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Robert Hughes, Regional Coordinator
Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
(EPCAMR)
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 Favorite
Water Activity: Swimming with my kids in Harvey's and Bowman's Creeks
Water Nickname: Limestone Cowboy
Favorite
Macroinvertebrate: Hellgrammites - When I was a kid,
they'd swim all over me in the creeks, I didn't know at the
time that meant good things about the water
Watershed
Public Service Message:
"Reclaim abandoned mine lands through partnerships today for a cleaner environment tomorrow." (Motto of EPCAMR) |
 ob
Hughes says — "It's like I was born to work on treating
AMD." It would indeed seem that way when you look at Bob
Hughes' life and the paths which have lead his course to his
current position as the Regional Coordinator for the Eastern
Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR)
at the Luzerne Conservation District.
ob
was born in the Anthracite Coal region of Wilkes-Barre in the
Wyoming Valley on June 23, 1972. Date sound familiar? It might,
to anyone living in the Susquehanna River Basin, as it is the
date of the infamous Agnes Flood. The Agnes Flood, known as
the greatest flooding event in the Susquehanna Basin, prompted
then President Richard Nixon to declare Pennsylvania a state
of disaster, and killed 48 people across the state, including
four in the Wyoming Valley area. The Susquehanna River crested
at an amazing 40.6 feet - 5 feet above the dikes built to withstand
flooding. This is the day Bob entered the world with a mission.
 he
flood caused many of the AMD problems being dealt with today
in the Wyoming Valley and other areas of the Basin, and being
involved with AMD clean up has been a way of life for Bob. Growing
up in this coal region he often played on the coal banks as
a kid and was often very curious about the abandoned coal structures
that surrounded his youth. But it wasn't until later in life,
while studying Environmental Resource Management at Penn State
University that he began to realize the impact of past coal
mining, and exactly how those piles of coal and abandoned mines
were polluting the nearby waterways.
  e
began working with the DEP- Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation
(BAMR) Wilkes-Barre Field Office, as an intern during his sophomore
year in college and since then has been focused on working with
the community to create partnerships and environmental restoration
plans and remediation projects to clean up the local streams
throughout the Coalfields of Eastern PA. Bob also spent almost
an entire year, thanks to a Governor Ridge granted internship
extension, working with the DEP Hawk Run District Mining Office,
in western PA, as an intern in his junior and senior years at
Penn State. He credits a lot of his knowledge, hands on activities,
and expertise to a lot of the DEP staff he has worked with during
these internships who actually took the time to help make his
internship, have lasting impressions on his future career plans
in the field of AMD.
 lthough
he'll tell you that his toughest class in college was Technical
Writing, admitting that he only earned a C+, it turns out that
it was the most important class of his career - as he is well
known for his successful grant writing ability and track record.
Reviewing and writing over 100 grants in the past five years
from various state, federal, foundation, and national programs,
with a high approval rating, and through his work with Conservation
Districts in the region and local community coordination efforts
he has helped over 60 groups in the eastern region of Pennsylvania
secure funding and has taken an active role in restoring their
watersheds impacted by AMD. Bob has the advantage of having
grown up in the region; as so, he is a trusted resource and
friend of the environment by many. "Groups get to know
me, and trust me to make suggestions about potential projects,
designs, or grant writing tips that will lead them in the right
direction to completing a successful project or watershed plan."
e
says — "Putting money where the groups are active
and enthusiastic about cleaning up AMD and making sure these
community groups know where the grant money is available is
essential. I'm there to help get things started and get the
ball rolling. We're (EPCAMR) one of the initial conduits for
groups to get the seed money they need to get started and that's
what we've been real successful at over the past few years."
"I am most proud of the many small projects successfully
completed, with large returns in the amount of time that the
volunteers put into the efforts, and the miles of stream restored
due to the completion of sound construction projects in the
region. EPCAMR is just a small piece of a much larger puzzle
that is dedicated to reclaiming abandoned mines lands and restoring
PA waterways impacted by AMD. I'm just glad to be a corner piece
of that puzzle."
 ob's
most fond of the Catawissa Creek, Oneida #1 Mine Tunnel Project,
was started in 1997. He assisted with the coordination and management
of this project along with successfully securing nearly $285,000
from eight different funding sources to build probably the largest
oxic limestone drain in the Anthracite Region treating an acidic,
aluminum impacted discharge with an average flow of around 1500
gpm. The project has taken 3 years from start to finish, and
has successfully treated over 16.5 miles of streams previously
affected by high aluminum concentrations and low pH in the tributaries
to Catawissa Creek. "Groups like Catawissa Creek Restoration
Association, Ed Wytovich, Schuylkill County Conservation District,
NRCS, RAMP, EPA, OSM, and other partnerships in the watershed
are the real heroes," Bob says modestly.
MD
is not the only thing in Bob's life though. Family is very important
to Bob, "My family is what I count on and value the most."
His wife, Tara, and two children, son Dawson who is 2, and daughter
Hayley who is 6 are learning the importance of clean streams
at an early age. Swimming with his kids is his favorite water
recreation and you may see Bob with the kids in Harvey's or
Bowman's Creek at any time during the summer…flipping rocks,
looking for those Hellgrammites not too often found in AMD.
 atershed
Weekly would like to congratulate Bob on being this months Watershed
Hero, and also to say "Thanks" for all the work he
does as the EPCAMR Regional Coordinator to restore AMD watersheds
in Eastern Pa.
Written by Lori Litchman
More information: To learn more about EPCAMR and their
work visit their website at:
www.luzerneconservationdistrict.org
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See past Watershed Heroes here!
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