US EPA Region IV Surface Coal MiningField Activities 2009-2012
Adventures in Mountain Top Mining / Valley Fill
Chris Decker
Overburden Removed
Spoils placed in adjacent valley,
Diagram of MTM/VF Process
Draglines remove coal, create spoil piles
Regrading and continued dragline removal
Final regrading, revegetation
Environmental Impacts• Water Chemistry: Increased conductivity, Ca, Na, Se, K, Mg, Mn, and SO4
– impacts fish & macroinvertebrates
• Hydrology– downstream greater base flow
• Compaction of soils– slow regrowth of trees & and woody plants
• Loss of streams and wetlands
• Fragmentation of forests
• Terrestrial animal communities– Increase grassland birds & snakes, decrease in amphibians
• cumulative environmental costs have not been fully investigated
• social, economic and heritage issues
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Regulations
Mining operations are regulated under:• Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Section 402 – discharges to streams EPA, States• Section 404 – filling of streams/wetlands EPA & ACOE
• Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)
• Operating standards, permits, inspections DOI
What Have We Been Asked To Do
• Assess current conditions in order to guide permit decisions
• Establish baseline data for continued monitoring
• Investigate cumulative impacts
A Typical Study Site
Field Activities• Water Quality Assessment
• water samples and in-situ monitoring• conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, temp• metals, hardness,• sulfate, chloride, alkalinity, solids
• Bioassessment• Macroinvertebrates - Kentucky MBI• Fish - IBI and tissue• Stream habitat
• Hydrologic Permanence Evaluation• North Carolina method (2005)• trace water flow to origins• geomorphology, hydrology, biology• document ephemeral, intermittent, perennial
• Flow status has regulatory implicationsx
Field Work 2009-2012Number of Projects 28
Streams 187
Ponds 70
Total Water Samples 331
In-Situ Water Quality Observations 414
Hydrologic Permanence Assessments 54
Benthic Macro Samples 179
Fish Samples (Tissue) 33
Fish IBI 11
Selected In-Stream Data 2009-2012METALS (µg/L) MIN MEDIAN MAX
Barium 12 31 74
Cadmium 0.05 0.21 0.81
Calcium 1100 34000 250000
Iron 100 320 4800
Lead 0.1 0.27 2.3
Magnesium 870 20000 160000
Manganese 5 64 5800
Mercury 0.00055 0.1 8.2
Nickel 10 23.5 200
Potassium 1000 2550 13000
Selenium 2.0 3.2 8.5
Hardness 6 160 1300
CLASSICALS (mg/L) MIN MEDIAN MAX
chloride 0.52 1.2 250
sulfate 5.3 140 1100
TDS 15 270 1800
TSS 4.1 11 92
IN-SITU MIN MEDIAN MAXconductivity (µS/cm) 8 420 3292
pH 3.68 7.69 9.21
turbidity (NTU) 0 4.15 1492
BENTHICS MIN MEDIAN MAX
RBP habitat score 96 144 190
Total Taxa Rich. 6 56 102
EPT Taxa Richness 0 15 34
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Future Plans
• New Study
• Cumulative Impacts of Mining in Eastern Kentucky (CIMEK)
• Long Term Conductivity Monitoring
Cumulative Impacts Study (CIMEK)• 60 Stations• Sample Quarterly• Water Samples• Macroinvertebrates• Fish
• Continuous Conductivity Monitoring– 25 stations– deployed HOBO loggers
• Possible 2nd year extension ($$$)