PITTSBURGH — The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced it has awarded a $790,438 contract to extend a public water line past homes that have experienced long-standing issues of degraded water quality and water loss stemming from acid mine drainage and abandoned mines. The homes are located in Beccaria Township, Clearfield County.
“This project is one more step in our continued effort to reduce the impact of acid mine drainage and legacy mines on Pennsylvanians,” Environmental Program Manager for the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation Dean Baker said.
The project will extend the water line for more than 18,000 feet, past 23 homes. Eight of the 23 homes have experienced water quality issues. The line will be owned by the BCI Municipal Authority. Homeowners will have the option to tap into the line.
Numerous abandoned coal mining operations that ceased operation prior to August of 1977 have contributed to the degraded quality and quantity loss of water to the homes. The wells of the eight impacted homes can no longer supply enough quality water for homeowners, and in some cases, homeowners have been forced to obtain water from other sources and store it in tanks for use in their homes.
Water supplies in the impacted neighborhood do not currently meet minimum state of federal drinking water standards.
Work is expected to begin in November and take about five months to complete.
The contract for this project was awarded to Glenn Johnston Inc. of McKeesport, Allegheny County, and is being funded by a grant from the federal Office of Surface Mining. The federal fund is supported by a fee on the coal industry and is distributed to states as annual grants to reclaim mine sites that were abandoned prior to passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us.
