Mineland Reclamation

Client: Capital Region Water

Project: Mineland Reclamation

Project Type: Research and Innovative Projects

Industry: Utilities

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The City of Harrisburg had been using landfill as the primary and only option for biosolids end use for over 15 years. As the cost of landfill increased and the reliability decreased, Harrisburg decided to seek a beneficial use alternative with a lower end use cost.

To address these concerns, the City hired Material Matters to develop an innovative, low cost, beneficial use option for the City: mine land reclamation on Pennsylvania Game Commission land where coal was being re-mined. The project included in-depth interactions with the State Game Commission and PADEP for project approval and permit modifications. Material Matters also worked diligently to gain public acceptance from the community through correspondence with Township officials, organization of public meetings, and the development of a monitoring protocol approved by the community.

Overall, the project was a success, resulting in a low cost, publicly accepted beneficial use management option for the City. The program functioned as a segue to a long-term land application program, which has successfully achieved nearly 100% beneficial use for over 10 years.