British columbia mountain
Remediating Acid Mine Drainage: History and Techniques in Appalachia
Two waterways meet in a surreal junction at Vale Summit, a small low streambed in the Appalachian forests of Maryland, surrounded by high sandy banks and the faint sound of passing traffic.
Bright orange coal mine drainage from the Hoffman tunnel washes iron oxides and sulfates over rocks and tree limbs and completely distorts the little brown flow of Braddock Run, a smaller, slower but rich stream, providing a home to benthic invertebrates and young fish that the drainage cannot.
Braddock Run exhibits all the attributes of a healthy stream: neutral pH, low iron levels and a diverse scatter of mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly larvae. The rushing waters from the Hoffman tunnel are unable to support any benthic life aside from persistent species of algae.
This is the legacy left by coal mining from over a century ago, and one of many such examples of acid mine drainage (AMD) in Western Maryland.
The Hoffman drainage tunnel was built in the early 1900’s when Consolidated Coal built a shaft to drain the deep mines, pumping the excess into Georges Creek. Back in the 1930’s, the water was dangerously acidic, hovering around the pH of strong hydrochloric or sulfuric acid.
Despite the neon orange appearance of the drainage, the waters downstream from Hoffman Braddock Run support a healthy brook trout population. However, this is not the case for most waterways affected by AMD; they often require remediation to halt the movement of contaminants downstream. Hoffman is affected because legislation regulating AMD and coal mining in general were virtually nonexistent when the problem began.
I wanted to take some of the information I’ve gained while living in the area about AMD and some of the more interesting ways scientists are remediating the damage in recent years. I even had the pleasure of speaking with Geologist Barry Maynard from the University of Cincinnati, who shared some information on creating wetlands to remediate the damage of AMD. It’s all a bit Maryland-focused, and I eventually want to get some more information about Georgia and its history with coal and AMD.
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May 26th, 2008 at 5:12 am
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