TRUE PIGMENTS IN THE MEDIA
True Pigments is attracting considerable media interest. Journalists can use this page information, contact us to learn more about True Pigments, and link to our press releases and media mentions.
The neighborhood of Truetown in Athens County, Ohio, is home to one of the area's most polluted streams. True Pigments is turning acid mine drainage from one of Ohio's most polluted waterways into paint. The sale of the paint is helping fund the construction of a large scale water treatment plant that will clean all of the pollution from the impacted stream. Roughly 1.4 million gallons of water flow out of the Truetown discharge everyday, bringing up 6,000 pounds of iron.
Paint from this Ohio company starts out as orange sludge from a polluted creek. Each eight-by-eight feet, two giant paintings look almost like sun eclipses. Chunks of coal fill a circle in one; pigments smear the canvas. You wouldn’t know just by looking at them, but those paintings created by John Sabraw contain paint sourced from longstanding pollution in a nearby stream.
In southeast Ohio, toxic drainage from abandoned coal mines has devastated streams and rivers. The acidic sludge, which is filled with heavy metals, leaches into waterways, destroying ecosystems and turning what should be clear, bluish waters into murky, rust-colored runs. In Athens, home of Ohio University, a Hocking River tributary known as Sunday Creek is a prime example of mining’s harmful effects, with more than two million pounds of iron oxide pouring into the stream each year A new documentary directed by Jason Whalen visits the area and the team vowing to clean it up.
Scientists Are Turning Toxic River Waste Into Paint PigmentsA common side effect of the mining industry, iron oxide runoff has been impacting Ohio’s waterways for generations. Now, a group of artists and scientists in the state are removing this contaminant from a section of Sunday Creek and using it as an ingredient in paint pigment — and a new documentary short shares their inspiring story.
A years-long, multimillion-dollar project that converts Sunday Creek pollutants into paint marked a major milestone last week.Around 80 people attended a ceremony along Truetown Road in Millfield to break ground on construction for a new facility that will clean up acid mine drainage. The project is a partnership among the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio University, regional environmental nonprofit Rural Action, and True Pigments, a for-profit LLC Rural Action operates.
Ohio University and Rural Action are restoring clean water to Southeast Ohio and bringing fresh color to artists everywhere. A large-scale acid mine drainage treatment and pigment-producing facility broke ground on June 29 at the Truetown Discharge site, in Millfield, Ohio.
MILLFIELD, Ohio - At the back of a once-residential lot on a country road in Athens Count, tucked behind the brush, environmentalists say a toxic problem has been spilling out of the ground for decades.
In Ohio’s Appalachian region, it isn’t uncommon to see orange streams tainted with pollution from local coal mining activities. In Truetown, Ohio, over 1,000 gallons (3,785 litres) of polluted acid mine drainage water gushes out of an abandoned mine per minute; flowing into the already-polluted Sunday Creek.
With rolling hills, forests and hiking trails, Southeast Ohio is a haven for lovers of the outdoors. Yet cutting through the landscape are countless orange-stained streams, colored by the iron oxide pollution that has seeped into them from abandoned coal mines. These streams are contaminated with a toxic sludge known as acid mine drainage (AMD) -- the overflow of highly acidic wastewater from underground mines, created when water comes into contact with exposed mining rocks.
My father’s grandfather worked the coal mines of Southeastern Ohio — family lore holds that he started as a child of only 9 or 10, that he and his father once had to dig his brother out of a collapsed wildcat mine, the owner of which had no interest in recovering the lost man. By the time I was introduced to our ancestral hills, with pillbox homes perched on dizzying sharp climbs, the coal mine had long since led to the factory, and the factory had given way to the lab bench and now the writing desk. But it’s a vein, and veins run.
