July 1998

THE CATALYST

Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Monthly Activities Update

Next meeting: Thursday, 7/09/98, 7:00 PM, 1^st floor Vincent Sci. Hall SRU. Topics: dedication at Jennings, ST39 discharge, other projects. Prior meeting: 6/11/98, Quality Aggregates Inc., Boyers Quarry. Attendees: S. Smith, J. Belgredan, F. Brenner, T. Danehy, M. Dunn, J. Ankrom, A. Duvall, C. Cooper, M. Clark, J. Clark, B. Clark

SRWC JUNE MEETING HELD IN BOYERS, PA

To say that there was a lot of interest at our last meeting would be an understatement! After presenting the SRWC with a recently-flown color aerial photo of the Boyers area, Jeff Ankrom and Allison Duvall, (summer intern at Quality Aggregates from Virginia Tech) led the group to a nearby discharge from an old surface coal mine in which the landowner and the neighbors are interested in working with the SRWC to improve the site drainage. The Knox District Mining Office has compiled and provided downstream monitoring data. This downstream point, ST39, characteristically has variable flows (20 to 500 gpm) with a pH less than 4 and low metals. Aluminum ranges from 2 to 6 mg/l, however. After "brain-storming" at the site, Dr. Fred Brenner, Grove City College, suggested that this would provide a real-life opportunity for students to study the ecosystem of the existing four-cell aerobic wetland. This study coupled with water monitoring at the toe-of-spoil would provide invaluable data for the design of a restoration plan. MaryJo and JoAnn Clark also discussed the possibility of the Girl Scouts helping to construct a short walking trail to the site. The meeting also included a tour of the Boyers Quarry. It would be difficult to determine who enjoyed the tour more--- the civil engineers or Ben Clark (elementary school student) who had his picture taken with each piece of equipment. The interest of all was demonstrated by their actions as the group voluntarily stood in the dark and in the rain to watch the start-up and operation of the crushing\processing plant!! Thanks again to Jeff and Allison!!!

SRU ECOLOGY CLASS STUDIES SRWC WATERSHED ACTIVITIES

Dr. Karen Kainer, (Sustainable Systems) provided the opportunity for her students to learn about the Coalition's activities and passive treatment technology. After a two-hour classroom presentation on 4/24/98 by Margaret Dunn which included the poster presentation of the activities in the headwaters and at Jennings Environmental Education Center, on 4/29/98 the class toured project sites. Tim Gillen and Jim Plesakov (Knox District Mining Office) provided a very clear and informative description of the specific projects. Included in the tour was the Chernichy/ Dreshman project in which Amerikohl Mining, Inc. is actively incorporating coal ash from the Scrubgrass Generating Plant into abandoned acid-producing spoils and the completed passive treatment projects at Argentine and Ferris. The students' questions were very insightful and their interest in our activities was very rewarding!!!!. Thanks to Karen Kainer, C.J. Morgante, Paula Anderson, Clare Hintz, Elisabeth Affleck, Jonathan Weaver-Kreider, Anthony Liguori, and John Patterson for providing us with the opportunity to present the activities of the Coalition. Thanks also for the honorarium which has been donated to Stream Restoration Inc.to be used for student studies.

On June 10, 1998, Darcy Peart was interviewed by Larry Berg on WISR radio in Butler, PA. (This year's attendees at the SRWC Symposium will remember the talks by Girl Scouts, Darcy Peart and MaryJo Clark regarding their experiences with the installation of passive systems at Jennings.) Annette Sherlock and Darcy noted that there are 2000 Girl Scouts in Butler County and that the programs are designed for girls of all ages. Darcy has been a Girl Scout for 10 years and is involved not only at Jennings but also with the training of adult leaders. Darcy discussed working with Charles Cooper,P.E.,P.L.S.(as part of her home-school program) operating an EDM transit and constructing "As-Builts" using computer-aided drafting. Darcy also mentioned attending the Three Rivers Environmental Awards Banquet (5/26/98) and being part of the winning team when C D S Associates, Inc. received the award in the category of Planning and Development. Congratulations to Annette and Darcy on their excellent interviews!!!!

Fourteen people involved in the Jennings and SRWC activities attended the Three Rivers Environmental Awards Banquet held on May 26, 1998. Winning these awards was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of us. Due to the significance of this honor to our volunteer-effort, there will be a special section in the next issue of "The Catalyst". Newspaper articles have already been published and an in-depth article regarding our efforts and those of other watershed groups is scheduled to appear in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review later this month.

For more informantion:

Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition, c/o Stream Restoration Inc. (PA Non-Profit), 338 Glen Eden Rd., Rochester, PA 15074 (724) 774-2813; fax (724) 7741219