Biological and Water Quality Study of the Stillwater Creek Basin 2012 Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont and Carroll Counties, Ohio

Ohio EPA Report EAS/2015-11-07

Division of Surface Water Ecological Assessment Section January 17, 2017 Revised October 23, 2019 EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017 Biological and Water Quality Study of the Stillwater Creek Basin

2012

Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont and Carroll Counties, Ohio January 17, 2017 Ohio EPA Report EAS/2015-11-07

Prepared by:

State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Surface Water Lazarus Government Center 50 West Town Street, Suite 700 Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049

Southeast District Office 2195 Front Street Logan, Ohio 43138

Ecological Assessment Section 4675 Homer Ohio Lane Groveport, Ohio 43125

John R. Kasich, Governor Craig Butler, Director State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

ii EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... III LIST OF FIGURES ...... IV LIST OF TABLES ...... V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 9 INTRODUCTION ...... 16 STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION ...... 17 RESULTS ...... 20 RECREATION USE...... 30 POINT SOURCE IMPACTS (NPDES, STORM WATER, MINING) ...... 33 SEDIMENT ...... 38 FISH TISSUE ...... 40 STREAM PHYSICAL HABITAT ...... 45 FISH COMMUNITY ...... 48 MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY ...... 52 LAKES ...... 62 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 80 REFERENCES ...... 81

iii EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Aquatic life use attainment in the Stillwater Creek study area, 2012...... 1 Figure 2. Map of the Stillwater Creek watershed sampling locations, 2012...... 5 Figure 3. Muskingum River watershed (blue) and Stillwater Creek study area (red)...... 17 Figure 4. Stillwater Creek study area land use map. (Homer, et. al, 2015) ...... 19 Figure 5. Flows in a nearby watershed (Sugar Creek) and sampling dates in the Stillwater Creek survey, 2011-2012...... 20 Figure 7. Signs posted at Clendening, Tappan and Piedmont Lake dam...... 20 Figure 9. Active NPDES permitted facilities and previous coal mining in Stillwater Creek watershed (ODNR-DMRM, Coal Mine)...... 34 Figure 10. Locations of hydraulic fracturing wells in the Stillwater Creek watershed (ODNR-DMRM, Horizontal Wells and Shale Gas Play)...... 36 Figure 11. Relationship between number of mayfly taxa (qualitative sample only) and conductivity and TDS in the Stillwater Creek basin, 2012...... 53 Figure 12. Longitudinal trend of the Invertebrate Community Index (ICI), number of EPT taxa (EPT) in the qualitative sample, and number of sensitive taxa (ST) in the qualitative sample in Stillwater Creek, 2003- 2012...... 56 Figure 13. Stillwater Creek lake locations...... 63 Figure 14: Temperature profile at L-1 sampling station for Piedmont Lake, 2012 and 2013 ...... 65 Figure 15: Dissolved Oxygen profile at L-1 sampling station for Piedmont Lake, 2012 and 2013...... 65 Figure 16. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (D.O.) profiles at L-1 sampling station for Tappan Lake, 2012 and 2013...... 69 Figure 17. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (D.O.) profiles at L-1 sampling station for Clendening Lake, 2012 and 2013...... 73 Figure 18. Bushy Fork at the Clendening dam discharge and Clendening Lake dam pool – note the milky- white water (October 9, 2012)...... 77 Figure 19. Clendening Lake tributaries mineral inputs, 2014 and 2015...... 78 Figure 20. Clendening Lake watershed with the 2014 and 2015 stream sampling locations in association with the geologic setting and surface mined areas...... 79

iv EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Stillwater Creek watershed sampling locations from Ohio EPA 2012 survey...... 3 Table 2. Aquatic life use attainment status for sampling locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012...... 6 Table 3. Waterbody use designation recommendations for the Stillwater Creek watershed...... 14 Table 4. Exceedances of Ohio WQS criteria (OAC 3745-1) for chemical/physical parameters measured in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012...... 24 Table 5. Summary statistics for select mine drainage inorganic water quality parameters sampled in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012...... 26 Table 6. Summary statistics for select nutrient water quality parameters sampled in the Stillwater Creek 2012...... 28 Table 7. A summary of E. coli data for locations sampled in the Stillwater Creek watershed from June 20 through October 10, 2012...... 31 Table 8. Stillwater Creek watershed sediment chemical sampling results, 2012...... 39 Table 9. Average mercury concentrations (mg/kg) in fish tissue samples collected from Stillwater Creek watershed from 1974-2012...... 42 Table 10. Select fish tissue data from Stillwater Creek sampling...... 43 Table 11. Select fish tissue data from Stillwater Creek lakes (Clendening, Piedmont and Tappan), 2012..44 Table 12. Stream physical habitat quality as scored by the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) at sites in the Stillwater Creek watershed study area, 2012...... 46 Table 13. Summary of fish and QHEI data from Stillwater Creek study area, 2012...... 49 Table 14. Uncommonly collected sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa and all of the freshwater mussels collection locations in the Stillwater Creek basin, 2012...... 57 Table 15. Summary of macroinvertebrate data collected from artificial substrates (quantitative sampling) and natural substrates (qualitative sampling) in the Stillwater Creek study area, July to October, 2012. . 58 Table 16. Assessment of lake data collected from Piedmont Lake L-1 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use, associated criteria and recreation use criteria...... 66 Table 17. Assessment of lake data collected from Piedmont Lake’s L-2 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use, associated criteria and Recreation Use...... 67 Table 18. Assessment of lake data collected from Tappan Lake L-1, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria...... 70 Table 19. Assessment of lake data collected from Tappan Lake L-2, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria...... 71 Table 20. Assessment of lake data collected from Clendening Lake’s L-1 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria...... 75 Table 21. Assessment of lake data collected from Clendening Lake’s L-2 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria...... 76

v EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Rivers and streams in Ohio support a variety of uses related to recreation, water supply, and aquatic life. As part of the Clean Water Act Goals biological and water quality survey process, Ohio EPA annually evaluates streams from selected watersheds to 15% determine their appropriate beneficial use designations 50% and to verify the uses are meeting the goals of the federal Full Clean Water Act. 35% Partial In 2012, 46 sites from 24 streams in the Stillwater Creek Non watershed were assessed for aquatic life and recreation use potential (see Table 1 and Figure 2 for sampling locations). This watershed is a tributary to the Tuscarawas River (Muskingum River watershed) and is located in Belmont, Figure 1. Aquatic life use attainment in the Stillwater Harrison, Guernsey, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties. The Creek study area, 2012. mainstem of Stillwater Creek begins in Belmont County and flows north into Harrison and Tuscarawas counties through the towns, cities or villages of Piedmont, Freeport, Tippecanoe, Stillwater, Newport and Uhrichsville. There are three large lakes in the watershed, which include Piedmont Lake, Clendening Lake and Tappan Lake. Piedmont Lake is located on the mainstem of Stillwater Creek and has received extensive mine drainage from historic mining. Clendening Lake is located on Brushy Fork. The headwaters of Brushy Fork have been heavily mined with poorly reclaimed strip mines discharging large amounts of mine drainage to Brushy Fork. Tappan Lake is located on Little Stillwater Creek and is the largest lake in the watershed. Active surface mining is occurring throughout the watershed.

Of the 46 biological samples collected, 23 sites (50%) were fully meeting the designated or recommended aquatic life use, 16 (35%) were in partial attainment, seven (15%) were in non-attainment (Figure 1). The 23 impaired streams were located in areas influenced by mine drainage, direct habitat alteration and sedimentation. Locations below the three lakes had very poor biological communities indicative of toxic conditions. Extremely high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas occasionally occur at these spillways due to the excessive amounts of sulfates in the lake sediments from historic mine drainage (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2013). The highest levels of sulfates were found in the discharge from Clendening Lake (Brushy Fork subwatershed). During low flow summer conditions, milky white water with very little dissolved oxygen (D.O.) was observed at all three spillways, causing chronically toxic conditions not capable of supporting aquatic life (Figure 6). The milky white water and hydrogen sulfide gas results when sulfur-enriched surface sediments release hydrogen sulfide through a sulfate reduction process.

The biological community in the mainstem of Stillwater Creek was very good to marginally good from the headwaters to Clendening Lake (Brushy Fork) and in full attainment of the recommended Warmwater Habitat (WWH) aquatic life use designation. Below Clendening Lake, the mainstem went from full to partial attainment due to low D.O., sulfates, direct habitat alterations and sedimentation. Boggs Fork, Trail Run, Skull Fork, Brushy Fork, Elk Run, Laurel Creek, Weaver Run, Hitchcock Run, Little Stillwater Creek, Clear Fork, Standingstone Fork and Plum Run were all in partial or non-attainment of the existing or recommended use designation of WWH. Mine drainage discharges from historically mined areas caused elevated levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), manganese and sedimentation in many of these streams.

Twenty-one locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed were sampled for Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. Seven of the 21 sites in the Stillwater Creek watershed met the applicable geometric mean criterion. The majority of sampling locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed are in areas without centralized sewage treatment. The non- attainment is most likely due to unsanitary conditions from poorly treated sanitary waste. The highest geometric

1 EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017 mean values were found in Standingstone Fork in the headwaters of the Brushy Fork subwatershed (26,000 cfu/100 ml) and in Stillwater Creek at Trenton Avenue in Uhrichsville (32,515 cfu/100 ml). These were collected on the same day (July 27, 2012). Localized rain events can stir up bacteria in the sediment which gets suspended in the water column. Standingstone Fork had consistently high bacteria counts for every sampling event, but the Trenton Avenue dam was very low during all other sampling events and met the applicable geometric mean criterion. Agricultural activities in the watershed are somewhat sparse, but it is possible that poor manure management or concentrated animal feedlots are also causing unsanitary conditions in the Stillwater Creek watershed.