The True Pigments pilot plant, a collaboration among Ohio University, environmental advocacy group Rural Action and Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources, aims to harvest the iron oxide that turns the water a bright orange and turn it into pigment for bricks and tiles as well as artist-grade paints. “The goal of the project is that the anticipated revenue from pigment sales would be used to offset plant operation and maintenance costs,” said Sarah Wickham, communications officer for Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources.
A US non-profit is saving the environment, by turning pollution from mining into vibrant pigments that are used in paint. Rural Action, a members-based not-for-profit based in Appalachian Ohio, was founded in 1991, on a mission to create environmental change in the rural Appalachian communities.
The Plains, OH - As innovative models for reclamation unfold, and federal funding nears, there is new hope for the communities that once depended on coal mining... An innovative social enterprise called True Pigments, owned by the non-profit Rural Action, is deploying a patent-pending technology to remove the iron from the water and transform it into pigments for the paint and construction markets. A pilot system is up and running, and the main treatment plant, which will restore a 7-mile stretch of the creek, will open in 2024. “On day one, when we flip that switch, it will keep all the iron out of the stream and eliminate the acidity,” says Michelle Shively MacIver, who is running the project. “That 7-mile stretch will run clean.”
The remnants of coal mining are stark in Southeast Ohio’s Sunday Creek watershed. The waterway is stained bright orange from significant amounts of acid mine drainage flowing out of old, abandoned mines. One site near Truetown, Ohio, discharges nearly 1,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute, according to True Pigments Director of Product Development Michelle Shively. The entity is part of Rural Action, a non-governmental organization that aims to build a more just economy in Appalachian Ohio.
Sunday Creek begins around Corning, a small town in southeastern Ohio, before snaking down 27 miles to connect with the Hocking River. Like much of Appalachia, the creek’s watershed was historically home to communities of coal miners, but the mines have since closed, leaving only their runoff: nearly 1,000 gal. a minute of water so badly contaminated that Sunday Creek is now home to the worst acid mine drainage (AMD) site in the state.John Sabraw, an Ohio University professor of art who is also interested in sustainability, first noticed the effects of AMD when exploring the area with an environmentalist group in 2003.
Rural Action now owns the worst acid mine discharge in the state of Ohio.
And the group couldn’t be happier. The site, in Truetown (near Millfield) in Athens County, produces 988 gallons of acid mine drainage per minute — more than 2 million pounds of iron oxide per year. The water runs orange, and is not potable, as a result of the coal mining of years past. Pyrite exposed through mining is combines with rain water and air to form sulfuric acid through dissolved iron. It further dissolves heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury into the groundwater and streams, which can disrupt plant growth and animal habitats, as well as corrode infrastructure.
Rust-colored sludge fills the streams of Southeast Ohio as acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines continues to pollute tributaries of the Hocking River, destroying local aquatic habitats.Historically, rural Appalachia was considered an extensive coal mining region. Before the 1970s, the U.S. had very limited restrictions on the coal mining industry, which resulted in the environmental legacy known as acid mine drainage.
Two promising new technologies—recovery of rare earths from acid mine drainage (AMD and conversion of AMD treatment by-products to paint pigments are bringing new hope to remediating AMD polluted streams. These technologies are a kind of modern day alchemy—restoring streams that are orange and lifeless by turning pollution into economically valuable products and creating new jobs for local economies. The development of economically viable treatment processes is a game changer for AMD treatment with potentially huge benefits for national security, local economies, and restoration of the health of thousands of miles of now lifeless streams.
In the rolling Appalachian foothills of Ohio, Sunday Creek runs bright with shades of red and orange. The 27-mile-long tributary flows through the ruins of abandoned coal mines, which sprawl beneath the southeast part of the state like a labyrinth. The companies that dug the century-old mines are long gone. But residents in this rural region still live with the mess that’s left behind.
Ohio University, Rural Action and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) are moving forward with a plan that would ultimately construct a full-scale acid mine drainage (AMD) water treatment plant in Millfield, near Athens, according to an OU news release.
