The Lawrence Township Board of Supervisors (Township), in partnership with the Clearfield County Conservation District (CCCD) and Montgomery Run Watershed Association (MRWA), applied for and received a Growing Greener grant to design and install a passive treatment system intended to abate an abandoned mine drainage (AMD) discharge, MON-52A, on Montgomery Creek, known locally as Montgomery Run. The Township, in conjunction with the above partners, received an EPA 319 Grant to perform a watershed assessment and complete a restoration plan on Montgomery Run that is currently underway. The preliminary data shows the MON-52A discharge to be of top priority in the watershed. This project addresses the MON-52A discharge and will be the first step in the overall restoration of the Montgomery Run watershed.

The MON-52A discharge is located in Lawrence Township, Clearfield County. Deep mining that took place in the early part of the 20th century initially impacted the Montgomery Run watershed. Additional damage caused by pre-Act surface mining in the forties and fifties left the area with severe water quality problems. Subsequent re-mining under stricter environmental regulations brought improvements to the area but, unfortunately, the entire area was not re-mined and restored due to economically irretrievable coal in some areas. Thus, mine drainage discharges are affecting the water quality of Montgomery Run.

The MON-52A discharge appears to be emanating from an abandoned deep mine. It flows into a manmade impoundment that appears to have been built during previous surface mining activities. From there, it seeps under the breast of the impoundment and flows in a channel through a small open meadow and then into a wooded area where it is joined by additional seeps from an adjacent hillside that has been previously surface mined. Within this channel, iron precipitate has built up over a long period of time resulting in a terraced effect. The iron precipitate is present from just below the meadow to the confluence with the unnamed tributary to Montgomery Run. Preliminary data shows this discharge can be treated passively. This will be the first step in the restoration of the Montgomery Run watershed, which drains directly to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.