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Table 1. Stillwater Creek watershed sampling locations from Ohio EPA 2012 survey. Site River Drainage Numbers* Stream Name /Location Mile Area Latitude Longitude 1 Stillwater Creek @ Johnson Drive 1.34 483.0 40.426900 -81.355300 2 Stillwater Creek DST Twin Cities WWTP 2.60 481.0 40.412500 -81.346400 3 Twin Cities WWTP outfall 001 to Stillwater Creek 3.08 481.0 40.406400 -81.342800 4 Stillwater Creek UST Twin Cities WWTP 3.10 481.0 40.406100 -81.342500 5 Stillwater Creek @ Trenton Ave (DST dam) 5.10 367.0 40.388071 -81.346628 6 Stillwater Creek near Filtration Plant 7.00 364.0 40.376400 -81.337500 7 Stillwater Creek @ Wolford Rd 9.93 357.5 40.348425 -81.337166 8 Stillwater Creek @ ST. RT. 800 18.51 345.0 40.317500 -81.311100 9 Stillwater Creek @ Norris Rd. DST Clendening Lake 25.50 282.0 40.269700 -81.290600 10 Stillwater Creek DST. Craborchard Creek 33.00 189.0 40.218300 -81.278900 11 Stillwater Creek DST Piedmont Lake 38.24 86.0 40.195000 -81.215600 12 Stillwater Creek Farm Lane off Egypt Lane 50.20 74.0 40.095675 -81.131863 13 Stillwater Creek at Egypt North Rd 52.80 12.6 40.060185 -81.120568 14 Stillwater Creek @ Olivett Rd 54.00 9.4 40.046873 -81.112227 15 Atkinson Creek @ Riggs Hollow Rd. 1.50 11.8 40.231700 -81.306700 16 Craborchard Creek @ Birmingham Rd. 0.80 11.4 40.213300 -81.290800 17 Little Stillwater Creek @ SR 800 in Dennison 2.80 105.0 40.393900 -81.324700 18 Little Stillwater Creek @ CR 37 5.50 96.4 40.405193 -81.288253 19 Little Stillwater Creek DST Tappan Lake Dam 10.50 71.0 40.356700 -81.229200 20 Plum Run at Plum Run Rd West of Tappan Lake 1.07 3.9 40.371856 -81.240009 21 Trib. to Little Stillwater Creek (RM 7.6) @ Yager Rd 0.50 4.3 40.389711 -81.256941 22 Clear Fork @ Mizer Road (TR 235) 3.50 22.1 40.337030 -81.099205 23 Clear Fork @ Lower Clear Fork Rd NW of Cadiz 8.5 9.9 40.325357 -81.035298 24 Standingstone Fork at Mooreland Road 2.48 7.7 40.294859 -81.076017 25 Crooked Creek @ SR 258 east of Rock 0.70 47.3 40.308564 -81.323343 26 Crooked Creek @ CR 33 at Rock 4.00 14.9 40.304672 -81.362274 27 Watson Creek at Ripley Road 1.40 7.9 40.307056 -81.394698 28 Laurel Creek (trib to Crooked Cr.) @ SR 258 0.17 28.7 40.301984 -81.327762 29 Laurel Creek (trib to Crooked Cr.) @ Laurel Run Rd 6.90 10.8 40.246241 -81.369782 30 Fallen Timber Creek @ SR 258 0.05 9.5 40.277845 -81.331814 31 Weaver Run @ Kinsey Rd 1.65 8.5 40.308510 -81.284805 32 Hitchcock Run @ Weaver Run Rd CR 39 0.10 3.5 40.311912 -81.270312 33 Brushy Fork DST Clendening Lake Dam 0.29 69.0 40.268100 -81.280300 34 Brushy Fork @ Spiker Road (TR 346) 12.50 26.7 40.257969 -81.127227 35 Brushy Fork @ Freeman Road 18.80 5.4 40.247981 -81.052262 36 Elk Run @ Elk Run Rd 0.20 5.6 40.246866 -81.145344 37 Skull Fork @ Covered Bridge Rd 2.20 43.0 40.183085 -81.268946 38 Skull Fork @ Skull Fork Rd 6.80 26.9 40.139167 -81.265409 39 Skull Fork DST Penny Royal Rd 13.80 7.1 40.082800 -81.266900 40 Trib. to Skull Fork (13.87) @ McBride Lane 0.62 1.2 40.078082 -81.258114

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Site River Drainage Numbers* Stream Name /Location Mile Area Latitude Longitude 41 Miller Fork @ Tyson Mill Rd 0.90 6.3 40.124854 -81.294438 42 Sixmile Run @ Murphy Ridge Road 1.30 4.8 40.127962 -81.139636 43 Trib. to Sixmile Run @ Fairhill Road 0.60 1.6 40.134380 -81.141880 44 Boggs Fork @ old Piedmont Rd. 0.75 28.6 40.190557 -81.203606 45 Boggs Fork @ Nottingham-Holloway Rd. 6.70 13.2 40.171400 -81.135000 46 Plum Run (trib to Boggs) at old Piedmont Rd 0.40 6.7 40.194007 -81.198271 47 Trail Run @ Holloway Pratt Street 0.75 6.4 40.161943 -81.137301 48 Rush Run @ Rush Run Road 0.30 1.9 40.176414 -81.135551 49 Spencer Creek @ Hillcrest Road 6.85 6.7 40.020096 -81.156926 50 Spencer Creek @ Mt. Olivett Rd. 3.25 20.7 40.057118 -81.147515 *The color of the site number corresponds to the narrative biological score (blue is exceptional to very good (meets EWH goals), green is good to marginally good (meets WWH goals) yellow is fair, orange is poor and red is very poor (fair, poor and very poor do not meet the goals of WWH). Sites with no color were sampled for chemical parameters only. Site numbers correspond to the comparable map locations in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Map of the Stillwater Creek watershed sampling locations, 2012.

EAS/2015‐11‐07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 2. Aquatic life use attainment status for sampling locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012. The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), Modified Index of Well‐being (MIwb), and Invertebrate Community Index (ICI) scores are based on the performance of the biological community. Stream habitat, as measured by the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI), reflects the ability to support a biological community. The Stillwater Creek watershed is located in the Western Allegheny Plateau (WAP) ecoregion. If biological impairment has occurred, the cause(s) and source(s) of the impairment are noted. NA = not applicable. For the aquatic life use designation, R denotes a recommendation that differs from the current use designation.

Drainage

Area Aquatic Life Aquatic Life (Headwater = River Mile H, Wade=W, Use Attainment Cause/Source of a Stream (IBI/ICI) Boat=B) Designation Status IBI MIwb ICI QHEI Impairment Stillwater 56.0/54.0 9.4(H) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 50 NA MGns 61.5 Creek Stillwater 52.8 12.4(H) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 40ns NA MGns 64.0 Creek Stillwater 50.2/51.0 37.6(W) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 40ns 8.2 ns 34ns 37.5 Creek Stillwater 38.24 86.0(W) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 44 9.4 G 65.8 Creek Stillwater 33/32.9 189.0(W) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 46 8.1ns 38 54.5 Creek Stillwater Hydrogen sulfide, D.O. / 25.5 282.0(W) WWH PARTIAL 43ns 7.4* 30* 63.8 Creek Dam or impoundment Stillwater 18.5 345.0(B) WWH FULL 52 9.2 42 66.8 Creek Direct habitat alterations, Other flow Stillwater 9.9 358.0(B) WWH PARTIAL 37ns 8.5 20* 56.8 regime alterations / Creek Channelization, Dam or impoundment Direct habitat alterations, Other flow Stillwater 7.0 364.0(B) WWH PARTIAL 35* 8.6 LF* 51.5 regime alterations / Creek Channelization, Dam or impoundment Stillwater 5.1 367.0(W) WWH FULL 52 11.0 36 66.8 Creek Stillwater 3.1 481.0(B) WWH FULL ‐ ‐ MGns ‐ Creek Direct habitat Stillwater alterations, PARTIAL ns Creek 2.6 481.0(B) WWH 39 9.1 14* 50.3 Sedimentation / Channelization Direct habitat Stillwater alterations, PARTIAL ns Creek 1.3 483.0(B) WWH 37 9.9 16* 52.3 Sedimentation / Channelization Spencer 6.85 6.7(H) WWH FULL 46 NA MGns 75.5 Creek Direct habitat Spencer alterations, 3.25 20.7(W) WWH PARTIAL 41ns 7.8* 38 36.5 Creek Sedimentation / Channelization

EAS/2015‐11‐07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Drainage

Area Aquatic Life Aquatic Life (Headwater = River Mile H, Wade=W, Use Attainment Cause/Source of a Stream (IBI/ICI) Boat=B) Designation Status IBI MIwb ICI QHEI Impairment Sixmile Run 1.3 4.8(H) WWH NA ‐ ‐ LF* ‐ Total dissolved solids, Boggs Fork 6.7 13.2(H) WWH NON 36* NA F* 41.5 Sedimentation / Coal mining Boggs Fork 0.75 28.5(W) LWH/WWH‐ R FULL 49 9.1 42 53.8 Sedimentation / Trail Run 0.8/0.75 6.4(H) LWH/WWH‐R PARTIAL 50 NA F* 39.5 Channelization, Coal mining Plum Run 0.4 6.7(H) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 46 NA E 55.8 Sedimentation, Total dissolved solids / Skull Fork 13/13.8 7.1(H) LWH/WWH‐R NON 36* NA F* 54.5 Channelization, Coal mining Low Flow, Sedimentation, Skull Fork 6.8 26.9(W) LWH/WWH‐R PARTIAL 48 7.4* F* 53.0 Manganese / Coal mining Skull Fork 2.2 43.0(W) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 41ns 8.2 ns 34ns 70.3

Trib. to Skull Natural conditions Fork at RM 0.6/0.4 2.1(H) WWH‐R NON 22* NA MGns 44.3 (flow or habitat) / 13.87 Natural sources Miller Fork 0.9 6.3(H) LWH/WWH‐R FULL 44 NA MGns 42.0 Craborchard 0.8 11.4(H) WWH FULL 40ns NA VG 65.3 Creek Atkinson 1.5 11.8(H) WWH FULL 40ns NA E 52.5 Creek Total dissolved solids / Brushy Fork 18.85 2.8(H) WWH NON 38* NA F* 67.3 Coal mining Total dissolved solids / Brushy Fork 12.5 26.7(W) WWH PARTIAL 37* 7.9ns 30* 70.5 Coal mining Hydrogen sulfide, D.O. / Brushy Fork 0.29 69.0 (W) WWH (NON) ‐ ‐ 2* ‐ Dam or impoundment Other flow regime Elk Run 0.2 5.6(H) WWH PARTIAL 32* NA VG 62.0 alterations / Dam or Impoundment Low Flow, Sedimentation, Direct habitat alterations, Weaver Run 1.7/1.65 8.5(H) WWH PARTIAL 44 NA F* 35.5 Manganese / Channelization, Coal Mining Low Flow, Sedimentation, Direct habitat alterations, Hitchcock 0.1 3.5(H) WWH NON 28* NA F* 36.8 Run Manganese / Channelization, Coal Mining Crooked 4.0 14.9(H) WWH FULL 44 NA MGns 62.0 Creek Crooked 0.7 47.3(W) WWH FULL 41ns 8.9 38 62.5 Creek 7

