The present investigation relied heavily on numerous records of deep diamond-drill holes and underground mine maps from various sources and reinterpretation of the PAGS Broad Top reference core hole drilled in 1984, which provided the first evidence of Glenshaw Formation (lower Conemaugh Group) marine zones in the coalfield—supplying a key to regional correlations. Based on analysis of local and regional datasets, identified Glenshaw marine zones in Broad Top include (all the following series of units in ascending stratigraphic order) the Woods Run, Noble, and Ames. Principal Broad Top units and their Main Bituminous field counterparts (in parentheses) representing key beds defining formational contacts are the Wood (Brookville) coal, Speer (Upper Freeport) coal, and Ames marine zone. In addition to the Wood and Speer, other important mineable coals include the Fulton (Lower Kittanning), Barnett (Middle Kittanning), Twin (Middle Kittanning rider), Barnettstown no. 1 (Upper Kittanning), Kelly (Lower Freeport), and Rogers (Harlem). Thus, the newly recognized or redefined mappable bedrock geologic units in Broad Top consist of the Pottsville, Allegheny, Glenshaw, and Casselman Formations and range in age from Early to Late Pennsylvanian (middle Morrowan to late Missourian), or from approximately 321 to 304 Ma, spanning about
17 Myr. 

​Speaker: Stephen R. Lindberg

Speaker:  Christopher L. Coughenour, PhD
​

​Speaker: Joan Hawk, P.G.
​You’ve never heard of them, have you?  Well, they made history in the Connellsville Coal Basin of Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the early1900s.  The American Manganese Manufacturing Company (AMMC) had bought out the holdings of the Dunbar Furnace Company in 1914 and included in the purchase were coal mines, beehive and by-product coke ovens, a silica plant, iron and manganese ores from the Great Lakes region, blast furnaces, and a laboratory.  They were poised to manufacture ferro-manganese, a necessary ingredient in the making of high-quality steel.  At the time, ferro-manganese was being exported from Great Britain and Germany as none was being made domestically.  AMMC was poised to “do it all” – mine coal, make coke, and manufacture ferro-manganese.  In fact, they were the first producer of ferro-manganese in the United States.  AMMC was a forward-thinking company for their time.  Dunbar Furnace Company had introduced by-product coke ovens into the Dunbar area in 1895 and were the second company to install them in the United States.  AMMC continued that trend.  But alas, in 1922, less than 10 years after their incorporation, they failed. In 1924 the property was sold, and the works were dismantled and sold for scrap.  Not a trace can found of these once great works.
What happened?  AMMC had been burdened with a strike and supply problem ins 1922, but, overall, their efforts were just too little, too late.  The Connellsville area had much of its coal mining and coke making history behind it when AMMC bought Dunbar Furnace Company.  The technology that they brought into the Connellsville basin was its ultimate undoing.  By-products ovens were being built near the steel mills and chemical plants, outside the Connellsville area--industries that directly used the by-products.  All that remains of AMMC’s legacy is a discharge from a small mine that apparently intercepted the workings of one of AMMC mines.  You can see the discharge as you hike along the Great Allegheny Passage trail near Connellsville, PA. 

Speaker:  Christopher Yeakle – DEP, Knox District Mining Office & assisted by Samuel Faith

District Mining Operations has decided to use the e-Permitting platform for the submittal of Hydrologic Monitoring Reports electronically.  Mine Operators can register in ePermitting and delegate who is authorized to submit reports for them, for example the lab or consultant.  When the report is submitted the Department’s database will automatically be updated with the date the report was submitted.  Hydrologic monitoring reports will be submitted in a spreadsheet with each monitoring point data included in a separate tab.  Instructions on how to register in ePermitting will be available soon on the Bureau of Mining Programs website.  Internal testing of the application began December 6.  External testing by a few operators and consultants will begin January 1, 2022 for the submittal of the 4th Quarter 2021 HMRs.  All operators should be able to begin submitting their HMR and Subchapter F & G data in April 2022 for the 1st quarter 2022.  

Speaker:  Christopher Yeakle – DEP, Knox District Mining Office & assisted by Samuel Faith

​District Mining Operations provided an update on the electronic submittal of Hydrologic Monitoring Reports (HMRs).  The ePermitting platform was chosen as the mechanism for the submittals.  A timeline for the implementation of this project was provided.  Testing by external users will be in January 2022 with a few selected operators submitting their 4th Quarter 2021 HMRs electronically.  If there are no major issues identified the system will be available for all operators in April 2022 to submit the 1st quarter 2022 HMRs. ​

• Speaker:  Jon Kasitz - Client Solutions Manager for RES Northeast Offices

 
Bio: Jon Kasitz serves as a Client Solutions Manager for RES’ Northeast offices. Based in Pennsylvania, Jon has been working with clients to solve environmental permitting challenges for energy and public/private sector projects since he began his career. Before joining RES in January 2015, Jon worked for 11 years with RETTEW Associates, a leading provider of comprehensive, integrated engineering and related consulting services, where he was Pipeline Market Manager. He holds a BS in Ecology and Biology from Millersville University.

Below are link that Jon likes to share to show what his restoration projects look like.
 
Robinson Fork Phase 1 project in Washington County:
https://vimeo.com/452200806/3043c60262
This project included over 20 miles of stream restoration, the largest of its kind ever completed in PA. Like all our mitigation bank projects, it was built with a floodplain restoration approach, where the stream and wetland restoration is integrated, generating both wetland and stream credit. This floodplain approach rebuilds the entire floodplain, dissipating the energy of the stream during flood events, and creates a lot of high value wetlands along a small, stable channel. There really is no one-sized-fits all approach for restoration, but in our experience this approach (where you have the room and appropriate conditions to work) creates high value wetlands, and also lower risk of having to come back and fix blown out structures. Most of the reaches in the video are around 3-4 years post construction.
Laurel Hill in Somerset County:
https://vimeo.com/438903909/a8df9a268f
This is from this last summer, and is particularly interesting in that it shows the active construction process, and the scope/magnitude of the construction efforts.
Codorus Creek Phase 1 in York County:
https://vimeo.com/451140831/9e1eb2ac82
This video is neat as it highlights some pre-construction photos, as-builts (2019) and Year 1 post-construction shots https://vimeo.com/452200806/3043c60262
(July 2020). We are actually building a second phase of this bank (directly downstream) later this year.

Jon Kasitz
jon@res.us
717.371.6797

Speaker: Randy Miller, Territory Manager of TOPCON SOLUTIONS STORE
Randy Miller has been in the Positioning business for 27 years, the past 21 years with Topcon and Topcon Solutions. During that time, he has worked extensively with engineers, surveyors, construction companies and governmental agencies.

To contact Randy for more information & questions, please email him at
​rmiller@topconsolutions.com
Here is the link to their website: www.topconsolutions.com

​Dr. Mohammad Rezaee is Thomas V. and Jean C. Falkie Mining Engineering Assistant Professor in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. His research results have been published in prestigious journals, books, and conference proceedings. He has received several awards including 2019 Outstanding Young Engineer award from the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.