Shamokin Creek
Watershed
The Formation of the SCRA
1996
In 1972, Operation Scarlift reported 54 discharges in the watershed, ranging from intermittent to several million gallons per day. Five remediation plans were proposed, but no water quality treatment resulted from the Scarlift study.
It wasn't until 1994 when Dr. Carl Kirby, a geology professor at Bucknell University, was contacted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to assess the Shamokin Creek Watershed. David Moratelli, an engineering technician at the Northumberland County Conservation District (NCCD), initiated this assessment and wrote the draft proposal for funding. The resulting project was the first attempt to deal with acid mine drainage in the Shamokin Creek Watershed. The assessment involved several Bucknell University students performing fieldwork, lab work, and map construction and was completed in 1995.
By 1996, community members began meeting monthly, naming themselves the "Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance" (SCRA). The Internal Revenue Service granted the SCRA tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status in December.
Community Involvement
1997
The first project the SCRA tackled together was to apply for a 319 grant, a nonpoint source pollution program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The NCCD applied for a grant to restore Scarlift Site 42: the water was reasonably treatable, and it was the second largest discharge in the watershed. Unfortunately, the SCRA’s grant proposal would eventually be turned down. They would go on to apply for two more large 319 grants in 1998. In the meantime, the group was busy sampling water and installing weirs throughout the watershed.
During this time, the SCRA held their first annual stream bank cleanup. The current president of the SCRA stresses that the cleanup was the group’s first major public exposure in the Mt. Carmel/Shamokin newspaper. In the years to come, many local businesses became involved in the annual cleanup: the Shamokin Bi-Lo, dentists’ offices, the Shamokin Burger King, McDonalds, the city of Shamokin, Northwestern Academy, and Northumberland County Area Vocational-Technology school.
A Growing Investment
1998
The county finally awarded the SCRA a grant for equipment and materials conducive to their goals. In 1998, the NCCD submitted a 319 grant proposal to DEP on behalf of the SCRA for the construction of a treatment site within the watershed at Site 42. The grant received approval in 1999, and Bucknell University matched their funding.
The SCRA applied for and received another grant from the Office of Surface Mining. In 1998, Dr. Charles Cravotta of the United States Geological Society (USGS) Lemoyne, PA office wrote and the NCCD submitted a grant on the behalf of the SCRA for the funding to conduct a comprehensive watershed assessment of Shamokin Creek. The grant would eventually be approved in July of 1999. In April of 1998, the SCRA held its second annual stream bank cleanup, involving more members of the community.
Bucknell Involvement
1998
During the summer of 1998, two Bucknell students performed a pre-treatment assessment of the Carbon Run sub-watershed. These results were used by the SCRA and Bucknell to monitor the success of the Site 42 treatment system. In the fall of 1998, the SCRA began its development of a comprehensive plan for the entire watershed as an important step in receiving funding from the DEP and the EPA, focusing not only on AMD but also agricultural and sewage runoff.
Once the grant was approved students at Bucknell started planning for the design of the treatment site. Participants of this treatment project include Bucknell students and staff, local citizens, professionals, NCCD, Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, Damariscotta Inc. (company performing the design work), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), local high schools, and EPCAMR.
Acquiring Grants
2000s
In 1999, the NCCD received a grant from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. This grant payed for half the cost of preparing a conservation plan for the watershed, building upon the USGS-led assessment. The remaining half of the funds were in-kind services from the USGS, Bucknell, EPCAMR and Canaan Valley Institute. Also, EPCAMR and the Canaan Valley awarded the SCRA grant money for equipment and educational purposes. During the spring, a DEP Watershed Task Force was formed with the SCRA.
The SCRA also worked with Drexel University and Bucknell students to identify land ownership and construction of GIS maps and compile data from DEP. The area Vocational Technology school gave them a grant to create a retention pond, another form of AMD passive treatment, for Scarlift Site 48. They followed up the summer’s chemical and hydrological data with macroinvertebrate sampling and electrofishing. The SCRA was also awarded another grant by the DEP for the purchase of GIS software.