EAS/2015‐11‐07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Drainage

Area Aquatic Life Aquatic Life (Headwater = River Mile H, Wade=W, Use Attainment Cause/Source of a Stream (IBI/ICI) Boat=B) Designation Status IBI MIwb ICI QHEI Impairment Watson Creek 1.5/1.4 7.9(H) WWH FULL 50 NA MGns 44.3 Laurel Creek 6.9 10.8(H) WWH FULL 48 NA E 61.5 Sedimentation / Laurel Creek 0.2/0.17 28.0(W) WWH PARTIAL 39* 8.0ns 44 54.3 Non‐Irrigated Crop Production Fallen Timbers 0.1/0.05 9.5(H) WWH FULL 40ns NA G 46.0 Creek Little Hydrogen sulfide, D.O. / Stillwater 10.5 71.0(W) WWH (NON) ‐ ‐ 6* ‐ Dam or impoundment Creek Little Stillwater 5.5 96.4(W) WWH FULL 47 8.2ns 40 65.0 Creek Direct habitat Little alterations, Stillwater 3.8/2.8 105.0(W) WWH PARTIAL 33* 7.2* 34ns 35.5 Sedimentation / Creek Channelization Total dissolved solids, Clear Fork 8.5 9.9(H) WWH PARTIAL 52 NA F* 65.3 Sedimentation / Coal mining Clear Fork 3.5/3.8 22.0 (W) WWH FULL 40ns 8.4 36 62.5 Total Dissolved Solids, Standing‐ 2.48 7.7(H) WWH PARTIAL 42ns NA F* 63.5 Sedimentation / Coal stone Fork mining, Channelization Low flow, Sedimentation, Direct Plum Run ns habitat alterations, (Tappan Lake 1.07 4.7(H) WWH PARTIAL 40 NA LF* 38.3 Trib.) Manganese / Coal mining, Channelization Trib. to Little Stillwater 0.5 4.3(H) WWH FULL 44 NA G 55.8 Creek at RM 7.60

ns Nonsignificant departure from biocriterion (<4 IBI or ICI BIOCRITERIA – WAP ECOREGION units; <0.5 MIwb units).

INDEX: Sample Type WWH * Significant departure from biocriterion (>4 IBI or ICI units; >0.5 MIwb units). Poor and very poor results are underlined. IBI: Headwater/Wading/Boat 44/ 44/ 40 MIwb: Wading/ Boat 8.4/ 8.6 a Narrative evaluation used in lieu of ICI (E=Exceptional; ICI 36 VG=Very Good; G=Good; MG=Marginally Good; F=Fair; LF =Low Fair; P=Poor; VP=Very Poor).

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The streams in the Stillwater Creek study area currently listed in the Ohio Water Quality Standards (WQS) are assigned one or more of the following aquatic life use designations: Warmwater Habitat (WWH) and Limited Warmwater Habitat (LWH). The use designations for Stillwater Creek and Little Stillwater Creek are based on 1983, 1988, 1992 or 2003 biological surveys conducted by Ohio EPA. All other streams still retain their original 1978 WQS designations which were assigned before development of standardized approaches to the collection of instream biological data and numerical biological criteria. The most recent survey employed an extensive chemical and biological sampling effort to evaluate conditions and establish appropriate aquatic life uses throughout the study area.

Twenty-four streams were evaluated for aquatic life and recreation use potential in 2012 (Table 3). As a result of the 2012 survey findings, the WWH aquatic life use designation was recommended for all Stillwater Creek basin streams. All segments currently listed as LWH were recommended for re-designation to WWH. Those streams included Stillwater Creek, Boggs Fork, Trail Run, Plum Run, Skull Fork and Miller Fork. All other streams were verified as WWH. Significant findings included the following.

 The Stillwater Creek headwaters to Brushy Fork segment is currently listed as LWH due to acid mine drainage with an exemption for TDS due to historical mining. The rest of the mainstem is listed as WWH, and the section from the Uhrichsville dam (RM 5.2) to the mouth was confirmed as WWH in the WQS in a 1985 rule making. The section of Stillwater Creek that is designated LWH met the WWH biological criteria with full attainment from the headwaters to Brushy Fork (Clendening dam). Stillwater Creek downstream from Brushy Fork met the WWH biocriteria at all locations except downstream from Brushy Fork (Clendening Lake) and downstream from Little Stillwater Creek (Tappan Lake). Those locations did not meet the WWH criteria due to the poor quality water discharging from both Tappan and Clendening lakes. Mainstem Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) scores averaged 57.6, which is close to the score of 60 that is considered adequate to support WWH communities. Vast areas of historically mined lands in the basin have been reclaimed and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Mineral Resources Management (ODNR-MRM) has been particularly active in gob pile remediation over the last quarter century. For these reasons, the WWH designation is considered appropriate. While the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has modified the water release structure at Tappan Lake, it is recommended they continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the modification. Monitoring of the dissolved oxygen (D.O.) levels should occur. Additionally, the USACE should determine if further improvements are necessary at all USACE maintained lakes in the watershed. Planned modifications to the dam structures at Piedmont Lake and Clendening Lake to allow for a top release of lake water are planned for spring 2017. These modifications should greatly improve the water quality of the mainstem and should bring the mainstem into full attainment of the WWH biocriteria.

Removing the lowhead dam in Uhrichsville at RM 5.2 just upstream from Trenton Avenue is also recommended. The dam has caused drownings and remains a hazard for boating and recreational opportunities. Ohio EPA evaluated sites within the dam pool in 2003 and found poor habitat and non- attainment in the impoundment and full attainment in the free flowing section downstream from the dam (OEPA 2003). Restoring Stillwater Creek to free-flowing will improve the habitat and restore several miles of the mainstem upstream from Uhrichsville.

 Little Stillwater Creek is currently listed as WWH. The section from Plum Run (downstream from Tappan Lake) to Dennison was verified WWH and adopted in the WQS in a 1985 rule making. The upper section of

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Little Stillwater Creek is the Tappan Lake dam pool. Three sites were sampled downstream from Tappan Lake. The site located below the dam had similar water quality issues as Piedmont Lake on Stillwater Creek and Clendening Lake on Brushy Fork, with low D.O. and a milky white discharge related to high concentrations of sulfates within the lake. The next site downstream on Little Stillwater Creek at RM 5.5 fully met WWH expectations and had a habitat (QHEI) score of 65.0. The lowest downstream site sampled on Little Stillwater Creek was in partial attainment of the WWH aquatic life use due to an impairment of the fish community. The QHEI score at this location was 35.5, which is poor habitat not typically associated with a WWH fish community. The site at RM 5.5 demonstrated that Little Stillwater Creek is capable of supporting a WWH fish community and that with habitat and water quality improvements, it’s possible that the other locations would be able to meet WWH. It’s recommended that Little Stillwater Creek maintain the current WWH biological use designation. It is also recommended that the discharges from Tappan Lake be modified to prevent the toxic conditions below the dam. This would include monitoring the D.O. levels and not discharging the water from the bottom of the lake when D.O. levels are at their lowest concentration. Another concern about the lower section of the Little Stillwater Creek is the direct habitat alterations and channelization of the creek which are preventing suitable habitat for a WWH community. It’s recommended that future habitat alteration projects be minimized or stopped so that the channel can recover and return to a natural state. Additionally, habitat restoration projects could be evaluated and implemented if possible.

 Clear Fork and Standingstone Fork are tributaries to Tappan Lake (Little Stillwater Creek). Both streams are currently designated WWH but they have not been verified prior to this survey. There has been a tremendous amount of historic mining in the headwaters of these streams and non-acidic (alkaline) mine drainage flows into both streams. The type of mine drainage found in this area is typically more detrimental to the macroinvertebrate community but doesn’t have as much impact on the fish community. Biological performance for macroinvertebrates was fair in both streams. The fish community was exceptional to marginally good in Clear Fork and was marginally good in Standingstone Fork. The physical habitat quality was adequate to support WWH communities with QHEI scores in the 60s at all locations. Mine reclamation activity in the watershed is both recent and on-going. Based on 2012 sampling, the current WWH use should be retained based on existing habitat quality and the prospects for additional recovery.

 The Crooked Creek subwatershed includes Laurel, Watson, and Fallen Timbers creeks and is located primarily in southeastern Tuscarawas County near the town of Stillwater. Crooked, Laurel, Watson and Fallen Timbers creeks are all designated WWH but have not been verified prior to this survey. This area of the Stillwater Creek watershed does have some historic and active mining, but the impacts have been minimal when compared to other areas mined in the Stillwater Creek watershed. All sites evaluated in the subwatershed met the WWH aquatic life use, with fish and macroinvertebrate narratives ranging from exceptional to marginally good with the exception of Laurel Creek at the mouth, which had a fair fish community. QHEI scores ranged from 44.3 in Watson Creek to 62.5 in Crooked Creek. The habitat in Watson Creek was marginal and has been influenced by beaver dams that have resulted in poor pool-riffle- run development. However, the fish performance was exceptional, indicating the habitat, while degraded, is sufficient to support a WWH community. The WWH use should be retained based on existing biological and habitat quality.

 Weaver Run (direct tributary to Stillwater Creek) and Hitchcock Run (tributary to Weaver Run) are both listed as unverified WWH in the WQS. Both streams have small drainage areas (less than 10 square miles) and are low gradient wetland streams with aquatic plants and mostly sluggish pool habitat. The large underground Tusky mine complex is located below Hitchcock Run and just north of Weaver Run. Habitat scores were low (QHEI = 35.5 in Weaver Run and 36.8 in Hitchcock Run), reflecting poor stream

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development and the lack of riffles. Weaver Run was partially meeting WWH (fish were good and macroinvertebrates were fair) and Hitchcock Run was in non-attainment of the WWH biological criteria with fair fish and macroinvertebrate communities. There are no use designations in Ohio for streams that are low gradient and perform like a linear wetland. These conditions do occur naturally, so even though the habitat scores are not supportive of a WWH community, it is recommended that these retain the WWH use designation.

 Brushy Fork is a tributary to the Stillwater Creek near the town of Tippecanoe in Harrison County. Clendening Lake is located on Brushy Fork with its dam located very close to the mouth of Brushy Fork. The headwaters of Brushy Fork drain from the city of Cadiz and have been extensively surfaced mined. Along State Route 22, mine drainage can be seen discharging into the headwaters of Brushy Fork. The fish and macroinvertebrate communities were fair upstream from the Clendening Lake dam pool but the habitat scores (QHEI) were both 70. Even though Brushy Fork was not meeting WWH at either location, the fish and macroinvertebrate scores were both close to meeting WWH. The very good habitat scores also indicate that if the water quality were improved through future reclamation or attenuation of mine drainage, Brushy Fork would be able to support a WWH community. It is therefore recommended that Brushy Fork maintain the use designation of WWH.

 Craborchard Creek is a tributary to Stillwater Creek near the town of Freeport that flows through Harrison and Guernsey counties. Craborchard Creek is designated WWH but has not been verified in the WQS. There are abandoned underground mines within the watershed, and Rosebud Mining Company has an active underground mining operation called the Vail Mine. Both the fish and the macroinvertebrate communities met the WWH biological criteria with scores ranging from marginally good for the fish and very good for the macroinvertebrates. The habitat score was 65.3 for the QHEI, which is typically associated with a WWH community. With both indicator groups meeting the WWH use criteria and the good habitat scores, it is recommended that the WWH use designation be retained. It is also recommended that discharges from the Vail Mine continue to be monitored to ensure that the water quality is not impacted.

