Acid mine drainage has stained Pennsylvania streams orange for generations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes abandoned mine drainage as “water that is polluted from contact with mining activity, and normally associated with coal mining.” Across southwest Pennsylvania, that pollution is one of the most visible legacies of more than a century of coal extraction.
The Colcom Foundation has funded efforts to treat it. Through its partnership with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Foundation has supported acid mine drainage remediation on the Clarion River, and the results show up in the river’s wildlife.
Mussels and Hellbenders Come Back
Freshwater mussels have repopulated stretches of the Clarion that were once too polluted to support them. So have eastern hellbenders, North America’s largest salamander. Both are sensitive indicators of water quality. Mussels filter water constantly, and hellbenders breathe through their skin, which means they need cool, clean streams to survive.
The return of hellbenders carries extra weight. In December 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the eastern hellbender as endangered, citing sediment and water-quality decline. Restored reaches of the Clarion offer the species habitat at a time when federal regulators consider it imperiled.
Matching Treatment to the Source
Remediation is rarely one-size-fits-all. Colcom Foundation funds both passive and active treatment systems, and each project’s method is chosen to fit the specific pollution source at that site. Passive systems generally rely on natural processes such as constructed wetlands or limestone beds, while active systems use added chemicals or machinery.
Other grantees extend this work across the region. The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, a Colcom Foundation grantee, uses matching funds to help local groups win state and federal awards for treatment systems. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Pennsylvania Environmental Council add reforestation, riparian planting, and streambank stabilization along the region’s river basins.
The Clarion’s recovery shows what sustained funding for this kind of work can accomplish. Rivers once written off as damaged can again hold species that need clean water to live. Refer to this article for related information.
Learn more about Colcom Foundation on http://conservativetransparency.org/donor/colcom-foundation/