WASHINGTON – As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to clean up legacy pollution and revitalize the environment and economy of coal communities, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has awarded $132,000 in a cooperative agreement for a watershed restoration project in Coalton, West Virginia. OSMRE’s Watershed Cooperative Agreement Program provides funds to nonprofit organizations for the construction of acid mine drainage treatment facilities that help restore the health of local streams.

“Watersheds are essential for communities, supplying water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and recreational uses,” said OSMRE Regional Director Tom Shope. “WCAP funds help local nonprofit groups restore watersheds negatively impacted by abandoned mine lands and support citizen-based conservation in coal communities.”

The Save the Tygart Watershed Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the Tygart River and its tributaries, was awarded the WCAP funds to re-establish a viable aquatic ecosystem in the Kittle Hollow and Roaring Creek. This reclamation project includes the construction of open limestone channels, limestone leach beds, and wetlands/settling ponds to clean, treat, and collect the metals in the effluent before it enters Kittle Hollow. The association’s long-term goal for this site is to remove the Roaring Creek from West Virginia’s 303(d) list of impaired and threated water bodies.

“Save the Tygart is excited to be able to complete work on the remediation of the North Portals tributary of Kittle Hollow,” said Kelley Flaherty, the association’s executive director. “We look forward to the positive impact this will have on the quality of the water flowing into Roaring Creek.”

About the WCAP Program:

WCAP grants are typically around $100,000 per project to complete local acid mine drainage reclamation projects. Projects can include installation of passive or active water treatment systems, as well as reclamation of lands that contribute sediment or acid forming materials to streams. AMD projects are selected through a merit review process. WCAP grants result in partnerships that encourage long-term commitment to projects through engagement with local communities and environmental conservation.

– OSMRE –

OSMRE carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in cooperation with states and Tribes. OSMRE’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines.