Presentations

The PA AMR Conference Planning Committee is developing a conference program! Here are the presentations approved to date in no particular order.

“Kiski Valley Watershed Association Capacity Development”, Laura Hawkins, Allegheny Ridge Corporation

For more than a decade, many watershed associations have experienced little or no increases or turnover in board leadership and volunteer rolls.  They devote their time and expertise toward projects, and have little to devote to board and volunteer recruitment/donor development, training and orientation, recognition and retention.  To help address this issue, Allegheny Ridge Corporation is working on a capacity development initiative with 3 watershed associations in the Kiskiminetas Valley. The goal is to establish sustainability for watershed associations using the following objectives: evaluate board, volunteer, and financial needs/strengths; create board and volunteer training and orientation materials; implement local, targeted marketing; engage 5-10 new board members, volunteers, donors per each association.  The project is designed to leave associations with replicable materials and strategies for ongoing application.  This project was financed in part with a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the Heritage Areas Program Fund under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, and managed by Allegheny Ridge Corporation as part of its signature initiative, the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway™.  The Greenway is a 320-mile corridor of heritage sites and hub communities linked by land and water trails.  Grant funding was also made possible through the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds (FPW). FPW is a nonprofit, grant-making organization working to protect the best and restore the rest of Pennsylvania’s streams.

Laura is the Greenway Coordinator with the Allegheny Ridge Corporation, where she has worked for over 20 years.  She has 35 years of experience.  She was educated at WVU in social work and community mental health.

“Understanding AMD Data – Is it Good or is it Crap?”, Tim Danehy, BioMost, Inc.

Water analysis data for abandoned mine drainage (AMD) is the foundation on which all water treatment projects are built. It is paramount that the samples are collected in a location and manner that will provide the best information possible to avoid costly design mistakes. The quality of the data received from the laboratory is just as important. Over 20 years ago the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Tiff Hilton, Chuck Cravotta, and others led a successful effort to ensure that laboratories reported correct values for acidity. The author has witnessed an erosion of this institutional knowledge and hopes to bring the importance of good data to the forefront of AMD treatment. This presentation will discuss where and how to collect water samples, field techniques (including flow measurement!), how to review laboratory results to ensure that we are using good data, and how to check if your data is crap.  

Tim is the President of BioMost, Inc, which was established 30 years ago.  He is a graduate of Slippery Rock with a BS of Environmental Science.

“Update on BAMR Projects and Funding”, Joe Sassaman, PA DEP BAMR

Presentation will discuss updates to abandoned mine land funding, current projects, and ongoing priorities.

Joe is the Assistant Bureau Director for PA DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR).  He has 17 years of experience with BAMR and has an MS in Geoenvironmental Studies, LPG.

“DEP-BAMR AML/AMD Grant Program Stats”, Cindy Wolfe, PA DEP BAMR

Join us to review the statistics of the AML/AMD Grant Program since its inception in 2022 and participate in an open discussion regarding the information shared.

Cindy is the current Grant Program Manager for the AML/AMD Grant Program.  She has worked for PA DEP for over 25 years.

“Navigating 2CFR200 compliance:  Understanding Procurement, Indirect Rate Cost Determination, and Allowable Costs”, Deb Nardone, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds

The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds (FPW) will lead a practical and accessible session on navigating 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) for nonprofit organizations and grant recipients. This presentation will break down key compliance requirements – including allowable costs, procurement standards, indirect cost rates, and financial management systems – into clear, actionable guidance. Drawing on FPW’s experience as both a grantmaker and a steward of federal funds, the session will highlight common pitfalls, share real-world examples, and offer tools to help organizations strengthen compliance while maintaining mission focus.  Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of federal grant requirements and strategies to confidently manage and implement funded projects.

Deb is the Executive Director for the Foundation of Pennsylvania Watersheds.  She has spent over 30 years working on water quality issues.  Deb has a BS from Juniata college in geology and political science, MS from Penn State in Environmental Pollution Control.

Request for Presentations

The PA AMR Conference Planning Committee is accepting presentation proposals for this conference. Please use our Request for Presentations form to let us know you are interested and to submit information about your presentation.

We encourage a wide range of topic submissions, including but not limited to:

  • New abandoned mine drainage (AMD) treatment system technologies, tools, and products
  • Construction case studies and lessons learned
  • Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation, reforestation, and reuse
  • Water quality monitoring and other field work
  • Operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation of treatment systems
  • Non-profit organization capacity issues
  • Community involvement, volunteer engagement, education, and outreach
  • Coal mining history and heritage preservation
  • Mapping, drones, equipment, and other helpful new technologies
  • Legislative updates and concerns at all levels of government
  • Economic redevelopment, health and safety, and quality of life topics
  • Climate change, energy, and mine pool reuse (ex. geothermal and rare earth element extraction)

In the past, we have had such varied topics as the history of baseball in coal patch towns, prevention of Lyme disease, preserving collieries, computer software designed technologies, reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Fund, economic benefits of reclamation, abandoned mine land issues in Germany and Bolivia, the establishment and support of non-profit organizations, and everything in between. If your topic can be related to what our community does, we would love to consider it for the conference!

Submissions and questions should be emailed to Anne Daymut at anne@wpcamr.org.