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Nov. 5
Keystone Energy Education Program Workshop, 8:30 a.m.,
Monroe County Conservation District, Stroudsburg
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Nov. 6
Keystone Energy Education Program Workshop, 8:30 a.m., DEP
South-Central Regional Office, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 6
Delaware River Basin Commission Flood Advisory Committee
meeting, 10 a.m., Nurture Nature Center, Easton.
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Nov. 6
Sewage Advisory Committee meeting, 10:30 a.m., Rachel
Carson State Office Building, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 7
Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting, 10 a.m., Rachel Carson
State Office Building, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 12
State Conservation Commission meeting, 1 p.m., Pa. Dept.
of Agriculture, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 13
Environmental Justice Advisory Board meeting, 8:30 a.m.,
Rachel Carson State Office Building, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 14
DEP Northwest Regional Roundtable meeting, DEP Northwest
Regional Office, Meadville.
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Nov. 19
Citizens Advisory Council meeting, 11 a.m., Rachel Carson
State Office Building, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 20
Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting, 9:30 a.m.,
Rachel Carson State Office Building, Harrisburg.
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Nov. 26
Keystone Energy Education Program Workshop, 8:30 a.m.,
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Homestead.
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Nov. 15
Public Participation Center Overview, 9:30 a.m. To
register, click
here.
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Nov. 25
Comment deadline on the draft Policy for the
Consideration of Community Environmental Projects in Conjunction with
Assessment of Civil Penalty
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Dec. 4
Comment deadline on the Policy for Implementing DEP's
Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee
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Innovative Partnership
Produces Dramatic Results in Cleanup of Acid Mine Drainage
ADAMS TWP., CAMBRIA CO. -- The operation of a newly
constructed acid mine drainage treatment facility in Adams Township,
Cambria County, is having a dramatic and visible impact on the water
quality of the Little Conemaugh River. The
once-orange waterway that was spoiled by acid mine drainage is showing
significant improvement thanks to a groundbreaking and historic partnership
among government, industry, watershed groups and the local community.
In 2012, DEP signed a consent order and agreement
with Rosebud Mining to treat the St. Michael discharge to eliminate a major
source of acid mine drainage while allowing the company to safely mine a
significant coal reserve adjacent to the discharge.
Because the treated water would still contain
relatively high levels of sulfates and Total Dissolved Solids, it would not
meet federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. This
roadblock threatened to kill the entire project until DEP staff worked with
EPA and the company to come up with a groundbreaking agreement for a
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for the St.
Michael facility.
The result was the first mining permit issued in
Pennsylvania to require Rosebud to document that its treatment of the St.
Michael drainage discharge and others, as part of its mining operation, is
improving water quality. It is also the first agreement to provide a method
to calculate and report acid mine drainage load reductions on the river.
Construction of the plant is now complete and the
test period of operation began in mid-July.
Gov. Corbett Thanks DEP Refinery Team
NORRISTOWN -- In 2011, Sunoco and ConocoPhillips announced
plans to sell or close their aging refineries in the Philadelphia metro
area. The economic implications for the region were profound.
As ideas for saving and repurposing these resources
began to emerge, DEP joined an aggressive effort to make the facilities
attractive to new investors and operators. The agency was prepared to work
at the speed of business without sacrificing environmental protections.
To date, DEP's Southeast Regional Office has
expedited approvals needed to close down old refinery operations and
construct new projects.
The projects include:
- Philadelphia Energy Solutions' plans to off-load and
process Bakken crude oil from North Dakota at
Sunoco's Philadelphia facility;
- Retrofits and new construction at the former Sunoco refinery
in Marcus Hook to support Braskem America and
Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, for the production of plastics, and the
processing and storage of 70,000 barrels per day of propane and ethane from
Marcellus shale in western Pennsylvania; and
- The transfer of ConocoPhillips refinery at Trainer to
Monroe Energy for the production of jet fuel for the airline industry.
At the heart of DEP's refinery turn-around effort was
a team of six members of the region's air quality program and an attorney,
who worked long hours and under tight deadlines to transfer permits, review
new applications, obtain emissions reduction credits and ensure compliance.
The team worked closely with buyers and sellers to reallocate refinery
assets with minimal disruption to operations – the kind of essential effort
that often goes unrecognized.
That was not the case for this team, however, who
were personally thanked by Gov. Tom Corbett during an Oct. 24 visit to the
department's Norristown office. Calling their work exceptional, Gov. Corbett
thanked Jim Rebarchak, Sachin
Shankar, George Eckert, Xiaoyin Sun, Janine
Tulloch-Reid, Heather Henry and Doug White for making the refinery
transitions, then joined Acting DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo
and Regional Director Cosmo Servidio in thanking
the regional management team for its good work.
Register Now for Pa. Brownfields
Conference Dec. 9-11
HARRISBURG -- Early bird registration is now
available for this year's Pennsylvania Brownfields
Conference to be held Dec. 9-11 at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel in King
of Prussia, Montgomery County. The conference is a collaborative effort of
DEP and the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania.
"Positioning for the Future" will highlight
building community partnerships, incorporating sustainable design into
projects, accessing financial assistance and keeping abreast of regulatory
changes. There will also be mobile workshops at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
and Conshohocken waterfront, a video showcase of success stories, technical
updates on market trends and treatment options, and a tiered track of
courses that will provide continuing education credits for professionals
attending the conference. The popular Extreme Makeover competition will
also take place.
Attendees will have the chance to network with local,
state and federal government officials, private developers, economic
development agencies and consultants. New to this year's conference will be
an optional opportunity to meet one-on-one with the directors of DEP's
regional offices and members of their environmental cleanup and local
government staff.
To register, visit the conference
website.
New Educational Video Features DEP Labs
HARRISBURG -- The operations and staff at DEP's
Bureau of Laboratories in Harrisburg are featured in a new educational
video on the department's new YouTube channel. The goal of the video is to
highlight and explain the complex technical work of this nationally-accredited
laboratory and how it supports DEP's mission of protecting public health
and the environment.
The YouTube channel is available on DEP's new online
Public Participation Center that was launched earlier this month.
Click
here to view the video.
  
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