 Atkinson Creek is a direct tributary to Stillwater Creek located northwest of the town of Freeport. It flows through Guernsey, Tuscarawas and Harrison counties. Atkinson Creek is designated WWH in the WQS. Both the fish and macroinvertebrates met the WWH biological criteria with scores ranging from marginally good for fish and exceptional for macroinvertebrates. The habitat score of Atkinson Creek was 58.5, which is close to the target of 60 for WWH streams. It is recommended that Atkinson Creek maintain the WWH use designation.

 Tributary to Stillwater Creek (RM 7.60) is currently undesignated in the Ohio WQS. It is a small headwater stream draining to Stillwater Creek at RM 7.60. The site sampled had good habitat (QHEI = 55.5) and was fully meeting WWH biological expectations for both fish and macroinvertebrates. The WWH use designation is recommended for this unnamed tributary to Stillwater Creek.

 Skull Fork (tributary to Stillwater Creek) and Miller Fork (tributary to Skull Fork) are both currently designated LWH due to acid mine drainage, with an exemption for TDS due to historical mining. Miller Fork had a marginal habitat score (QHEI = 43.5) but the fish and macroinvertebrate communities were both meeting the WWH aquatic life use with scores and narratives reflecting marginally good to very good communities. The habitat scores of Miller Fork were reflective of low gradient wetland stream conditions with poor pool-riffle-run development. Since Miller Fork is currently supporting WWH biological communities, it is recommended that the use designation be changed from LWH to WWH.

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Skull Fork was sampled at three locations. The most downstream location had the best habitat score (QHEI=70.3), with marginally good biological communities that met the WWH aquatic life use. The two upstream sites that were sampled at RM 13.0 and RM 6.8 were in non and partial attainment, respectively, due to sedimentation, high TDS, and manganese from historic mining impacts. The biological scores ranged from fair to very good, and the habitat scores were below the target of 60 typically associated with WWH communities with QHEIs in the low 50s. Even though the upper sites were not meeting the WWH aquatic life use designation, it is possible that future reclamation projects in the headwaters of Skull Fork and attenuation of historic mine drainage will result in future attainment of the WWH use designation. It is recommended that that the use designation of Skull Fork be changed from LWH to WWH. It is also recommended that this area be evaluated for potential mine reclamation projects to improve the water quality of Skull Fork.

 Tributary to Skull Fork (at RM 13.8) is currently undesignated in the Ohio WQS. This is a small headwater stream that had only two fish species (creek chub and johnny darter) but supported a marginally good macroinvertebrate community with five cold-water taxa. Since cold-water fish were not found in the tributary, a WWH use designation is recommended. One cold-water fish taxon was found below this tributary in Skull Fork, so this stream should be evaluated again in the future to determine if cold-water fish species are using this stream, especially during spring spawning.

 Boggs Fork is a direct tributary to Stillwater Creek and is designated LWH with an exemption for TDS due to historical mining from the town of Holloway to the confluence with Stillwater Creek and WWH upstream from Holloway. Two locations were sampled on Boggs Fork at RM 6.7 and RM 0.75. The upstream site supported fair biological communities, poor habitat (QHEI = 44.5) and were in non-attainment of the WWH use designation due to TDS and sedimentation from historic coal mining activity. The lower section of Boggs Fork in Holloway met the WWH biocriteria with scores ranging from marginally good to very good. The use designation of the lower site should be changed from LWH to WWH since the biological communities are meeting the WWH biological criteria. Reclamation projects should be targeted for the upper section of Boggs Fork where mine drainage is still entering the watershed from historic coal mining activity. With reclamation and natural attenuation of the mine drainage, it’s possible that the biological communities will recover in the headwaters of Boggs Fork.

 Plum Run and Trail Run (tributaries to Boggs Fork) are both currently designated LWH due to acid mine drainage with an exemption for TDS due to mining history. Plum Run biological scores ranged from very good to exceptional and met WWH aquatic life use expectations. Because Plum Run was fully meeting WWH, it is recommended that the use designation be changed from LWH to WWH.

Trial Run was in partial attainment of the WWH aquatic life use criteria with an exceptional fish community and a fair macroinvertebrate community score. The habitat of Trail Run appears to be heavily modified by past mining activity. The QHEI score was very poor (39.5), with instream habitat dominated by a heavy sediment bedload and channelized banks. Many of the streams in the Stillwater Creek watershed are low gradient wetland streams and have limited development of pool-riffle-run complexes. Even though the habitat was marginal, the pools provided enough cover to support an exceptional fish community, but limited the macroinvertebrates. Since Trail Run can support an exceptional fish community, it is recommended that the use designation be changed from LWH to WWH.

 Sixmile Run was evaluated for the macroinvertebrate community without a fish or habitat assessment. The macroinvertebrates scored a low fair. Sixmile Run is currently designated as WWH but without a fish

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assessment, the use designation could not be assessed at this time. It is recommended that a future fish and habitat sample be conducted in Sixmile Run to verify the existing use designation.

 Spencer Creek is designated WWH in the WQS. Two locations were sampled in Spencer Creek at RM 6.85 and RM 3.25. The upper site had good habitat (QHEI = 75.5) and was fully meeting the WWH biological criteria for both fish and macroinvertebrates. The lower site had poor habitat (QHEI=39.5) and was in partial attainment of the WWH biological criteria. The macroinvertebrate score and fish IBI score were marginally good to good and was fully meeting WWH expectations, but the MIwb was only in the fair range. Even though the lower site was in partial attainment, Spencer Creek is capable of supporting a WWH community. It is recommended that Spencer Creek maintain the WWH use designation.

All designated streams in the Stillwater Creek study area are currently assigned as Primary Contact Recreation (PCR), Agricultural Water Supply (AWS) and Industrial Water Supply (IWS). These beneficial use designations are confirmed and should be retained. The WQS lists two Public Water Supply (PWS) sources in the Stillwater Creek watershed. One is an intake on Tappan Lake (Little Stillwater Creek at RM 14.55) for the city of Cadiz and the other was located on the Stillwater Creek mainstem at RM 7.05 for Twin City but is no longer in operation as of 2013.

The findings of this evaluation may factor into regulatory actions taken by the Ohio EPA (e.g. NPDES permits, Director’s Orders, or the Ohio Water Quality Standards [Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3745-1], and may eventually be incorporated into State Water Quality Management Plans, the Ohio Nonpoint Source Assessment, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and the biennial Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305[b] and 303[d] report).

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Table 3. Waterbody use designation recommendations for the Stillwater Creek watershed. Designations based on the 1978 and 1985 water quality standards appear as asterisks (*). In addition, streams not assessed during the 2012 survey are in small, light blue font. The following symbol: */+ indicates a confirmation of an existing use and a triangle (▲) denotes a new recommended use based on the findings of this report.

Use Designations

Water Body Aquatic Life Habitat Water Supply Recreation Comments S W E M S C L P A I B P S Segment R W W W S W R W W W W C C W H H H H H W S S S R R

Stillwater creek */ Formerly PWS Intake for ▲ */+ */+ + Twin City at RM 7.05 PWS Intake for Cadiz at Little Stillwater creek + o + + + RM 14.55 (Tappan Lake) Wolf run * * * * Irish run * * * * UT (Little Stillwater Creek RM

7.6) ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ */ Plum run */+ */+ */+ + Willis run * * * * Beaverdam run * * * * Edington run * * * * Beaverdam run * * * * Leiper run * * * * Clear fork */+ */+ */+ */ + Standingstone fork */+ */+ */+ */ + Crooked Creek */+ */+ */+ */ +

Laurel creek */+ */+ */+ */ + Watson creek */+ */+ */+ */ + Fallen Timber creek */+ */+ */+ */ + Phillips fork * * * * Weaver run */+ */+ */+ */ + Hitchcock run */+ */+ */+ */ + Brushy fork */+ */+ */+ */ + Hefling run * * * * Long Run * * * * Colman run * * * * Huff run * * * * McFadden run * * * * Elk Run */+ */+ */+ */ + South fork * * * * Atkinson creek */+ */+ */+ */ + Craborchard creek */+ */+ */+ */ + Skull Fork ▲ */+ */+ */ +

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Use Designations

Water Body Aquatic Life Habitat Water Supply Recreation Comments S W E M S C L P A I B P S Segment R W W W S W R W W W W C C W H H H H H W S S S R R Millers Fork ▲ */+ */+ */ + UT (Skull Fork RM 13.87) ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Piedmont reservoir tributaries *L * * * Boggs fork ▲ */+ */+ */ + Plum Run ▲ */+ */+ */ + Trail run ▲ */+ */+ */ + Rush run *L * * * Jockey Hollow run * * * * s Indian run * * * * i Sixmile run * * * * t Lick run * * * * e Robinson run * * * * . Buttermilk creek * * * * j Coal run * * * * s p Spencer creek */+ */+ */+ */ + ? SRW = state resource water; WWH = warmwater habitat; EWH = exceptional warmwater habitat; MWH = modified warmwater habitat; SSH o = seasonal salmonid habitat; CWH = coldwater habitat; LRW = limited resource water; PWS = public water supply; AWS = agricultural water b supply; IWS = industrial water supply; BW = bathing water; PCR = primary contact recreation; SCR = secondary contact recreation j e c t I D = 1 7 0 0 0 & o r g I D = 2 1 O H I 15 O

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

INTRODUCTION

Ohio EPA sampled 31 streams at 63 locations and three lakes at six lake locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed from 2011 to 2015 using standard Ohio EPA protocols as described in Appendix Table 1. Included in this study were assessments of the biological, surface water and recreation (bacterial) condition. A total of 50 biological (2012), 63 water chemistry (2011-2015), 9 sediment (2012), eight fish tissue (2012), and 23 bacterial stations (2012) were sampled in the study area. Additionally, three lakes were sampled in the watershed between 2012-2013 and the results are presented in the lakes section of this report.

A total of 7 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted facilities discharge sanitary wastewater, industrial process water, and/or industrial storm water into streams situated in the Stillwater Creek watershed. A complete list of NPDES permitted facilities can be found in Table XX.