Rural Action’s True Pigments environmental justice initiative has been named one of 10 national awardees of the 2019 J.M. Kaplan Fund Innovation Prize.
THE PLAINS, Ohio – While the effects of mining remain evident in the creeks, streams and wilderness throughout Appalachian Ohio, positive progress is being made thanks to the dedicated efforts of the True Pigments team. Recent advancements include a $287,000 grant awarded to support the startup operations of a full-scale treatment plant near the Wayne National Forest over the next three years.
THE PLAINS, Ohio – Rural Action, Inc. is thrilled to announce a new investment in its groundbreaking initiative in acid mine drainage treatment with the award of a $287,000 grant to support startup operations over the next three years. This funding, awarded by the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, will support the startup costs for a full-scale treatment plant near the Wayne National Forest.
THE PLAINS, Ohio - On June 29, True Pigments broke ground on the first phase of its acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment and pigment production facility near Millfield, Ohio. The facility will treat AMD at the Truetown Discharge, one of the worst AMD discharge sites in the state of Ohio. The AMD will be turned into a high quality iron oxide pigment that will be sold for use in many products, including paint, dyes, and construction products. Once treatment begins, seven miles of Sunday Creek will be restored from the discharge site to the confluence with the Hocking River. True Pigments’ goal is to support the return of a thriving biological community complete with all the fish and aquatic creatures that would typically be found in our local streams while providing opportunities for employment in the region. Additionally, the True Pigments facility will replace 0.5% of the national annual consumption of iron oxide with a sustainable and domestic source for this commodity replacing millions of pounds of iron oxide that is being shipped into the US from abroad.
MILLFIELD, Ohio—The groundbreaking for the first phase of the True Pigments Acid Mine Drainage Treatment and Pigment Production Facility will occur at 10 a.m. on June 29 in Millfield, Ohio. Project partners Rural Action, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Ohio University, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and the US Department of Interior will participate. ODNR Director Mary Mertz and Rural Action CEO Debbie Phillips will offer remarks.
Why is it taking so long? That’s a question Michelle Shively MacIver fielded from a potential investor in True Pigments, a social enterprise of Rural Action that is working to turn acid mine drainage (AMD) that taints many local streams into a marketable pigment for paint and other products.“I was explaining that our facility is being built on a flood plain, to which she asked why we don’t build it somewhere else,” says Michelle, True Pigments Director of Project Development. “I tried to explain that having it on Sunday Creek is the whole point. That’s what we’re trying to clean. This is our home, our people, our community. The whole reason we spent 10 years creating this technology is to clean this stream.”
True Pigments, a social enterprise of Rural Action, needs a little help harvesting iron sludge from Pine Run and the Truetown Discharge site later this month.Sound like fun?Actually, it is. The work is messy, but participants in the last harvest had a blast, and the result was a product showing the immense potential of this startup, which essentially turns pollution into paint. True Pigments takes iron oxide from historic coal mining that taints local streams and turns it into valuable pigment that can be used in paint and other products. Sales of the pigment will help fund further watershed cleanups.
Congress is considering legislation that would assist coal communities as they pivot toward local, asset-based economies. This video, which features Rural Action’s Marissa Lautzenheiser, provides details on the RECLAIM Act and the Reauthorization of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act that currently are under consideration. Funding from federal programs like these has helped fuel projects like True Pigments and the Baileys Trail System in Appalachian Ohio.
The Plains, Ohio — What if you could support sustainable agriculture and cleaner streams simply by drinking a beer or two?Now you can. Helping Hops is working with Pretentious Barrel House in Columbus to offer a limited release of two brews that will benefit Rural Action, a nonprofit striving to boost the economy and environment of Appalachian Ohio in sustainable ways.The two beers — Acid to Acid, Rust to Rust and Terra Amar — were inspired by Rural Action’s work, and all profits from sales will help further those efforts.
