21-03-2025
Lt. Gov. Davis visits new Indiana County water treatment facility
VINTONDALE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (D) visited the new Blacklick Creek Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Facility that discharges elements from the water.
Metals and chemicals pollute Blacklick Creek, with more pouring into the stream. One-third of abandoned mines in the nation reside in the Commonwealth, which is the most out of any state.
State officials took note of the problem and where it stems from.
'We recognize that Pennsylvania was a powerhouse that literally built America, but we paid a pass for our heavy industrial manufacturing sectors,' Davis said. 'And so we're working every day to make sure that our communities can thrive going forward, both from a health standpoint but also from an economic standpoint. And this project goes a long way in achieving those goals.'
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The project cost $27 million, paid by state funds and federal programs. It took years to develop the area.
'We've been dealing with some of these issues for 40 years to 50 years,' Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley said. 'And in 2006 is when we really started talking about solutions to cleaning up the Blacklick Creek and we went through a planning process.'
Both Davis's party and Shirley's team toured the plant together. Local officials from both Indiana and Cambria counties joined along to see how the treatment plant works.
The facility plans to pump 7 million gallons of water per day at an operating cost of $600,000. The plant will filter elements like iron, aluminum and manganese from orange water before settling down in large silos and being sent out toward the 25-mile long waterway.
'It's something that you can see when it comes to environmental, not all environmental improvements you actually see right away, but this is one that you can see right away,' Shirley said. 'And I think the folks that live here and use this water body very soon will start to see the positive impacts of this facility.'
'This is, an exciting day for a project that has been over almost 20 years in the making to get abandoned mine drainage filtered and back into the community to make sure that we can revitalize wildlife, bring back fishing and create economic opportunity from the creek that runs through Vintondale,' Davis added.
The main goal is to clean up areas where wildlife likes to roam and live, like the fish in the creek. Their efforts will look to boost the state's $19 billion outdoor recreation industry and areas like the Ghost Town Trail.
'It's not a silver bullet, but it's part of our economy, and people love that,' Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said.
The Blacklick Creek facility is up and running but more may be on the way. Twelve other sites are being developed, and state officials have a plan for what to do moving forward.
'Federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill really is able to kick start a lot of these design projects,' Shirley said. 'I think very soon we will see more plants like this come online all across the state of Pennsylvania.'
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