Specific objectives of the evaluation were to:  ascertain the status and condition of biological communities in the Stillwater Creek watershed by evaluating fish and macroinvertebrates,  identify the relative levels of organic, inorganic, and nutrient parameters in the sediments and surface water,  evaluate influences from NPDES outfall discharges,  evaluate influences from nonpoint pollution sources, particularly those associated with historic coal mining,  assess physical habitat influences on stream biotic integrity,  determine recreation water quality,  compare present results with historical conditions, and  determine beneficial use attainment status and recommend changes if appropriate.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION

The Stillwater Creek watershed drains 485 square miles and is located in Belmont, Guernsey, Harrison, and Tuscarawas counties, with a very small portion of the watershed located in Carroll County (ODNR 2001) (Figure 3). The headwaters of Stillwater Creek begin in Belmont County north of the village of Barnesville. The city of Uhrichsville and village of Dennison (Twin City), and the villages of Holloway, Deersville, Freeport and Tippecanoe are within the watershed. Barnesville, Bethesda, Morristown, Fairview, Flushing and Cadiz are along the south and eastern perimeter of the Stillwater Creek watershed. The mainstem flows to the northeast through the villages of Piedmont, Freeport, Tippecanoe and the city of Uhrichsville and enters the Tuscarawas River at river mile (RM) 47.08. The predominant land uses in the watershed include forest (67%), cultivated crops (8%) and pasture/hay (15%). Approximately 7% of the watershed is developed land and 1.5% is open water. Coal and clay mining had been extensive throughout the watershed. Figure 3. Muskingum River Many of the reclaimed surface coal mines areas are now used to graze cattle watershed (blue) and Stillwater since these areas are vast open grassland spaces. A total of seven National Creek study area (red). Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted facilities discharge sanitary wastewater, industrial process water, and/or industrial storm water into the Stillwater Creek watershed study area.

The eastern edge of the watershed runs along the middle third of the Flushing Escarpment. The Flushing Escarpment is a drainage divide where streams on the east side of the escarpment are high gradient and flow into the Ohio River and streams on the west side are low gradient and flow into the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers. Stillwater Creek is the headwaters of the old Dover River, which is a Teays River era drainage that flowed northeastward through the Lake Erie region to the Atlantic Ocean (Schiefer, 2002). Stillwater Creek has remained much as it was during the Teays era thru the end of the Wisconsin glacial period (Stout et al. 1943) into current time. The old age of Stillwater Creek is born-out by its physiology. The stream valley near the mouth of Stillwater Creek is at places 1.5 miles wide, while the stream itself is only 63.5 miles long. As far up stream as river mile 23, the stream has a valley of ¾ mile wide. Stillwater Creek can be said to be a misfit stream which is defined as a stream that appears to be too small for the valley width or the stream size is inversely proportional to its valley size (Mayhew 2009). Stillwater Creek has never been glaciated but does have lacustrine deposits throughout the watershed laid down when the drainage was blocked by past glaciers forming glacial finger lakes in the Stillwater and its tributaries. Some glacial lake deposits are from the middle Pleistocene Epoch or the “Great Ice Age” (possibly 1.8 million years ago), are of pre-Illinoian glaciations, and are located as far upstream as river mile 36. The lacustrine deposits allow the stream to easily down-cut, resulting in a heavily entrenched stream.

The entire watershed is within the Western Allegheny Plateau (WAP) Level 3 ecoregion which is composed of Pennsylvanian Age bedrock and is underlain by Utica/Point Pleasant Sub-Basin of the Ordovician Age. These two geologic units make the Stillwater Creek watershed a coal, oil and gas rich area. Coal, clay and limestone mining continues currently, with coal mining dominating the mining industry. Abandoned underground mines were recorded starting in 1890, but coal mining may have started as early as the 1810s. As many as 160 abandoned underground coal mines were operated within the watershed and three active underground coal mines are currently in operation (see NPDES section). Abandoned surface coal mines covered as much as 145 square miles and a few active surface mines are in operation within the watershed. Documentation of surface mining within the watershed began in the 1960s and continued through the early 2000s. Much of the more recent surface mining has had some degree of reclamation. Coal mining, prior to the Surface Mining Control

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and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, did not have to return the ground to its original grade, but instead left large piles of coal waste (gob), highwalls and mine pits.

The mainstem of Stillwater Creek from the headwaters to the confluence with Brushy Fork is designated LWH in the Ohio WQS and all other segments are WWH. Several other streams are designated LWH including Skull Fork, Millers Fork, Piedmont Reservoir tributaries, Boggs Fork (from Holloway to the confluence of Stillwater Creek), Plum Run, Trail Run and Rush Run. The rest of the evaluated tributaries are designated WWH in the WQS. http://www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/35/rules/01-24.pdf

Some of these streams were originally designated for aquatic life uses in the 1978 Ohio WQS. The techniques used then did not include standardized approaches to the collection of instream biological data or numerical biological criteria. This study used biological data to evaluate and establish aquatic life uses for these streams. See the recommendation section and Table 3 for use recommendation changes.

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Figure 4. Stillwater Creek study area land use map. (Homer, et. al, 2015)

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

RESULTS USGS Gage 03124500 Sugar Creek @ Strasburg OH Water Chemistry Surface water chemistry samples were collected from the Stillwater Creek study area 1,000 from September 2011 through October 2012 at the 50 biological sampling locations (Figure 2, Table 1) and several targeted areas with chemistry or bacteria samples only. Stations were established in free-flowing sections of 100 the streams and were primarily collected from bridge crossings. Surface water samples were collected directly into appropriate containers, Flow preserved and delivered to Ohio EPA’s 10 Chemistry Environmental Services laboratory. Collected Bacteria water was preserved using appropriate Historical Median methods, as outlined in the Manual of Ohio EPA Surveillance Methods and Quality 1 Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Assurance Practices (Ohio EPA 2012). 2011-2012 Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) gage data from Sugar Creek near Strasburg was used to Figure 5. Flows in a nearby watershed (Sugar Creek) and show flow trends in the Stillwater Creek watershed sampling dates in the Stillwater Creek survey, 2011-2012. from 2011-2012 (Figure 5). Dates when water samplesand bacteria samples were collected in the study area are noted on the graph for this period. Flow conditions during the 2012 summer field season were typically lower than the historic median. Low flow conditions were recorded from July through September, 2012 with some rain events elevating flow above the historic median. Water samples captured a variety of flow conditions in the study area during the field season. Bacteria was collected during the 2012 recreation use season (May 1 through October 31) and was typically collected during low flows when recreation was likely to occur.

Surface water samples were analyzed for metals, nutrients, organics, bacteria, pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (D.O.), percent D.O. saturation, and suspended and dissolved solids (Appendix Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5). Parameters with results exceeding the Ohio WQS criteria are reported in Table 4. Bacteriological samples were collected from eight locations, and the results are reported in the Recreation Use section and Appendix Table 5. Multi-parameter water quality sondes were placed at seven locations to monitor hourly levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and conductivity (Appendix Table 4). Sediment samples were collected from 9 stream locations (Appendix Table 6) and seven lake locations. Figure 7. Signs posted at Clendening, Tappan and Piedmont Lake dam. Much of the Stillwater Creek watershed has been extensively mined. Due to the underlying limestone geology of the watershed, the mine drainage is alkaline which is typically associated with elevated total dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity, sulfates and metals such as iron, manganese or aluminum. WQS exceedances for TDS were documented in the headwaters of Stillwater Creek, Sixmile Run, Boggs Fork, Trail Run, Skull Fork, Brushy Fork, Clear Fork and Standingstone Fork (Table 4). WQS

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exceedances for iron were found in Spencer Creek and Rush Run. Selenium and barium were both in exceedance of the WQS criteria in Plum Run (tributary to Tappan Lake). In addition to TDS, most of the areas with historic mining had correspondingly elevated levels of manganese, sulfates and conductivity (Table 5).

The highest levels of sulfate and the most WQS exceedances for TDS were found in the headwaters of Brushy Fork and Standingstone Fork (tributary to Brushy Fork). Mine seeps are actively discharging into Standingstone Fork, which can be viewed along State Route 22 just west of the village of Cadiz (Figure 6). Clendening Lake is located on Brushy Fork and, unfortunately, is heavily impacted by the historic and active mine drainage which enters from the headwaters.

The sediments in Clendening Lake are very high in sulfates and in the late summer when the lake stratifies, the concentration of the sulfates is magnified and discharged from the dam. The result is the creation of hydrogen sulfide gas, which can be periodically poisonous depending on the concentrations, as well as a milky white discharge at the mouth of Brushy Fork, which then enters Stillwater Creek just upstream from the village of Tippecanoe (Figure 6). Tappan, Clendening and Piedmont lakes all have signs posted at the dam warning the public about the dangerous conditions that could occur if exposed to the hydrogen sulfide gas (Figure 7). The public should take these warnings very seriously because hydrogen sulfide gas exposure could result in headaches, dizziness, coughing, eye irritation, loss of smell, loss of consciousness, pulmonary edema and nearly instant death at high enough concentrations. More information can be found about hydrogen sulfide gas on the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hydrogensulfide/hazards.html

Nutrients were measured at each water sampling location, and included ammonia-N, nitrate+nitrite-N, total phosphorus, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN). Summary statistics for nutrients measured in the Stillwater Creek watershed are detailed in Table 6. Ammonia levels were elevated in Stillwater Creek downstream from Piedmont Lake, Clendening Lake (Brushy Fork) and Tappan Lake (Little Stillwater Creek) and phosphorus levels were elevated below Piedmont Lake. Ammonia and phosphorus were also elevated below the Twin City WWTP. Exceedances of the WQS criterion for ammonia were observed below Tappan Lake (Little Stillwater) and Clendening Lake (Brushy Fork). Rush Run had the highest ammonia levels recorded (6.86 mg/l) in the watershed. The source of the elevated ammonia for Rush Run is unknown but there has been mining in the watershed and there is an impoundment in the headwaters that could be a potential source. Little Stillwater Creek below Tappan Lake had the second highest concentration of ammonia, with the highest level of 4.92 mg/l. The ammonia levels were lowest or not detected in the late fall to late spring (November-May) but, as the lake stratifies, the bottom layer of water is depleted of oxygen and the concentration of ammonia and phosphorus increases. During the study period, all of the dam structures released water from the bottom of the lake, so this poor quality water was discharged and had a toxic effect on the organisms downstream from the dams.

Sonde results, as recorded over a 48-hour period on August 21-23 and September 11-13, 2012 for dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and conductivity at twelve locations, are listed in Appendix Table 4. Temperature and pH measurements were well within acceptable environmental levels. Dissolved oxygen measurements below Tappan Lake (Little Stillwater Creek at RM 10.5), Clendening Lake (Brushy Fork at RM 0.29) and Stillwater Creek (downstream from Brushy Fork at Norris Rd RM 25.5) were consistently below the minimum WWH criterion of 4.0 mg/l (Figure 8). Levels less than 3.0 mg/l below the dams created a toxic zone not suitable for aquatic life. Large diel DO fluctuations (between 6-7 mg/l) were observed at Clear Fork at Mizer Road and Boggs Fork at Old Piedmont Road which suggested nutrient enrichment impacts (Miltner, 2010). Nearly all sites had elevated conductivity levels greater than reference conditions for the WAP, with the highest levels in Standingstone Fork downstream from the mine seeps (Table 5). The Crooked Creek subwatershed, located in

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the western part of the study area, had consistently normal levels of conductivity with Weaver Run averaging 292 µhoms/cm and Crooked Creek averaging 384 µhoms/cm. While there are active mines in this subwatershed, mine drainage from historic mining activity does not appear to be entering these streams.

