STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- State transportation workers will begin hauling acid-bearing rocks from the Interstate 99 construction site at Skytop by the end of July, officials said.

Ben LaParne, state Department of Transportation assistant district executive for construction, said crews working two, 10-hour shifts a day will take less than three weeks to move the first spoil pile 3 miles from near the mountain crest to a disposal area in Worth Township.

Altogether, PennDOT officials plan to haul off a million tons of rocks. PennDOT has said it expects to spend $26 million to move, neutralize, bury and seal up the acid-bearing, water-contaminating rocks found at the construction site.

PennDOT also said it is looking for sewage treatment plants to handle acidic leachate from Skytop as part of the cleanup process. The treatment plants must be able to process heavy metals that solidify into sludge effectively enough to meet state Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

Mr. LaParne said an Elk County landfill and treatment center, Greentree, may be best suited to handle the Skytop leachate.

First Published: July 13, 2007, 1:30 p.m.