Tioga River Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Project Design Contract Awarded

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May 12, 2022
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Tioga River Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Project

Design Contract Awarded

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Abandoned mine discharges have polluted the Tioga River for more than a century. Now the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (Commission), the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and the Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee (TCCCC) have a plan to stop it.

The Commission has awarded a nearly $1.5 million contract to Kleinfelder Inc. for the design of a mine discharge treatment plant to improve the quality of the Tioga River from Blossburg to Mansfield, PA.

Once constructed, the plant will actively treat five mine discharges. Three are currently degrading Morris Run, a tributary stream that flows into the Tioga River. Another is contaminating the nearby Fall Brook tributary. The collection and treatment system will also capture the largest mine discharge in the area - Coal Creek #5.

Treatment of these five discharges will not only restore the mainstem of the Tioga River, but will also restore parts of the Tioga-Hammond Lakes Recreation Area. Downstream water quality improvements and benefits are expected to flow across state lines as the Tioga River runs from Pennsylvania north into New York state.

For decades, the TCCCC has been involved in projects to clean-up waters affected by abandoned mine drainage pollution.

"Restoration of the Upper Tioga River Watershed will have significant positive environmental impacts for Tioga County, specifically the towns of Blossburg, Covington and Mansfield, as well as the Tioga Hammond Dam complex," explained Joyce Andrews, Secretary of TCCCC. "Benefits include recreational fishing opportunities, improved wildlife habitat, value-added for properties bordering the river, and overall improved aesthetics of the Tioga River corridor."

Abandoned mine discharges are a leading source of stream impairment in Pennsylvania with more than 5,500 miles of waterways affected statewide.

This project is funded in part by PADEP's Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Economic Development Pilot Program. TCCCC plans to contribute funding raised under their "Save the River" effort.

About the Susquehanna River Basin Commission

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is a federal/interstate governmental agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The Susquehanna rises and flows through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. For more information on the Commission, visit srbc.net or follow us on Twitter: @SRBCnews.