STORIES OF PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING HEALTHY WATERS
PA TOWNSHIP GETS RESULTS IN APPROACH TO CLEANING STREAMS
Broad Top, PA, February 2015

Treatment pond for mine drainage discharge

Township places high priority on cleaning
streams

Using own plans, employees and equipment
Supported with EPA Section 319 Clean Water
Act funds

Major creek taken off list of impaired waters;
streams showing positive results

Success/Progress Story: Do-it-yourself approach to watershed cleanup yielding results.

General Information:

A small town in Pennsylvania has taken watershed cleanup matters into its own hands ¦
paying off.

and the efforts are

Broad Top Township has put the cleaning of its streams on par with maintaining roads, using its own plans,
employees and equipment to restore and protect waters impacted by abandoned mine drainage and
bacteria. EPA, through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Nonpoint Source
Program, has helped provide Broad Top with the tools to get the job done.

Specifics:

Since 2005, the township has received more than $3 million in
EPA Section 319 Nonpoint Source Clean Water Act funds to design and
construct systems to treat the mine drainage. About $500,000 of those
funds have been focused on Longs Run.

—j-r-

Broad Top Twp., PA

The results? Streams are improving. In fact, in December 2014,

EPA approved a request by Pennsylvania to take Longs Run off a list of impaired waters. The creek is now
meeting clean water standards and criteria.

The rural community in Bedford County with a population of under 2,000 has found the personal touch to
be the most cost-effective and sustainable approach to improving streams in Longs Run Watershed. That
approach started in the mid 1990's when Broad Top Township officials created a program to manage septic
systems and control bacteria at a nominal cost to homeowners.

By the mid 2000's, Broad Top had developed a watershed-based plan and was installing systems to treat the
abandoned mine drainage. To date, the township has completed 35 "passive treatment systems" that use a
series of ponds, including one lined with high-calcium limestone, to strip the water of acidic chemicals and
metals.

Township Secretary David Thomas said Broad Top is unique in that the work is done in-house with a team of
five highly-trained staff, rather than through contractors at higher cost. The only contracting is for design
and permitting. Township employees monitor the systems to ensure proper functioning and check the
streams for water quality improvements. Also, with access to equipment and operators they can make
immediate repairs when needed.

A number of watershed groups and communities have contacted the township to get information on its
practices. Said Thomas, "We have a very good field lab for people to come, look and learn how we do it."

Fred Suffian, 4-5753

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