For as long as he can remember, the rivers and streams flowing through Bobby Hughes’ hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, have carried orange water.

“As a kid, we knew not to run our hands over the rocks or take our shoes off in certain parts of the streams. If we did, our skin would stain orange,” said Bobby.

The rust-colored waters get their color from iron oxide and other toxic mineral deposits. Upstream from the town of Ashley, a coal community in northeastern Pennsylvania, millions of gallons of clean water disappear beneath the earth’s surface each day. This lost water flows underground through abandoned mines hundreds of feet below, and ultimately resurfaces downstream, carrying toxins and pollutants into the community’s waterways from abandoned mine tunnels.

Bobby Hughes, a lifelong native of the Wyoming Valley, is the Executive Director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). For nearly 30 years, he and his colleagues have been working to reclaim abandoned mine lands and restore watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage.

What’s Happening Beneath the Surface of These Stained Streams

As waters empty from the abandoned mines and resurface, they’re introduced to the water supply in downstream communities. Coalfield communities need water treatment facilities that can filter out the mine water pollution.

These watersheds also feed river systems downstream, which means mine-polluted waters are also flowing into the central and western parts of the state destined for the Susquehanna, Delaware, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

Far too many communities in eastern Pennsylvania are impacted by abandoned mine water pollution.

Removing Pollutants from Waterways Costs Far Less Than Long-Term Water Treatment

Bobby expects Federal investments in abandoned mine land reclamation in Pennsylvania to give his team and their partners at the Earth Conservancy the muscle they need to clean many of the state’s impaired waterways for good.

“Everything is connected,” Bobby explained. “This polluted water can impact our public water supply, the ground where we live, and the parks and recreation areas where our children play. We’re not just talking about polluted streams. The long-term health of our community and every Pennsylvania community downstream is at risk.”

Right now, costly water treatment facilities are needed to remove pollutants and improve the water. With funding for watershed restoration, Bobby hopes that we can keep streams above ground where they belong, minimizing the costs of long-term water treatment.

“We have a short window of opportunity to take advantage of the Federal funding, like that from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other sources, that Pennsylvania needs to do this restoration work,” Bobby said. “Reclaiming land and restoring streams is an expensive undertaking, but it’s nothing compared to the costs of long-term operation and maintenance of water treatment facilities.”

When Streams are Restored and Land is Reclaimed, Jobs Start Flowing

Lifting water back up to the surface takes a large number of resources, including engineering firms, contractors, and the many workers they employ.

“Federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is going to be a real shot in the arm for the many organizations needed to pull off this work,” Bobby said. “And we know that once land in coal communities is reclaimed, businesses and jobs follow.”

“The rural communities in the Wilkes-Barre area need good-paying jobs to sustain their families,” he added. “Our coal lands are finally starting to become attractive locations for manufacturing facilities and other large employers, bringing much-needed jobs to our area.”

According to Bobby, the streams flowing through the Wyoming Valley are only a few of the 5,500 miles of polluted streams that need to be restored.

“Returning thousands of miles of streams to the surface rather than having them lost to the mines will give coal communities in Pennsylvania a much better quality of life, “Bobby said. “Our kids will be able to play outside and fish and swim in the streams. We’ll be able to enjoy the beauty of Northeastern Pennsylvania as it was intended knowing our families are safe.”