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Stillwater Creek Basin Sonde D.O. Concentrations 9/11/12 - 9/13/12 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

D.O. D.O. (mg/l) 2 1 0

Figure 8. Sonde D.O. concentrations in the Stillwater Creek basin, 2012.

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Table 4. Exceedances of Ohio WQS criteria (OAC 3745-1) for chemical/physical parameters measured in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012. Bacteria exceedances are presented in the Recreation Use Section. Stream/RM Location (Station #) Parameter

Stillwater Creek (17-350) 56.00 @ McMillian Rd. TR 100 (302054) None 52.80 Egypt N. Rd (301961) TDS (1640, 1860 mg/l) 50.20 Farm Lane off Egypt Lane (301718) TDS (1500mg/l, 1570 mg/l) a 38.24 Dst Piedmont Lake (R09S06) None 33.00 Dst Craborchard Creek (R09S10) D.O. (4.92 mg/l) a Tippecanoe @ Norris Rd. Dst Brush Fork 25.50 D.O. (4.08 mg/l)a (R09K06) 18.5 @ St. Rt. 800 (R09S07) None 9.9.0 Wolford Rd (301960) D.O. (4.66 mg/l) a 7.00 @ Uhrichsville filtration plant (R09K05) None 5.23 Ust Trenton Ave in dam pool (R09S01) None 5.10 Trenton Ave Dst dam (301959) pH (9.03 S.U.) a 3.10 Ust Twin Cities WWTP (R09W01) D.O. (4.48 mg/l) a 2.60 Dst Twin Cities WWTP (R09W03) None 1.30 Johnson Dr. dst Twin City WWTP (611720) D.O. (4.95 mg/l) a Spencer Creek (17-392) 6.85 Hillcrest Rd (301985) None 3.25 Mt. Olivette Rd. (301984) Iron (14400 ug/l) b, TDS (1640, 1860 mg/l) a Sixmile Run (17-379) 1.30 Six Mile Run Rd. (301979) TDS (1530mg/l) a Tributary to Sixmile Run (17-379-001) 0.60 Fairhill Rd. (301986) TDS (1890, 1850, 1550, 1680, 1550mg/l) a Boggs Fork (17-373) 6.70 Nottingham-Holloway Rd (R09K32) TDS (1790, 1790, 1540, 1550 mg/l) a 0.75 Old Piedmont Rd (301980) TDS (1650, 1680 mg/l) a Rush Run (17-376) 0.30 Rush Run Road (301983) D.O. (3.23 mg/l) C, Ammonia (6.86 mg/l) a, Iron (5430 ug/l) b Trail Run (17-375) 0.75 Holloway Pratt St (301982) TDS (1710 mg/l) a Plum Run (trib to Boggs Fk) (17-374) 0.40 Old Piedmont Rd. (301981) None Skull Fork (17-371) 13.80 Dst Penny Royal Rd (R09K31) TDS (1910, 2000mg/l) a 6.80 @ Skull Fork Rd (301976) (D.O. 4.5 mg/l) a 2.20 @ Covered Bridge Rd. (301975) None Miller Fork (17-372) 0.90 @ Tyson Mille Rd (301978) None Craborchard Creek (17-359) 0.80 @ Birmingham Rd (R09K09) None Atkinson Creek (17-358) 1.50 @ Riggs Hollow Rd (R09S17) D.O. (4.28mg/l) a Brushy Fork (17-380)

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18.85 Freeman Rd (301836) TDS (3420, 3490, 2400, 3250, 3100mg/l) a TDS (1790, 1590, 2190, 1940, 3100, 3140, 2190, 2580, 2720, 2740, 2140, 12.50 Cassville Rd (Spiker Rd) TR 268 (301719) 2070, 1780, 1500 mg/l) a D.O. (3.05, 0.05 gm/l) C, Ammonia (1.98, 2.21, 2.57, 3.29, 3.24, 2.35,2.26, 0.29 Dst Clendening Lake dam (R09S05) 2.93, 3.2 mg/l) a Elk Run (17-386) 0.20 Elk Run Road (301974) None Weaver Run (17-356) 1.65 @ Kinsey Rd. (301992) D.O. (4.33, 4.53 mg/l) a, (2.52, 3.15 mg/l) C Hitchcock Run (17-357) 0.10 Weaver Run Rd (301973) None Crooked Creek (17-352) 4.00 Village of Rock @ CR 33 (301967) D.O. (1.62 mg/l) 0.70 St. Rt. 258 (301966) None Watson Creek (17-353) 1.40 Ripley Rd. (301968) None Laurel Creek (17-351) 6.90 Laurel Run Rd. (301970) None 0.17 St. Rt. 258 (301969) None Fallen Timbers Creek (17-354) 0.05 St. Rt. 258 (301971) None Little Stillwater Creek (17-360) D.O. (2.78, 2.11 mg/l) C (4.27 mg/l) a 10.50 Dst. Tappan Lake dam (R09S03) Ammonia (2.32, 3.13, 3.21, 4.92, 4.36 mg/l) a 5.50 @ CR 37 Pleasant Valley Rd. (301963) None 2.80 St. Rt. 800 (R09K12) None Tributary to Little Stillwater Creek @RM 7.6 (17-360-001) 0.5 @ Yager Rd. (301965) None Clear Fork (17-369) 8.50 Lower Clear Fork Rd. (301991) TDS (1880, 1790, 1580, 1540mg/l) a 3.80 Mizer Rd. TR 235 (301720) TDS (1550mg/l) a Standingstone Fork (17-370) TDS (1620, 1910, 1830, 2150, 2030, 2390, 2330, 1890, 2160, 2180, 2290, 2.48 Mooreland Rd. (301721) 2290, 2150, 2100mg/l) a Plum Run (Trib to L. Stillwater Creek Creek/Tappan Lake) (17-363) 0.40 @ Plum Run Rd (301964) Selenium (6.6, 10.7 ug/l) a, Barium (307, 295, 379ug/l) a a Exceedance of the aquatic life Outside Mixing Zone Average water quality criterion. b Exceedance of the statewide water quality criteria for the protection of agricultural uses. C Exceedance of the aquatic life Outside Mixing Zone Maximum water quality criterion.

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Table 5. Summary statistics for select mine drainage inorganic water quality parameters sampled in the Stillwater Creek watershed, 2012. The 90th percentile value from reference sites for the Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregion is shown for comparison at the bottom of the table. Values above reference conditions or developed values are shaded.

Aluminum Chloride Iron Manganese Sp. Conductivity Sulfate Units µg/l mg/l µg/l µg/l µhoms/cm µg/l Stream River Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mile Stillwater Creek 56.00 100 4 352 592 885 354 Stillwater Creek 53.92 205 11 666 630 1710 687 Stillwater Creek 52.80 602 16 1461 408 1507 668 Stillwater Creek 50.20 631 16 1202 256 1391 667 Stillwater Creek 38.24 111 10 224 1371 1056 474 Stillwater Creek 33.00 506 16 965 689 1192 517 Stillwater Creek 26.40 100 16 366 285 1190 479 Stillwater Creek 25.50 279 11 619 492 872 372 Stillwater Creek 20.90 100 13 419 674 1030 382 Stillwater Creek 18.51 475 13 1104 650 977 397 Stillwater Creek 13.78 160 14 530 399 958 344 Stillwater Creek 9.93 244 12 586 732 991 390 Stillwater Creek 8.38 159 12 339 335 889 306 Stillwater Creek 7.00 145 13 353 921 994 403 Stillwater Creek 5.23 441 10 986 365 634 307 Stillwater Creek 5.10 346 14 727 617 879 342 Stillwater Creek 3.10 100 21 329 578 859 298 Stillwater Creek 2.60 100 21 437 461 1100 425 Stillwater Creek 1.34 145 31 333 608 902 308 Spencer Creek 6.85 284 30 630 190 1045 377 Spencer Creek 3.25 1527 21 3373 578 1672 799 Sixmile Run 1.30 202 6 699 937 1536 746 Trib to Sixmile 0.60 100 3 548 1164 1798 1024 Run Boggs Fork 6.70 316 8 789 518 1869 967 Boggs Fork 0.75 373 10 815 316 1637 849 Trail Run 0.75 149 19 336 266 1569 690 Plum Run 0.40 255 14 473 107 647 262 Skull Fork 13.8 615 12 1191 549 1673 983 Skull Fork 6.80 167 8 278 1888 955 437 Skull Fork 2.2 345 10 645 819 605 219 Trib to Skull FK 0.62 159 19 155 255 896 393 Trib to Skull Fk 2.20 11300 22 1390 1740 1165 509 Miller Fork 0.90 630 4 1241 376 328 29 Craborchard Cr 3.52 831 22 1514 180 253 19 Craborchard Cr 0.80 581 11 1087 195 268 21 Atkinson Creek 1.50 752 12 1958 669 274 15 Brushy Fork 18.85 100 31 187 124 3293 1862 Brushy Fork 12.5 210 11 446 97 1996 1105

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Brushy Fork 0.29 100 10 191 875 929 360 Elk Run 0.20 188 9 390 208 869 353 Weaver Run 1.65 200 6 1056 1166 340 23 Hitchcock Run 1.62 315 3 463 40 161 21 Trib to Hitchcock 0.01 100 7 274 35 197 25 Crooked Creek 4.00 127 18 885 533 615 130 Crooked Creek 0.70 486 14 1544 421 390 52 Watson Creek 1.43 119 12 632 477 644 169 Laurel Creek 6.90 217 7 1116 383 260 12 Laurel Creek 0.17 148 11 962 480 267 10 Fallen Timbers Cr 0.05 129 8 1014 522 337 12 L. Stillwater Cr 10.50 100 10 250 1213 599 186 L. Stillwater Cr 5.50 129 20 390 517 657 150 L. Stillwater Cr 2.80 100 25 587 459 776 206 Clear Fork 8.50 100 17 271 204 1777 930 Clear Fork 3.50 322 17 755 248 1149 562 Standingstone Fk 2.48 213 21 511 159 2110 1182 Plum Run 1.07 100 305 512 4717 1683 360 (Tappan Lake) Reference Values: 750 86.2/55 1266/1820 379/610 789/800 259/242 headwater/ wading

