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WATER IMPROVEMENTS FORECAST AT PENNSYLVANIA MINES

Release Date: 09/29/2000
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2000

WATER IMPROVEMENTS FORECAST AT PENNSYLVANIA MINES

On Sept. 22, EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) signed an innovative Project XL agreement that will lead to increased re-mining and reclamation of abandoned Pennsylvania coals mine sites, thus providing water quality improvements in eight watersheds at little or no cost to taxpayers. These mining operations are now subject to Federal requirements that set numerical effluent limits at individual discharge points; however, operators currently run the risk of exceeding those limits at closed mines. The state environmental agency has proposed replacing the effluent limits with Best Management Practices, and requiring compliance with ambient, non-point pollutant concentration limits. When these best management practices have been used at other re-mining sites, they have improved water quality and achieved the required limits. In return, for mine operators establishing best management practices, EPA and PADEP will grant flexibility for currently required effluent limits for preexistent effluent discharges from abandoned mining sites.

R-140 ###