The AMR Conference Planning Committee is working on developing a great program this year! Expect some changes and please stay tuned…
Tuesday, October 24th – Altoona Grand Hotel
| 7:00—7:55 | Registration & Refreshments (Ballroom B & Foyer) | Breakfast for Overnight Guests (Hotel Restaurant) |
| 7:55—8:00 | Boarding for Offsite Field Tour (Foyer Entrance) | Please be prompt! |
| 8:00—3:30 | Field Tour of AMD/AML Sites (Greater Altoona Area) | Boxed lunch provided |
| 3:30 | Return to Altoona Grand Hotel | Dinner on your own or join NASLR (additional fee/limited quantity) |
| 4:30 | NASLR Dinner Bus departs Altoona Grand Hotel | Return to Altoona Grand Hotel at 10:00 PM |
Wednesday, October 25th – Altoona Grand Hotel
| 7:00—8:55 | Registration, Refreshments & Setup Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) ; Breakfast for Overnight Guests (Hotel Restaurant) | |
| 9:00—9:15 | Wednesday Welcome NASLR President Scot May and Andy McAllister WPCAMR Regional Coordinator (Ballroom C) | |
| 9:15—9:30 | Keynote Address PA DEP Secretary Negrin (Ballroom C) | |
| 9:30—10:10 | “Cooperative AMR Operations & Comprehensive Managed Watershed Planning”, Todd Coleman, Minetech Engineers, Mike Haney, PA DEP, Branden Deihl, Earthwise Consulting LLC (Ballroom C) | |
| 10:15—10:25 | Break & Visit Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) |
| —————————– | AMR TRACK 1 (Ballroom A) | AMR TRACK 2 (Kittanning) | AMR TRACK 3 (Allegheny) | NASLR TRACK (Ballroom C) |
| 10:30—11:10 | “Updates on AML/AMD Grant Program”, Jon Smoyer, PA DAP, BAMR | “Early Discoveries and Development of Passive Treatment Systems”, Jeff Skousen, Bob Kleinmann, Bob Hedin, Bob Nairn, Tom Wildeman, and Jim Gusek | “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Various Aggregate Cleaning Methods”, Neil Wolfe and Olivia Weaver, Hedin Environmental | “Vintondale AMR – Refuse Removal Pictorial presentation”, Dean Baker, PA DEP |
| 11:15—11:55 | “2 CFR 200 a Federal 3-headed Dragon or Not a Monster at All?”, Branden Deihl, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds | “Review Of A Feasibility Study For A Revegetation Program; Section 40802 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”, Thomas D. Shope, USDOI, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement | “Abandoned Coal Mine Mitigation in Artesian Conditions”, Joshua Zimmermann, Brierley Associates | “Rocks and Minerals of the Energy Transition and Future Reclamation Concerns”, Vishnu Srinivasaraghavan, Illinois Central Management Services |
| 12:00—12:55 | Lunch (Tropical Courtyard) | |||
| AMR TRACK 1 (Ballroom A) | AMR TRACK 2 (Kittanning) | AMR TRACK 3 (Allegheny) | NASLR TRACK (Ballroom C) | |
| 1:00—1:40 | PART 1: “Internal Controls & Red Flags for Federal Funds”, Kate Bell and Rene Olivas, Department of Interior, Office of Inspector General | “Tioga River Watershed Restoration / Consumptive Use Mitigation Through an Active Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Project”, Andrew King, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Thomas Clark, Kleinfelder | “From Water to Sediment: Hidden Phosphorus in Streams Impacted by Mine Drainage and Wastewater”, Peter M. Smyntek*, Carter Cavalier, John Pawlak, and Megan Marling, St Vincent College | “Blue Stone Project”, Jeff Meitrott, PA DEP |
| 1:45—2:25 | PART 2: “Internal Controls & Red Flags for Federal Funds”, Kate Bell and Rene Olivas, Department of Interior, Office of Inspector General | “High-volume rain events disproportionately increase erosion of waste material from an abandoned coal mine dump”, Nathaniel Shaffer, Washington & Jefferson College | “Advanced Carbon Products made from Coal”, Rudolph Olson III, CONSOL Innovations LLC | NASLR Award Winners and Scholarship Recipient Presentations |
