Pa. township mulls abandoned mine cleanup

Real quick: A developer wants to build a solar array in rural Rush Township, Centre County, but officials want to ensure it doesn’t deter acid mine drainage reclamation efforts, Spotlight PA’s Marley Parish reports.

A little more: As solar developers set their sights on roughly 1,500 acres in rural Rush Township, local elected officials are tasked with figuring out how to welcome the proposed project without hindering efforts to clean up suspected acid mine drainage.

That pollution from abandoned coal mines can clear up without formal reclamation efforts, but that could take decades. In the meantime, acid mine drainage can be harmful to humans and wildlife.

And if developers build a solar array on top of what’s believed to be mine waste in Rush Township — where it’s not unusual for nearby streams to run red or orange from drainage — the township’s supervisors fear future land restoration will be impossible, or, at the very least, force a decadeslong wait for cleaner waterways.

Rush’s supervisors aren’t opposed to the solar industry operating in their Centre County township, which has about 3,700 residents. But they want the developers — Prospect14, a solar company, and Ampliform, a joint venture launched in 2022 — to be mindful of where the solar panels will be installed and how the array is managed after construction.

The township board is now considering how best to regulate large-scale solar projects through local ordinances and zoning changes without shutting down an environmental group already engaged in reclamation efforts. The first step is a public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance — which will create a new “commercial energy production” district and regulate construction, safety, and removal of the panels — scheduled for Dec. 12 at 3 p.m.

The full story: Read more here.