T. Allan Comp, Ph.D.
Washington, DC
Dr T. Allan Comp is an historian based in Washington, DC.
Jo Hanson, the pioneering public artist in San Francisco, once described Allan as "a relaxed blend of John Muir, John Dewey and John the Baptist." He holds a Ph.D in history, worked for several years in cultural resources with the National Park Service, left that to work as a developer of historic properties and consultant to historic preservation projects, and then to work for a regional Heritage Area in western Pennsylvania where he invented AMD&ART. Always a volunteer for AMD&ART, his work attracted the attention of other watershed and community improvement projects in the Appalachian coal country and in the Western hard rock mining country as well. Winner of multiple awards in partnerships and planning, Allan now leads the OSM/VISTA Team and Brownfields Initiatives at the Office of Surface Mining in the U.S. Department of the Interior.
News • Updated 2/25/2010
For perspectives on T. Allan Comp and AMD&ART
- Derek T. Dortch on Federal News Radio interviews Allan about his work, the OSM/VISTA Teams, and the Service To America Environment Medal which Allan won in 2009 for his work in Appalachian coal country and the isolated mining communities of the Mountain West. Listen here.
- 2009 Service to America Medal — Environment recipient
OSM/VISTA teams founder honored with Service to America Medal in the Environment. This is the first Medal ever awarded that includes National Service and only the second awarded to an Interior employee, the first in the Environment category. Often called the "Oscar" of federal service, the Medal recognizes Comp's outstanding contribution in building a network of volunteers to revitalize communities in Appalachian coal country and the Western Hardrock mining region to repair decades of environmental degradation. More » - Dr. T. Allan Comp — Founder and Coordinator of the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT) and the Western Hardrock Watershed Team (WHWT) — named one of River Network's 2009 National River Heroes. "The award celebrates rivers and those who protect them by recognizing some of our victories and honoring those who provide us with leadership and inspiration along the way." Allan is the first federal employee to be named a national river hero. More »
- Allan's Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team and its fiscal sponsor, the Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia, were awarded the 2009 National Strategic Partnership Award for their exceptional collaboration by the National Corps Network. More »
- See the profile on Allan by Eric Reece in Orion Magazine: Reclaiming a Toxic Legacy Through Art and Science
- For a more technical approach, see Manufactured Soil Field Demonstration for Constructing Wetlands to Treat Acid Mine Drainage on Abandoned Mine Lands
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) teamed with AMD&ART to restore an abandoned acid mine drainage site at Vintondale, PA into a recreational park and passive remediation facility - T. Allan Comp was named a Civic Ventures Purpose Prize Fellow
- AMD&ART featured in EPA Watershed Academy Webcast Seminars
- Encore Magazine: Helping Heal Coal Country
Recent Publications by Dr. Comp
- City of Kent, Washington: AMD&ART: Earthworks to Waterworks with a Community Base: A Short Homage to Herbert Bayer and "Earthworks"
- See chapter entitled
Science, Art and Environmental Reclamation: Three Projects and a Few Thoughtsin Designing the Reclaimed Landscape, edited by Alan Berger
- Cleaning Up Abandoned Hardrock Mines in the West: Prospecting for a Better Future with Patricia Nelson Limerick, Joseph N. Ryan and Timothy R. Brown. Center of the American West, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2005.