| 2:30—2:40 | Break & Visit Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) | |||
| 2:45— 3:25 | “Assessment of Opportunities for Grid-Scale Solar Development on Previously Impacted Mine Lands in Pennsylvania”, Robert C. Young, PA DEP; Cassidy Robinson and Jennifer Vaughn, LaBella Associates, PC | “Successful Mined Land Reforestation Using ARRI’s Forest Reclamation Approach”, Eric Oliver, Green Forests Work | Concurrent (TBA) | “District Mining Operations: Treatment Trust Program”, DJ Chverchkov, PA-DEP |
| 2:30— 4:10 | “Reclamation of Refuse Piles using Fluidized Bed Combustion Ash”, Greg Aaron, PA DEP (Ballroom C) | |||
| 5:00— 6:00 | Cash Bar & Networking (Tropical Courtyard) | |||
| 6:00— 9:00 | AMR Dinner (Tropical Courtyard) |
Thursday, October 26th – Altoona Grand Hotel
| 7:30—9:25 | Registration, Refreshments & Setup Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) ; Breakfast for Overnight Guests (Hotel Restaurant) / NASLR Business Meeting (Kittanning) | |
| 9:30—10:15 | Thursday Welcome & “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act AML Program”, Tom Clarke, Interstate Mining Compact Commission (Ballroom C) | |
| 10:15—10:25 | Break & Visit Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) |
| ———————— | AMR TRACK 1 (Ballroom A) | AMR TRACK 2 (Kittanning) | AMR TRACK 3 (Allegheny) | NASLR TRACK (Ballroom C) |
| 10:30—11:10 | “Environmental Justice in Pennsylvania’s Mining Communities”, Jordi Comas, PA DEP | “Active treatment options for acid mine drainage”, Robert Loken, Envirogen Technologies, Inc. | “AMDTreat 6.0 Overview”, Jeffrey Ream, OSMRE | “Benfits of LRD AML Coordination, Illinois Experience & 2024 Conference Preview” Victoria M. Broomhead, Illinois DNR |
| 11:15—11:55 | “Coal to Solar: Redevelopment of Mine Lands, Site Planning & Engineering Considerations”, Sami Pretzel, Kleinfelder, Inc. | “Appalachian Region Reforestation Initiative(ARRI)”, Cliff Drouet, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement | ”PHREEQ-N-AMDTreat: An AMDTreat Tool to Size & Predict Water Quality for the Passive & Active Treatment of Mine Drainage”, Brad Shultz, OSMRE | NASLR Business Meeting |
| 12:00—12:55 | AMR Lunch (Tropical Courtyard) | |||
| AMR TRACK 1 (Ballroom C) | AMR TRACK 2 (Ballroom A) | AMR TRACK 3 (Allegheny) | AMR TRACK 4 (Kittanning) | |
| 1:00—1:40 | ”Future Options for OM&R of AMD Treatment Systems”, Joe Pizarchik, PIZARCHIK ADVANCEMENTS | “Restorative Job Opportunities in Natural Infrastructure”, Amanda Woodrum, Reimagine Appalachia; Jessica Arriens, National Wildlife Federation; Thomas Guentner, Landforce | “Data Collection and Interpretation for Successful AMD Treatment Projects”, Cliff Denholm, Stream Restoration Inc. | VACANT |
| 1:45—2:25 | “Watershed Cooperative Agreement and the Passive Treatment Protection Program”, Robbie Fulton, OSMRE | “Rehabilitation of 23 year old Vertical Flow Pond and Wetland System used to treat AMD”, John Klamut, PE, CFM, MS, GAI Consultants, Inc. | “Backbone Mountain Solar Project”, Luke Wildfire, Wallace Montgomery | VACANT |
| 2:30—2:40 | AMR Break & Visit Exhibits (Ballroom B & Foyer) | |||
| 2:45— 3:25 | “Unlocking the Future of AML and AMD Reclamation with Modern Project Delivery Methods”, Denny Strickland and John Brawner, Resource Environmental Solutions | “Transforming Environmental Awareness: Empowering Communities to Combat Abandoned Mine Drainage Pollution through VR Technology”, Laura Rinehimer and Shawnese Taylor, EPCAMR | Concurrent (TBA) | VACANT |
| 3:30-4:10 | “Making BIL Better Through an AML/AMD Research Center”, Bob Hedin, Hedin Environmental (Ballroom C) | |||
| 4:15— 4:45 | End of Conference & Take Down Exhibits |