When the plan of Site 42 treatment system was finished, D. A. Kessler Construction was hired, and construction began.
Project Growth
2000s
In 2000 the SCRA constructed its first treatment site at Carbon Run Site 42. Funding was provided by a DEP 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant. In August of 2002, the SCRA and Northumberland County Conservation district received funding for Acid Mine Drainage Characterization and Treatment Planning at the Big Mountain AMD Discharges (Sites 23-28).
In 2003, with funding from a US Office of Surface Mining grant, the Site 48 treatment system was constructed near the Northumberland County Vo-Tech school.
Construction of our fourth passive mine drainage treatment system in the Shamokin Creek watershed at Site 15 began in the summer of 2004. Treatment began in September 2006 and the system was fully functional by the spring of 2007. This site is easily accessible from SR 901. In 2009, fencing was added around treatment ponds.
Continued Success
2010s
From 2011 to 2015 the Swift Coal Breaker site in Paxinos, PA was an ongoing reclamation project of the SCRA. Breaker debris was removed, land cleared and graded, and grass planted. On April 18th, 2014, in conjunction with Earth Day, and through the hard work and planning of the Northumberland County Conservation District, SCRA partnered with Dave/Lynn Nursery in Paxinos to plant trees throughout the Swift Breaker site. Also, in 2014, two cleanups were completed in the Shamokin/Coal Township area. The first cleanup was completed by SCRA members for the Brush Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce “Duck Race”. A second cleanup event occurred in October on the Big Mountain Road in Coal Township. Trash was collected along a 1 mile stretch of roadway over a 3-day period. Major assistance was provided by CT-SCI inmates. Additional help was provided by SCRA members and a few generous citizens. A 30-yard dumpster was filled, and numerous tires were sent for recycling.
Recent Activity
2015
The SCRA saw a year filled with activity in 2015. We installed a limestone drain on the southwestern branch of Carbon Run which will treat water from an aluminum stripping pit that is discharging into Carbon Run. We installed a series of wetlands to treat water discharging from the Bluegill pond, a northwestern tributary to Carbon Run. Also, in partnership with Northumberland County Conservation Group, and with funding from a PA Growing Greener grant, we made enhancements to Site 42 North Mountain Tunnel treatment ponds. While Site 15 was operating as planned, sediment was accumulating faster than expected. The Alliance received a Quick Response grant from PA DEP Office of Surface Mining to purchase and install a flow splitter box at the site which would stabilize the flow of water into our treatment ponds as the output from the mine tunnel often fluctuates and contributes to the faster sediment accumulation. Additionally, we completed a final tree planting project at the former site of the Twin Creek breaker/washer.
Recent Activity
2016-17
In 2016 the Carbon Run acid mine drainage project kicked off with contractors who toured Site 42, Headwaters and the Project. Included with this project was dredging of Site 42 to remove orange sludge, installing limestone lined channels, and rebuilding the area to correct and prevent future erosion issues. In partnership with the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area and the Northumberland County Conservation District, the Carbon Run/Bluegill project was completed in July 2016. The SCRA also participated in the Anthracite Heritage Festival in Shamokin on Memorial Day weekend. The SCRA has provided a booth at the Heritage Festival for many years to educate the community on the effects of Acid Mine Drainage.
In 2017 the SCRA partnered with Northumberland County Conservation District, the Pennsylvania Environmental County, Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Weiser Forest to coordinate a tree planting project for Earth Day. Over 3,500 seedlings were planted by more than 100 volunteers, including: Aqua Pennsylvania Roaring Creek employees, Mount Carmel high school students, Bucknell University football team, Susquehanna University students and numerous members of the local community.
Looking Forward
2024+
Now that we have hit 2024, we have to start thinking of new ways to serve our main stakeholders. Our vision is to have healthy streams and creeks throughout the Shamokin Creek watershed which will support aquatic life and promote wildlife habitat restoration and preservation. With your help and our continued love for the Shamokin Creek Watershed, we will be able to continue this necessary work for decades to come.