Want to learn about efforts to turn Abandoned Mine Lands into economic assets? This Appalachian Voice article is a great place to start.“Every single day, just that one discharge site (at Truetown) puts 6,000 pounds of iron into Sunday Creek,” True Pigments Director of Project Development Michelle Shively tells Appalachian Voices. “Its impact pretty much kills seven miles of stream.” She goes on to explain how True Pigments is working to turn this problem into an economic asset that will clean the water while generating revenue to fund more cleanups.
No, we haven’t lost our minds. We’re really urging you to give your loved ones a little pollution from Sunday Creek this year.That pollution comes in the form of Reclaimed Earth Colors, oil paints made by Gamblin in conjunction with True Pigments, a Rural Action social enterprise. The paints, which are made from iron oxide extracted from acid mine drainage in Sunday Creek, are completely safe. And money made from paint sales helps fund True Pigments’ efforts to clean up local waterways.
When Savannah Freeman was a teenager, she spent “countless” hours in and around Raccoon Creek, and she couldn’t help but notice the “yucky orange and strange blue green of the water.”Today, she owns and operates Moonville Print Shop, where she has started using paints that were created from the iron oxide in the acid mine drainage that pollutes many local watersheds. “Acid Mine Drainage clean-up is near and dear to my heart,” she says. And when she discovered Gamblin’s Reclaimed Earth Colors, which are made in partnership with True Pigments, a Rural Action social enterprise, she was determined to use them.
New Straitsville, Ohio — The leaves aren’t the only thing changing in Southeast Ohio this fall. The water quality in our local creeks is changing, too — for the better. Join Rural Action on Friday, Oct. 30 for a tour that will highlight the progress that’s been made in improving local watersheds. The tour will highlight the following three locations: The Rush Creek watershed at the Rehoboth Wetland.Monday Creek at the Ora E. Anderson Nature Trail. Ohio’s worst Acid Mine Drainage seep, where True Pigments is working to turn pollution into art.Rural Action’s Watersheds Program will be conducting the tour, and at each site a presenter will talk about the work occurring at that location and answer questions from the group.
The Plains, OH - Paint generally isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when people think about Earth Day. Enter Reclaimed Earth Colors, a set of oil paints that were made from the pollution that taints many Appalachian streams and turns them orange. These paints, produced by Gamblin Artists Colors, were created by extracting iron oxide from Sunday Creek in Athens County, Ohio. The innovative process cleans the acid mine drainage (AMD) caused by historic coal mining, turning it into pigment for use in paints and other products.
The Plains, OH —True Pigments, LLC, a social enterprise of Rural Action, is throwing a release party on March 19 to unveil a limited-edition oil paint set that Gamblin Artists Colors created from acid mine drainage (AMD). “Every speck of pigment in these tubes has been painstakingly reclaimed from waters tainted by iron released from [coal] mines,” according to the packaging on Reclaimed Earth Colors, the paints that Gamblin created from the discharge. Gamblin is based in Portland, OR.
Environmental Justice Initiative Selected by J.M. Kaplan Fund from 1,300+ Ideas, Joins Nationwide Cohort of Social Innovation Leaders New York City – The J.M. Kaplan Fund announced today the results of its nationwide search to identify ten exceptionally catalytic social and environmental change initiatives. One of the ten awardees –True Pigments – is an environmental-justice initiative of Rural Action based in Ohio that offers a powerful new model for the environmental field. The J.M.K. Innovation Prize is awarded biennially to ten non-profit and mission-driven for-profit organizations tackling America’s most pressing challenges through social innovation – defined as those pilot projects, new organizations or nascent initiatives that involve a certain amount of measured risk but which may ultimately lead to large-scale, transformative results. Each awardee receives up to $175,000 over three years and participates in a learning collaborative of fellow innovators to support their journey as change agents.
Members of the media seeking more information about True Pigments should contact Michelle Shively MacIver, director of project development, at michelle@truepigments.com