of the new IIJA funding, and we are going to continue to put these dollars to work in Pennsylvania.”