If Pennsylvania has
a patron saint when it comes to abandoned mine reclamation, it would
be John Dawes, the executive director of the Foundation for
Pennsylvania's Watersheds. The foundation specializes in facilitating
grants to environmental and watershed associations statewide. This
seed money allows groups to leverage it for additional funding from
state and federal agencies.
John is clearly
passionate about the issue of abandoned mine reclamation and, in
2006, he led the effort for the reauthorization of the federal
Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Fund. Since that time, the fund has
contributed significant monies to Pennsylvania for historic mine
reclamation. These monies come in the form of a coal tonnage fee,
currently 32 cents per ton.
It is the
championing of this effort that prompted the Department of Interior's
Office of Surface Mining to today bestow its 2014 ECHO Award on John Dawes.
In this case, “ECHO” stands for “Environment, Community,
Humanity and Ownership,” and John lives and breathes those
concepts, possessing a deep understanding of land and water issues in
Pennsylvania and bringing together coalitions that effect positive
change on the landscape.
It was the Pennsylvania delegation that led the charge for the reauthorization of the AML Fund almost a decade ago, a campaign which John was honored to chair. PennFuture was equally honored to work alongside John to help make this happen.
It was the Pennsylvania delegation that led the charge for the reauthorization of the AML Fund almost a decade ago, a campaign which John was honored to chair. PennFuture was equally honored to work alongside John to help make this happen.
Prior to the
reauthorization of the law, monies to states for mine reclamation was
handled via appropriations committee. It is now mandatory spending.
Last year, Pennsylvania received $59 million from the federal
government for its mine reclamation efforts.
In addition to
helping to restore landscapes, streams, and communities,
reclamation efforts provide jobs, whether it's land grading,
reforestation or installing storm water controls.
John Dawes is one of the most committed environmentalists and conservationists I know, and his consistent pursuit of remediation for the environmental impacts of our coal mining legacy has resulted in improvement for hundreds of miles of streams and rivers in Pennsylvania.
John Dawes is one of the most committed environmentalists and conservationists I know, and his consistent pursuit of remediation for the environmental impacts of our coal mining legacy has resulted in improvement for hundreds of miles of streams and rivers in Pennsylvania.
If our abandoned
mines could talk, they would be thanking John for making them whole
again. PennFuture can't thank him enough for his good work on behalf
of our land and water in Pennsylvania.
Cindy Dunn is
president and CEO of PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg.
