What this space is for

Questions, answers, and practical knowledge about abandoned mine land and mine drainage work in Pennsylvania: treatment systems, monitoring, reclamation, funding, policy, and running the organizations that do it.

Disagreement is welcome

People in this field hold strong views about programs, policies, and the agencies and funders involved, and many of those views are earned. Candid discussion of how a program works in practice, including criticism, is part of what makes this space useful. What works well here is being specific about the program, the policy, or the decision, and leaving out anything aimed at a person. Posts that attack individuals are removed.

Cite your sources

When you share a figure, a finding, or a technical claim, say where it comes from: a report, a dataset, your own monitoring. It helps others check it and use it.

What stays here

Forums and member profiles are visible to registered members, not the public. EPCAMR does not share your posts or your submissions with funders, agencies, or anyone outside the platform without your permission, except where the law requires it.

Credit, and choosing how you are credited

Everything contributed to AML-Connect is credited to the person or organization who shared it. If you would rather not be named, you can choose how you are credited when you share something: by name, by organization, by a general description such as “a watershed group in Schuylkill County,” or not at all.

Sharing something critical

Some of the most useful knowledge is about what went wrong: a system that underperformed, a grant process that did not fit the work, a partnership that stalled. That knowledge is welcome here. When a contribution is critical of a specific organization or agency, EPCAMR will talk with you before publishing it, so the point comes through fairly and nobody named is caught off guard. The goal is to keep the lesson and lose the surprise.

Permission

Nothing you share is published without your permission. When a forum answer is especially useful, we may ask whether it can become part of a Knowledge Base article, credited to you. It only happens if you say yes. You can take back anything you’ve shared, any time, through the Share page. Anything already built into a Knowledge Base article stays, but whether your name appears is always your choice.

Other people’s information

Please share your own knowledge and materials, not other people’s private information. Contact details, personnel matters, and anything shared with you in confidence stay out of posts and submissions unless the people involved have agreed.

Sharing expertise, not selling

Consultants, vendors, and agency staff are welcome, and their expertise is part of what makes the network strong. Posts written to sell a product or service are removed.

How moderation works

Forums are moderated by EPCAMR. Posts that attack a person, share someone’s private information, or promote a product are removed. A first problem gets a warning; repeated problems can lead to an account being suspended, and serious ones to its removal. Moderation tools flag some posts for a closer look before anyone acts on them.

If something is wrong

If you see a post that does not belong here, or something about you was shared that should not have been, the contact page reaches EPCAMR directly, and we will respond.

These guidelines may be updated as the community grows. Changes will be noted here with a date.