STATE COLLEGE – The Department of Environmental Protection Thursday approved the Department of Transportation’s permit application for work that must be done to halt acidic water runoff from moveable pyritic rock at the Interstate 99 construction site in Patton Township, Centre County.
“Combined with the permit we issued earlier this month for the immoveable pyritic rock, this permit will allow PennDOT to do all the work necessary to permanently treat the acid rock drainage and eventually open the entire section of Interstate 99 from Skytop in Centre County to the Village of Bald Eagle in Blair County,” DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty announced at the regularly scheduled I-99 partners meeting in State College.
“DEP staff reviewed the permit application very carefully, and we responded to all the public comments we received during and after our July public hearing,” McGinty said. “I want to thank the citizens who engaged us in this effort. The final permit includes suggestions made by those who commented — and it represents an important step in solving what has been a large and extremely complex problem, enabling this project to move forward once again.”
The DEP water quality management permit addresses work that PennDOT will do at nine different locations, where 676,751 cubic yards of pyritic rock will be excavated and taken by truck a few miles to an engineered rock placement area to be constructed in Worth Township, Centre County, to eliminate any acidic water runoff from these areas.
Specifically, the permit allows PennDOT to:
* Transport the rock to the engineered rock placement area using the constructed portion of the highway that is not open to traffic;
* Mix the pyritic rock thoroughly with a neutralizing material before placement;
* Construct a geosynthetic double-liner system with an infiltrate collection system and a leak detection system to prevent acid discharges;
* Cap the facility once it is filled with a geosynthetic cap system to prevent precipitation from entering the fill. This system will include a mix of vegetation that will blend into the existing natural vegetation;
* Collect and haul any water that has contacted the pyritic rock to an approved treatment plant. There will be no discharge of this water to Bald Eagle Creek for a period of at least two years; and
* Monitor groundwater and surface water indefinitely to ensure no impacts from the facility are occurring.
“When the double-lined disposal facility is completed in accordance with our permit, it will provide a final resting place for the pyritic rock and protect the environment,” McGinty said.
DEP held a public meeting and hearing on the application for the moveable pyritic rock at the Bald Eagle Area high school auditorium June 20. Among the key suggestions made by the public and included in the final permit are the following:
* Protection of the watershed against discharges;
* Inclusion of a double liner at the disposal site;
* Enhanced wet weather procedures to control runoff; and
* Enhanced mixing ratio for neutralization of the acid rock.
“As we have said before, DEP will continue to work with our sister agency, its consultants and all of the I-99 partners to ensure a safe and final conclusion to this difficult situation,” McGinty said.
Earlier this month, DEP issued a water quality management permit to PennDOT for the immoveable pyritic rock. That permit addresses work PennDOT will do at the large cut-face, small cut-face and buttress/bifurcation to eliminate any acidic water runoff from pyritic rock in these areas.
DEP held a public meeting and hearing on the application for the immoveable pyritic rock at the Park Forest Middle School on May 15.
The I-99 partners include: DEP, PennDOT, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Patton Township, State College Borough Water Authority, Centre County Conservation District, ClearWater Conservancy and Penn State University, as well as other state and local elected officials.