Wandering Aimlessly

 

Acid Mine Drainage Treatment

by Rich Summers

 

Most locals have heard of May Hollow since there is a Sportsman’s Club and hunt club located on 13,000 acres of land presently owned by Hancock Investments.  Most readers are probably more unfamiliar with names such as Finley, Portable, and Bender unless you are a native brook trout enthusiast or general “outer.”  In the ‘40s and ‘50s these areas were strip mined for coal by local businesses, and the regulations were such in those days that it was more lucrative for the coal strippers to forfeit their bond money than to reclaim the stripping operation.  This left what is referred to as “spoil piles” throughout this area and acid mine drainage which polluted this watershed.

Now that you know the history of the problem, it is nice to know that taxpayers’ dollars are now being spent to rectify the situation.  Over the past several years the local conservation district has been able to secure grant money to begin reclaiming this watershed and restore it back to health.  Todd Deluccia heads the local conservation district and is in charge of implementing and carrying out this project.  On August 29th, several local residents and I got to tour the treatment facility in Finley Run.  

 

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