The McKean County Conservation District was awarded $164,181.00 through DEP’S Bureau of Abandoned Reclamation Abandoned Mine Land and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program Grant for a watershed-based surface-water quality assessment of the Scaffold Lick Run watershed.

This grant is focused on a watershed-based surface-water quality assessment of the Scaffold Lick Run watershed located primarily in Liberty Township. This stream flows from one of the only parts of McKean County that contains economic coal reserves and historic mining activity has left approximately 520 acres of abandoned mine land. A total of 16.4 miles of stream is listed as impaired due to acid mine drainage on DEP’s Integrated Water Quality Report of impaired and threatened waters.

The District has secured the services of Hedin Environmental to provide an updated detailed assessment of the current water quality and watershed conditions and provide a plan for the most cost-effective restoration projects.   Through the partnerships the District has developed with the private landowners and the PA Game Commission; the primary goal of this project is to develop a watershed restoration plan with the ultimate goal of removal of all streams in the Scaffold Lick Run watershed from DEP’s Integrated Water Quality Report and reclamation of AML features to remove hazards and improves the productivity of the landscape.