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T Table 6. Summary statistics for select nutrient water quality parameters sampled in the Stillwater Creek study area, 2012. The 90th percentile value from reference sites in the Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregion are shown for ammonia-N, total phosphorus, and nitrate-nitrite for comparison. Values above reference condition are shaded yellow. Ammonia—N Nitrate+Nitrite-N Phosphorus-T Stream River Mile Mean Mean Mean Stillwater Creek 56.00 0.025 0.145 0.023 Stillwater Creek 53.92 0.025 0.050 0.005 Stillwater Creek 52.80 0.050 0.111 0.037 Stillwater Creek 50.20 0.027 0.194 0.032 Stillwater Creek (Dst Piedmont Lake) 38.24 0.147 0.075 5.739 Stillwater Creek 33.00 0.087 0.343 0.046 Stillwater Creek 26.40 0.025 0.170 0.046 Stillwater Creek (Dst Clendening Lake) 25.50 0.367 0.252 0.110 Stillwater Creek 20.90 0.530 0.610 0.134 Stillwater Creek 18.51 0.191 0.553 0.075 Stillwater Creek 13.78 0.281 0.605 0.040 Stillwater Creek 9.93 0.091 0.406 0.058 Stillwater Creek 8.38 0.069 0.695 0.032 Stillwater Creek 7.00 0.035 0.172 0.023 Stillwater Creek 5.23 0.032 0.163 6.956 Stillwater Creek 5.10 0.058 0.207 0.040 Stillwater Creek (Dst. Tappan Lake) 3.10 0.085 0.464 0.040 Stillwater Creek (Dst Twin City WWTP) 2.60 0.108 0.880 0.380 Stillwater Creek 1.34 0.111 1.138 0.111 Spencer Creek 6.85 0.113 0.252 0.019 Spencer Creek 3.25 0.080 0.167 0.075 Rush Run 0.30 1.473 0.122 0.082 Sixmile Run 1.30 0.025 0.080 0.030 Trib to Sixmile Run 0.60 0.025 0.050 0.022 Boggs Fork 6.70 0.025 0.064 0.041 Boggs Fork 0.75 0.025 0.087 0.039 Trail Run 0.75 0.204 0.320 0.045 Plum Run (Piedmont) 0.40 0.025 0.710 0.027 Skull Fork 13.8 0.039 0.116 0.025 Skull Fork 6.80 0.045 0.394 0.041 Skull Fork 2.20 0.025 0.157 0.031 Trib to Skull Fork 0.62 0.025 0.190 0.034 Trib to Skull Fork 2.20 0.025 0.210 0.077 Miller Fork 0.90 0.042 0.180 0.076 Craborchard Creek 3.52 0.037 0.300 0.013 Craborchard Creek 0.80 0.031 0.349 0.027 Atkinson Creek 1.50 0.043 0.142 0.039 Brushy Fork 18.85 0.049 0.094 0.019 Brushy Fork 12.50 0.030 0.289 0.018 Brushy Fork 0.29 1.414 0.105 0.168

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Ammonia—N Nitrate+Nitrite-N Phosphorus-T Stream River Mile Mean Mean Mean Elk Run 0.2 0.025 0.163 0.126 Weaver Run 1.65 0.272 0.130 0.053 Hitchcock Run 1.62 0.025 0.170 0.005 Trib to Hitchcock Run 0.01 0.025 0.220 0.018 Crooked Creek 4.00 0.158 0.220 0.107 Crooked Creek 0.70 0.059 0.164 0.048 Watson Creek 1.43 0.096 0.107 0.073 Laurel Creek 6.90 0.039 0.140 0.027 Laurel Creek 0.17 0.062 0.174 0.047 Fallen Timbers Creek 0.05 0.075 0.126 0.039 Little Stillwater Creek 10.50 1.285 0.094 7.558 Little Stillwater Creek 5.50 0.404 0.758 0.101 Little Stillwater Creek 2.80 0.143 0.804 0.087 Trib to Little Stillwater Creek 0.50 0.087 0.400 0.029 Clear Fork 8.50 0.025 0.100 0.021 Clear Fork 3.50 0.036 0.347 0.044 Standingstone Fork 2.48 0.032 0.316 0.019 Plum Run (Tappan Lake) 1.07 0.056 0.113 0.031 Reference Values 0.06 1.054 0.110

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RECREATION USE Water quality criteria for determining attainment of recreation uses are established in the Ohio WQS (Table 7- 13 in OAC 3745-1-07) based upon the presence or absence of bacteria indicators (Escherichia coli) in the water column. New revisions to the recreation use rules in Ohio became effective on January 4, 2016. However, as sampling to assess the recreation use for the Stillwater Creek watershed was designed and carried out when the previous rules were in effect, the assessment of data and determination of recreation use attainment status provided in this section were based on the prior rules. Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria are microscopic organisms that are present in large numbers in the feces and intestinal tracts of humans and other warm-blooded animals. E. coli typically comprises approximately 97 percent of the organisms found in the fecal coliform bacteria of human feces (Dufour 1977), but there is currently no simple way to differentiate between human and animal sources of coliform bacteria in surface waters, although methodologies for this type of analysis are becoming more practicable. These microorganisms can enter water bodies where there is a direct discharge of human and animal wastes, or may enter water bodies along with runoff from soils where these wastes have been deposited. Pathogenic (disease causing) organisms are typically present in the environment in such small amounts that it is impractical to monitor them directly. Fecal indicator bacteria by themselves, including E. coli, are usually not pathogenic. However, some strains of E. coli can be pathogenic, capable of causing serious illness. Although not necessarily agents of disease, fecal indicator bacteria such as E. coli may indicate the potential presence of pathogenic organisms that enter the environment through the same pathways. When E. coli are present in high numbers in a water sample, it invariably means that the water has received fecal matter from one source or another. Swimming or other recreational-based contact with water having a high fecal coliform or E. coli count may result in ear, nose, and throat infections, as well as stomach upsets, skin rashes, and diarrhea. Young children, the elderly, and those with depressed immune systems are most susceptible to infection. The streams of the Stillwater Creek watershed evaluated in this survey are designated with the Primary Contact Recreation (PCR) use in OAC Rule 3745-1-24. Water bodies with a designated recreation use of PCR “...are waters that, during the recreation season, are suitable for one or more full-body contact recreation activities such as, but not limited to, wading, swimming, boating, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking and SCUBA diving” [OAC 3745-1-07 (B)(4)(b)]. There are three classes of PCR use to reflect differences in the potential frequency and intensity of use. Streams designated PCR Class A typically have identified public access points and support primary contact recreation. Streams designated PCR Class B support, or potentially support, occasional primary contact recreation activities. The streams evaluated for the Stillwater Creek survey area are all designated Class B PCR waters. The E. coli criteria that apply to PCR B streams include a geometric mean of 161 colony forming units (cfu)/100 ml, and a maximum value of 523 cfu/100 ml. The geometric mean is based on two or more samples and is used as the basis for determining attainment status when more than one sample is collected (Table 7).

Summarized bacteria results are listed in Table 7, and the complete dataset is reported in Appendix Table 5. Twenty-one locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed were sampled for E. coli three to eleven times, from May 25th to October 19th, 2012. Targeted sampling also occurred at the Twin City Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) 001 outfall to Stillwater Creek to determine compliance with the NPDES permit limit. Evaluation of E. coli results revealed seven of the 21 sites in the Stillwater Creek watershed met the applicable geometric mean criterion.

The majority of sampling locations in the Stillwater Creek watershed are in areas without centralized sewage treatment. The non-attainment is most likely due to unsanitary conditions from poorly treated sanitary waste. The highest geometric mean values were found in Standingstone Fork in the headwaters of the Brushy Fork

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subwatershed (26,000 cfu/100 ml) and Stillwater Creek at Trenton Avenue in Uhrichsville (32,515 cfu/100 ml). These were collected on the same day (July 27, 2012). Localized rain events can stir up bacteria in the sediment which then gets suspended in the water column. Standingstone Fork had consistently high bacteria counts for every sampling event, but the bacteria counts at the Trenton Avenue dam were very low during all other sampling events and met the met the applicable geometric mean criterion. Agricultural activities in the watershed are somewhat sparse but it is possible that poor manure management or concentrated animal feedlots are also causing unsanitary conditions in the Stillwater Creek watershed.

Table 7. A summary of E. coli data for locations sampled in the Stillwater Creek watershed from June 20 through October 10, 2012. Recreation use attainment is based on comparing the geometric mean to the Primary Contact Recreation (PCR) Class B geometric mean water quality criterion of 161 cfu/100 ml (Ohio Administrative Code 3745-1-07). All values are expressed in colony forming units (cfu) per 100 ml of water. Gray shaded values exceed the applicable PCR Class B geometric mean criterion or the single sample maximum. Revisions to the Ohio WQS recreation rules, which eliminated the three PCR classes and established one PCR class with a new criterion, became effective on January 4, 2016. River Maximum Geometric # of HUC-12 Location Mile Value Mean samples 2012 Recreation season 050400011301 Spencer Creek @ Hillcrest Road 6.85 5500 400 6 050400011302 Stillwater Creek @ McMillan Road 56.00 5800 325 4 050400011302 Stillwater Creek @ UST I-70 @ old SR 40 52.80 2400 865 3 050400011302 Stillwater Creek @ Farm lane off Egypt Road 50.20 920 288 9 050400011303 Boggs Fork @ old Piedmont Road 0.75 450 260 6 050400011401 Skull Fork @ Covered Bridge Road 2.20 2800 304 6 050400011402 Brushy Fork @ Cassville Road 12.50 670 310 6 050400011402 Brushy Fork DST Clendening Lake dam 0.29 20 11 9 050400011403 Stillwater Creek DST Piedmont Lake dam 38.24 720 99 9 050400011403 Stillwater Creek DST Craborchard Creek 33.00 680 312 6 050400011501 Clear Fork @ Mizer Rd (TR 235) 3.50 7900 901 9 050400011502 Standingstone Fork @ Mooreland Road 2.48 26000 1873 9 050400011504 Little Stillwater Creek DST Tappan Lake Dam 10.50 180 25 9 050400011505 Little Stillwater Creek @ SR 800 2.80 200 101 6 050400011601 Laurel Creek @ SR 258 0.17 1500 281 6 050400011602 Crooked Creek @ CR33 4.00 4300 503 5 050400011602 Crooked Creek @ SR 258 0.70 730 361 6 050400011603 Stillwater Creek @ Norris Road (Tippecanoe) 25.50 300 88 9 050400011603 Weaver Run @ Plum Run Road 2.40 1000 149 6 050400011604 Stillwater Creek @ Trenton Ave. 5.10 32515 129 9 050400011604 Twin Cities WWTP outfall 001 3.08 9700* 569* 6 050400011604 Stillwater Creek @ Johnson Drive DST WWTP 1.34 540 396 6 *Exceedance of the Twin City WWTP permit limit

Sampling was also conducted during this time period at the Twin City WWTP which has a weekly permit limit of 362 cfu/100 ml and a monthly limit of 161 cfu/100 ml. On two occasions in August, the E. coli results were 9700 and 4800 cfu/100 ml. The WWTP also exceeded the weekly limit in September with a count of 670

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cfu/100 ml. The bacteria levels in the city of Uhrichsville met the met the applicable geometric mean criterion at the Trenton Avenue dam upstream from the WWTP, but below the WWTP, the bacteria levels were not meeting the applicable geometric mean.

