RIDGWAY — Elk County Conservation District and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will receive grant money to reclaim two sites affected by acid mine drainage.
The two sites being reclaimed are Dark Hollow and West Creek. Dark Hollow flows into Dents Run, which flows around Benezette Township, most concerningly near the elk viewing area the region is known for.
West Creek more broadly flows into Fishing Creek, which runs into the Susquehanna River, making the environmental impact of the waterway much larger than its 9-mile length. These sites are receiving grant money awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to reimburse expenses.
The site in Dark Hollow is receiving close to $224,000 and the site in West Creek is receiving more than $1,900,000. This new support is part of an initiative made by the federal government under the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The reason for the disparity in funding is Dark Hollow already has an existing reclamation system that needs some modification and has to hire a consultant to make those changes. Meanwhile, West Creek has no system or facility in place, so the nearly $2 million will be put toward the construction of two passive treatment systems near St. Marys. Elk County’s history of acid mine drainage dates back to its coal and clay extraction operations in the late 1800s. Most of the sites were closed up by the early 1920s, leaving them open to flooding from rain and snowmelt. Since then, surrounding waterways have been slowly degrading.
The drainage itself is the process of acidic runoff dissolving heavy metals and flowing into nearby creeks and streams. Waterways affected become more acidic and an undesirable orange color, leaving most life around it dead or severely unhealthy. This has been a problem felt all over the state, and efforts have been made to reclaim areas affected by the drainage.
The passive systems being built in West Creek will mix the contaminated water into a lime solution that will lower the acidity. Then the dissolved heavy metals will solidify and separate from the water, leaving the newly purified water to be pumped back out into the creek.
