Eighteen Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection staff members were honored with Governor’s Awards for Excellence from Gov. Josh Shapiro for their work on projects that exemplify DEP’s efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land, and water resources and to provide for the health and safety of its residents and visitors.
“DEP has thousands of dedicated professionals all committed to public service and protecting Pennsylvania’s environment and people,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “The work these DEP employees receiving awards did during the Dunmore No. 7 Dam sediment release and the Toby Creek Mine subsidence response is the perfect example of the types of public servants we all aspire to be.”
Louis Wagner, Daniel Brady, Noah Anderson, and Paul Steidinger were recognized for their work to quickly respond to a mine subsidence that swallowed part of Toby Creek in Luzerne in April 2024.
Pamela Kania, Brian Mackowski, Peter Kawash, Ann Conserette, Amy Bellanca, Karen Shedlock, Walter Holtsmaster, Timothy Daley, Sierra Rider, Kirk Kreider, Eric Supey, Michael Gombeda, Kevin Dougherty, and Don Rood were recognized for their prompt response and actions to mitigate a massive accidental sediment discharge into Roaring Brook and Lackawanna River during construction activities associated with improvements to Dunmore Dam No.7 in February 2024.
Toby Creek Mine Subsidence Response
On April 14, 2024, a mine subsidence occurred on the edge of Toby Creek that threatened the creek and nearby structures, and swallowed approximately 70-80 feet of streambank and much of the water flow in the creek.
The Pennsylvania DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR) was able to respond immediately and began reclamation work on the same day. This swift action stabilized the bank to prevent structure damage. Additional work had partial stream flows restored by the end of the day, and complete backfill and sealing of the subsidence was completed by the following Saturday. DEP also monitored reports of water discharges from abandoned mine discharge seeps farther downstream to ensure that local homes and businesses were not at risk of flooding from the subsidence.
Dunmore No. 7 Dam Sediment Release Response
During improvements to the Dunmore No. 7 Dam in Lackawanna County in February 2024, there was an unexpected release of tons of sediment that had built up behind the dam into the Roaring Brook and Lackawanna River.
DEP assembled a team of cross-program, environmental professionals to inspect the dam and stream, conduct water quality assessments, test the sediment and work with PA American Water, the owners of the dam, to modify the construction sequence to minimize the sediment discharges and protect aquatic habitat in the streams and rivers below.