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March 28, 2005
Tribune-Review

Spring cleaning

With a $66,000 study in hand, a Fayette County group is seeking money and volunteers to help restore the 127-square-mile Redstone Creek watershed between Uniontown and Brownsville.

"It's something that will benefit our generation and generations to come,"

said Brian Chalfant, development coordinator with the Greater Redstone Clearwater Initiative. "It's a step-by-step process. ... It's going to take some dedicated people."

Chalfant's Uniontown-based group has announced that a study of the watershed, funded by a $66,203 state Growing Greener grant, was completed earlier this month. Consultant Skelly and Loy Inc., of Monroeville, was hired to evaluate the 300 miles of streams within the watershed and determine cleanup needs.

The work took about three years, Chalfant said.

Abandoned mine discharges and illegal dumpsites have contaminated the watershed. Chalfant said that, in some areas, people have used the streams as dumping grounds for old washing machines and refrigerators.  In one place, near Brownsville, a mound of trash rises above the water's surface.

"That's something you notice even before you notice a stream," Chalfant said, adding that 41 dump sites have been identified within the watershed.

Some of the cleanup projects recommended by Skelly and Loy can be handled by volunteers' hands alone, but others will require heavy machinery, Chalfant said. Gathering grant money for the work has become a goal for his group.

One of the projects, he said, is projected to cost at least $480,000.

Chalfant said the Greater Redstone Clearwater Initiative has 25 members and has received much volunteer help from students at nearby Laurel Highlands Senior High School.

Mark Killar, director of watershed services for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's Watershed Assistance Center, released a statement saying he thinks the study will help the community to understand Redstone Creek's problems while inspiring people to get involved in the effort.

"It is likely that most residents of the watershed aren't aware what the problems actually are or that something can be done to correct them," Killar said.

The watershed stretches from the mountains of South Union Township to the Monongahela River at Brownsville.  Redstone Creek, which runs through the center of Uniontown, is its most prominent waterway.

Chalfant said cleaning the area not only will benefit the environment, but also will boost property values and promote business development and tourism.

"A lot of it, as we view it, is just a blight on the community," he said.  "There's a lot of talk about redevelopment in this area, but nobody wants to move a business where there's a pile of trash."

David Hunt can be reached at dhunt@tribweb.com or 724-425-2338.