By applying today’s responsible business practices to yesterday’s mines, we can stop acid mine drainage and restore Dunkard Creek to the way it used to be. So that one day, our kids (and their kids and their kids’ kids) will be able to fish for musky and smallmouth. Or go canoeing. Or simply go for a swim in water that’s as clear as the sky.



As a result of acid mine drainage—a serious problem shared by other communities with a legacy of resource extraction—the lower 6.2 mile portion of Dunkard Creek from Taylortown to Poland Mines faces a number of challenges, including:

• high levels of metals, acids, and suspended solids which have turned the water orange and made downstream waters uninhabitable for aquatic life.

• fish kills due to toxicity in the water.

• loss of recreational use.

Under a Targeted Watersheds grant from the EPA, the Greene County Watershed Alliance, in partnership with the Friends of Dunkard Creek, is collaborating with Stream Restoration, Inc. to address the impacts from acid mine drainage using clean-up technologies, partnership building, and hands-on environmental education.

To date, the alliance has:

• formed a broad-based watershed organization to bring together industry, environmentalists, scientists, government agencies, and local citizens to help solve the water quality problems.

• conducted numerous presentations to educate the public about the negative environmental impacts of acid mine drainage.

• participated annually in the Great PA Clean-Up to remove road- and creek-side trash.

• helped to organize and participated in the River Sweep clean-up along Dunkard Creek.

• provided support to partners in the clean-up of illegal dumping sites.

• created educational displays on acid mine drainage, passive wetland treatment systems, and water quality.

Currently, the alliance is working to:

• demonstrate a passive wetland system, a cutting-edge technology, to remove metals and other pollutants. This system will have the capacity to remove 50 tons per year of suspended solids in the form of heavy metals.

• create a new hands-on environmental education program that will showcase three acres of naturally functioning wetlands with about 30 native plant species. It will also explain wildlife habitat and stream water quality improvements.

• create a multi-year grassroots public outreach campaign to encourage community ownership of Dunkard Creek.

For more on the EPA’s Watershed Approach, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/approach.html

For more on the EPA’s Targeted Watersheds Grant Program, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/initiative/