Last night, local officials and the public had their first opportunity to comment about acid-rock drainage problems along the Interstate 99 project in the Skytop Mountain area in Centre County.
Officials from the state Department of Transportation and the state Department of Environmental Protection met with more than 125 members of the public to hear their comments and answer questions. The meeting, at the Mount Nittany Middle School in Boalsburg was designed to give the public an in-person opportunity to voice concerns about a problem which has halted construction along sections of Interstate 99 in Patton Township.
Just last week, PENNDOT announced its plans to resolve the acid-rock drainage problem which has the potential to contaminate waterways in the area and the groundwater. An acid-bearing rock known as “pyrite,” or Fool’s Gold, was found during excavation efforts last year.
“We had two rooms in use, one allowed the public to visit nine information stations to allow for one on one interaction,” said Marla Fannin, PENNDOT District Two spokesperson. “We also used the auditorium, where we had two formal presentations followed by a question and answer session.”
One major concern from area residents and local officials was the cost involved to move the pyrite from waste piles and fill areas. PENNDOT’s preferred site is an abandoned mine in Rush Township. There are also several other proposed locations. Another concern centered on how to deal with a fill area which is under a part of I-99 which has already been paved. PENNDOT has not offered a solution regarding that area pending the results of testing and further monitoring.
“People are concerned about the additional costs associated with the (already paved) butress/bifucation area,” said Fannin.
She explained there will be an additional cost but there aren’t enough testing and monitoring results yet to determine a solution and its associated costs.
“We are trying to speed up the schedule to have something available by the end of the month,” Fannin told The Daily Herald.
Fannin said the butress/bifucation area contains a total of 794,000 cubic yards of total fill with 264,063 cubic yards being pyritic in nature. She also noted people living in the Buffalo Run area are concerned about the groundwater.
PENNDOT’s plan calls for the removal and disposal of 240,000 cubic yards of pyrite to the abandoned mine location. So far, the projected cost of the project is estimated between $10 and $12 million. PENNDOT’s recommended solution is estimated to cost about $9.7 million, while other alternatives could cost more money. The cost for the solution in the already paved area has not been estimated.
Fannin said when more information is known about the already paved area, an addendum to the remediation proposal will be added.
The public is being invited to offer written public comments which are being accepted by the DEP until 4:30 p.m. on June 25.
The work associated with the remediation of the acid-rock drainage problem is expected to delay completion of construction from the Grays Woods interchange to Port Matilda for about 18 months. The section was due to open by the end of the year, but is now scheduled for the summer of 2006. Other construction on I-99, not affected by the pyrite problem, is scheduled for completion in 2007. When the entire project is completed, Interstate 99 will run from just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford to Interstate 80 in Bellefonte.
