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Updates- Wetlands and Longwall Mining 2005... The recent Act 54 Report confirms the assertions we made in our
report to the Raymond Proffitt Foundation in 2000 regarding the consistent failure of PADEP-BMR to enforce laws and regulations
that claim to protect wetland resources in Pennsylvania. Even today the State continues to issue mining permits in the absence
of “required” information, with the result that adverse impacts on streams and wetlands are carefully concealed. For the second
time in a row, the Act 54 review process, as embodied in the 2005 Report, is perpetuating the myth that the BMR protects the
environment of southwestern Pennsylvania from the very real damages being inflicted by longwall mining, now that Act 54 allows
mine operators to undermine any kind of surface resources. Yet even a university heavily supported by the coal industry has
admitted that PADEP-BMR permit files continue to be devoid of information on wetlands and other waters.
The updated PADEP Technical Guidance Document could be a small step in the right direction, but only if BMR were actually to
start requiring information that on paper has been required for years but in fact continues to be ignored. The mining industry
has no incentive to submit complete applications when they know permits will be issued for incomplete applications. Business as
usual at BMR will continue to make a mockery of the regulatory process for longwall mining, so long as the bureaucracy is allowed
to ignore the very real environmental damage being experienced by residents of the coalfields. SEE detailed comments below.
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Schmid, James A. and Stephen P. Kunz Wetlands and Longwall Mining: Regulatory Failure in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Prepared for the Raymond Proffitt Foundation. Media, PA: Schmid & Co., Inc., 2000. 83 p.
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Read it Online...
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Stephen P. Kunz Comments on Second Act 54 Five-Year Report, 23 April 2005.
17 p.
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Read it online...
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California University of Pennsylvania Press Release on Second Act 54 Report Completion, 2 March 2005, as provided on PADEP website Daily Update.
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Read it online...
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California University of Pennsylvania California Journal.6(18), 17 May 2004. SEE PAGE 2 for Second Act 54 Report Startup.
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Read it online...
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Stephen P. Kunz Comments on Draft Technical Guidance Document 563-2000-655 . 1 May 2002.
17 p.
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Read it online...
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Stephen P. Kunz Comments to CAC on Study of the Effects of Longwall Mining on Streams, Wetlands,
and Riparian Areas . 3 May 2002.
12 p.
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Read it online...
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Stephen P. Kunz Comments on Draft Technical Guidance Document 563-2000-655 Surface Water Protection - Underground
Bituminous Coal Mining. 23 March 2005.
8 p.
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Read it online...
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Stephen P. Kunz Comments to OSM on Excess Spoil, Coal Mine Waste, and Buffers for Waters of the United States .
22 October 2007. 7 p.
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Read it online...
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Schmid, James A. Urban Vegetation: a review and Chicago case study. Department of Geography, University of Chicago,
Research Paper 161. Chicago, IL: 1975. 266 p.
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Critics' Reviews
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Plant List Books
Professional Papers and Book Chapters
- Kunz, Stephen P.
"What Color is Your Hydric Soil?" National Wetlands Newsletter. 1997, 19(5):5-6.
Kunz, Stephen P. "Soil Color Charts: The Rest of the Story". Wetland Journal. 1997, 9(4):8-12.
Kunz, Stephen P. "More 'Dirt' on Hydric Soil Indicators". Wetland Journal. 1998, 10(4):16-20.
Schmid, James A. "Wetlands as Conserved Landscapes in the United States". In A.B. Murphy and D.L. Johnson, eds. Cultural Encounters with the Environment: Enduring and Evolving Geographic Themes Lanham, MD. Rowman & Littlefield. 2000, p. 133-55.
Schmid, James A."Evaluating Created Wetlands in New Jersey: How Credible is NJDEP?" Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science.2003. 48(1):28.
Schmid, James A."Wetland Mitigation Case Studies". In M.A. Dennison Wetland Mitigation. Government Institutes Press. Rockville MD. 1997, p. 157-182.
Schmid, James A. "Fire Sale in Pennsylvania". National Wetlands Newsletter. 1996, 18(1):4-5.
Schmid, James A. "Wetlands in the Urban Landscape of the United States". The Ecological City: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity. Ed. R.H. Platt, R.A. Rowntree, and P.C. Muick. University of Massachusetts Press. Amherst MA. 1994, p.106-133.
Schmid, James A. "Wetland Creation Using Native Plants". In A Preference for Natives, Proceedings of the Symposium, 22 March 1991. Longwood Graduate Program, University of Delaware, Longwood Gardens. 1994, p.30-47.
Schmid, James A. "Mitigation for Fills in Wetlands: The Promise and Some Recent Experience in New Jersey". Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1989, 34(2):34.
Schmid, James A. "Aboveground Primary Productivity in Marshes of the Raritan River Estuary, Middlesex County, NJ". Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1989, 34(2):34.
Schmid, James A. "Dune Destruction at Normandy Shores, Dover Township, Ocean County: Is NJDEP Minding the Shore?" Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1989, 34(2):34.
Schmid, James A. "Atlantic Whitecedar in the Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey: Its Historic Extirpation and Future Reestablishment". In A Laderman, ed.Atlantic White Cedar Wetlands. Westview Press. Boulder CO. 1985, p.317-322.
Schmid, James A. "What and Where are New Jersey's Inland Wetlands?" Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1984, 29(1):31.
Schmid, James A. and Valdis Jurka. "Contaminants in Runoff from a Parking Structure in Northern New Jersey". Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1981, 26(2):74.
Schmid, James A. and John W. Munro. "Primary Productivity in a Backbarrier Tidal Marsh, Northern Sussex County, Delaware". Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1981, 26(2):69.
Schmid, James A. "New Jersey's Coastal Wetlands: Will They Be Protected?". Bulletin of the New Jersey Academy of Science. 1981, 26(2):64.
Schmid, James A. "The Effects of the National Environment Policy Act on Corporate Decision Making". Early Corporate Environmental Assessment: Selected Papers. U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Environmental Affairs. Washington DC. 1980, p.1-9.
Schmid, James A. and David H. Dike "Biological Resource Information and Coal Mine Assessments in the Gauley and Monongahela River Basins, West Virginia". Prodeedings of the Sixth National Conference on Energy and the Environment. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Dayton OH. 1979, p.177-181.
Schmid, James A. "Biological Resource Information and Coal Mine Assessments in the Gauley and Monongahela River Basins". Surface Mining and Fish/Wildlife Needs in the Eastern United States. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Publication FWS/OBS-78/81A. Washington DC. 1979, p.87-90.
Schmid, James A. "Vegetation Types, Functions, and Constraints in Metropolitan Environments". Planning the Uses and Management of Land. American Society of Agronomy. Madison WI. 1979, p.499-528.
Schmid, James A. "The Urban Habitat". Perspectives in Urban Entomology. Ed. G.W.Frankie and C.S. Kohler. Academic Press. New York NY. 1978, p.ix-xiii.
Schmid, James A. "Research and Management: The Case of Fire Island National Seashore". Coastal Recreation Resources in an Urbanizing Environment. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Massachusetts. Amherst MA. 1977, p.119-127.
Schmid, James A., D. Pennington, and J. McCormick. "Ecological impact of the Disposal of Municipal Sludge onto the Land". Proceedings of the 1975 National Conference on Municipal Sludge Management and Disposal. Information Transfer, Inc. Rockville MD. 1975, p.156-168.
Schmid, James A. "The Environmental Impact of Urbanization". Perspectives on Environment. Association of American Geographers, Commission of College of Geography Publication 13. Washington DC. 1974, p.213-251.
Published Reviews
- Schmid, James A.
"My, How Much We Need to Learn About Wetlands! Wetlands Ecology: Principles and Conservation, by Paul E. Keddy." 2001. Ecology 82(7):2085.
- Schmid, James A.
"Days Afield: Exploring Wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay Region, by William S. Sipple". Wetland Journal1999. 11(4):21.
- Schmid, James A.
"Discovering the Unknown Landscape: A History of America's Wetlands, by Ann Vileisis". Wetland Journal1998. 10(2):30.
- Schmid, James A.
"Worldwide Human Modification of Ecosystems". Ecology. 1977, 58(1):221-222.
- Schmid, James A.
"Politics of Shore Erosion: Westhampton Beach, NJ". Geographical Review.. 1977, 67(4):491-93.
Send email to James A. Schmid
Send email to Stephen Kunz
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