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POINT SOURCE IMPACTS (NPDES, STORM WATER, MINING)

The Stillwater Creek watershed has a total of seven individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted facilities that discharge wastewater from sanitary wastewater plants and industrial facilities. The domestic wastewater is from two wastewater treatment plants serving the Twin City communities and the Tappan Lake campground. The industrial facilities include two underground coal mines, one public drinking water plant for Twin City, an industrial minerals facility and the Harrison County landfill. The former Starkey Junkyard site is located in the city of Uhrichsville, along Stillwater Creek just upstream from the Uhrich’s Dam. The site was evaluated by Ohio EPA for the Targeted Brownfield Assessment program and was not influencing the biological community in the Stillwater Creek. The report on that assessment is available at: http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/35/documents/StillwaterCrStarkeyJ.pdf .

Mining in the area began in 1800 and continues presently (Crowell 1995). Abandoned underground mines are found throughout the Stillwater Creek watershed (Figure 9). Abandoned surface mines are common as well. From 1967 through present there have been at least 72 different coal companies mining in the study area. There are 20 active NPDES permitted facilities in the study area for wastewater and storm water from surface coal mining activities covered under the General NPDES permit. These general permitted surface coal mines must control storm water and monitor for mining-related contaminates.

Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (Tappan Lake Campground) (Ohio EPA Permit # 0PX00016; outfall 001) Tappan Lake Campground WWTP is located at 8400 Mallarnee Road within Tappan Lake Park, Deersville, Harrison County. The WWTP discharges to an unnamed tributary to Tappan Lake. The WWTP consists of two aerated lagoons followed by a chlorine contact tank before discharging and is designed to treat 51,000 gallons per day (gpd). The WWTP serves over 500 campsites with full hook-up, dump stations, campground restrooms, cabins, camper cabins, beach concession stand, laundry and camp store. The WWTP reported 37 fecal coliform, 35 CBOD5, five ammonia, five oil and grease, and three chlorine NPDES permit limit violations for the review period of January 2007 through December 2012.

Twin City Water and Sewer District Wastewater Treatment Plant (Ohio EPA Permit # 0PD00015; outfall 001) The Twin City WWTP is located at 1580 Boyd Street, Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County. The WWTP is a secondary treatment facility consisting of a bar screen, muffin monster and grit removal, pre-aeration, primary clarification, conventional activated sludge, final clarification and disinfection. The plant has two aerobic sludge digesters and sludge drying beds. The WWTP is designed to treat 1.7 million gpd and discharges to Stillwater Creek at RM 3.1. The Twin City WWTP treats wastewater from the communities of Uhrichsville, Dennison, Mill, Union, Barnhill and Midvale for a population of approximately 10,000. The WWTP reported three E. coli, one total suspended solids, seven ammonia, and one chlorine NPDES permit limit violations for the review period of January 2007 through December 2012. Two bioassays were performed by Ohio EPA, one in September 2008 and one in September 2013. Both bioassays show no toxicity for either test organism. The 2011 Twin City bioassay test had shown no toxicity as well.

The collection system is 72% separate sanitary sewer and 28% combined storm and sanitary sewer. The sewer system has one bypass point located at the 6th Street lift station and the WWTP has an internal bypass point at the head works. During the five-year review period, the Twin City WWTP reported 20 bypasses at the 6th Street lift station and 17 bypasses at the WWTP. Additionally, the collection system experienced other system overflows that resulted in numerous basements flooded with sewage.

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Figure 9. Active NPDES permitted facilities and previous coal mining in Stillwater Creek watershed (ODNR-DMRM, Coal Mine).

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Twin City Water and Sewer District Water Treatment Plant (Ohio EPA Permit # 0IV00100; outfall 001) The Twin City WTP is located at 6877 Waterworks Hill Road, Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County. The WTP consists of a rapid mixing tank, clarification, sand filtration and a sludge lagoon. The WTP previously used the Stillwater Creek, at RM 7.1, as a surface water source, but, as of 2013, uses a ground water source. The WTP serves the same service area as the Twin City WWTP.

Chambers Development of Ohio d.b.a. Harrison County Sanitary Landfill (Ohio EPA Permit # 0IN00237; outfall 001) The Harrison County Sanitary Landfill is a 259-acre sanitary solid waste landfill with a clay liner and leachate collection system. There is one storm water sedimentation pond (with three additional storm water ponds to be built when needed) that receives only rainwater. No rainwater from the open, solid waste working cell or leachate is discharged to the storm water ponds. All leachate and rainwater that falls on the active working cell is collected and hauled to a permitted facility for treatment. The current discharge is to an unnamed tributary of Clear Fork near Clear Fork RM 9.1. There were no NPDES permit limit violations during the January 2007 thru December 2012 review period.

Village of Flushing WWTP (Ohio EPA Permit # 0PB00013; outfall 001) The Flushing WWTP is located on Mill Road 1197, Flushing, Belmont County. The WWTP consists of primary treatment, activated sludge extended aeration, two oxidation ditches, clarification and disinfection. The collection system is 100% separate and serves over 920 people. The WWTP is designed to treat 200,000 gpd and discharges to an unnamed tributary of Stillwater Creek at RM 0.55 (the tributary enters the headwaters of Stillwater Creek at RM 30.2). The Flushing WWTP had 13 ammonia and 12 total suspended solids NPDES permit limit violations from January 2006 through December 2012.

Rosebud Mining Company – Tusky Mine (Ohio EPA Permit # 0IL000141; outfalls 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 007, 008, 009) The Tusky Mine complex is located at 5600 Pleasant Valley Road, Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County. The treatment systems for the Tusky Mine are storm water sedimentation ponds related to coal mining activities, including raw coal storage, cleaned coal storage, coal preparation plant (coal cleaning), coarse refuse areas, coal loading areas and roads, and parking and runoff from other disturbed areas. All outfalls discharge to an unnamed tributary which in turn enters Little Stillwater Creek at approximately RM 4.5. Outfall 001 receives storm water runoff from a supply storage yard, the underground mine, and effluent from the 006 storm water pond. Outfall 004 receives storm water runoff from the rail car load out tunnel area and the clean coal stock pile. Outfall 005 receives storm water runoff from the raw coal stock pile, clean coal stock pile, and the preparation plant area. Outfall 007 receives storm water runoff from the portal entry area. Outfalls 002, 003, 008 and 009 receive storm water runoff from other disturbed areas, roads and parking areas.

The Tusky Mine had one total suspended solids and four iron NPDES permit limit violations from January 2006 through December 2012 at outfall 001. All other outfalls were within the NPDES permit limits. Both outfalls 001 and 005 had elevated total dissolved solids above the Ohio WQS of 1500 mg/L, but there was no limit in the facility’s NPDES permit.

Rosebud Mining Company – Vail Mine (Ohio EPA Permit # 0IL000152; outfalls 001 and 002) The Vail Mine complex is located on Birmingham Road (CR 10) in Freeport Township, Harrison County. The treatment systems for the Vail Mine are a storm water sedimentation pond related to coal mining activities, including raw coal storage, cleaned coal storage, coal preparation plant (coal cleaning), coarse refuse areas, coal loading areas and roads, parking and runoff from other disturbed areas, and a sanitary waste water treatment plant for the mine bathhouse. Both outfalls discharge to Craborchard Creek. The Vail Mine was a

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new industrial facility being built during the 2012 Stillwater Creek survey season and started discharging in May 2012.

Egypt Valley Stone LLC – Shugert Mine (Ohio EPA Permit # 0IJ00049: outfall 001) The Egypt Valley Stone Shugert Mine is located on County Road 100 (approximately one mile north of I-70), Belmont County. The treatment system for the Shugert Mine is a storm water sedimentation pond related to industrial minerals mining (limestone).

Oil and Gas Oil and gas development in Ohio has experienced a dramatic increase with the use of hydraulic fracturing (see http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/portals/oilgas/pdf/Facts-about-HFracturing.pdf) and the Marcellus and Utica shale plays (Figure 10). Most of the shale oil and gas plays are currently happening in the eastern most part of the state within the Utica shale. Ohio EPA along with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) – Oil and Gas Division regulate different components of the hydraulic fracturing process (see http://epa.ohio.gov/MarcellusandUticaShale.aspx).

Hydraulic fracturing allows for large volumes of natural gas and associated liquids to be extracted at one well head. This in turn has led to an increase in the installation of pipelines to move the natural gas and liquids to refinery facilities. One industry magazine states that Harrison County will receive 33 pipelines, while Belmont County will receive eight and Guernsey County will receive 12 (Gareis 2013). Not all of these pipelines will be in the Stillwater Creek watershed, but the basin has seen significant pipeline activity. Between September 2012 and October 2013, the industry reported 12 spills that reached streams and wetlands within the Stillwater Creek watershed.

Figure 10. Locations of hydraulic fracturing wells in the Stillwater Creek watershed (ODNR-DMRM, Horizontal Wells and Shale Gas Play).

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The spills were composed of bentonite clay used to lubricate the directionally drilled bore hole and acts as a coolant for the drilling tools. When bentonite is pumped into the bore hole and the surrounding soils are unconsolidated, the clay can escape onto the surface and into streams and wetlands. Alternatively, when drilling is done quickly and/or under high pressure, an escape of clay can result as well. The bentonite spills are called an “inadvertent return”. The bentonite being used in the directional boring does not contain any drilling additives, so it is classified as an earthen material and not a solid waste product.

Hydraulic fracturing uses large quantities of freshwater when hydraulic fracturing a well. Approximately 4 to 5 million gallons of water are used to frack a well. Some water returns to the surface as “flowback water” which, under Ohio law, is not permitted to be discharged to surface waters (e.g., streams, rivers or lakes). The water used in the fracturing process usually comes from a stream, river, reservoir or lake near the drill site, or in some cases, from a local municipal water plant. Ohio’s water withdrawal regulations are contained in Ohio Revised Code 1521.16 and require anyone with the capacity to withdraw more than 100,000 gallons a day of water to register with the ODNR Soil and Water Resources. The registration is not a permit to withdraw water, nor does it place any restrictions on withdrawal such as during droughts or low flow conditions during summer months (see http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/7/pubs/pdfs/fctsht68.pdf). Numerous withdrawal locations were observed during the 2012 sampling season, including in the headwaters of Stillwater Creek. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District has permitted the withdrawal of water from its conservancy lakes. A well needs to be fracked on a periodic basis to help the well retain a consistent production rate which will necessitate numerous water withdrawals from area streams, rivers or lakes.

Site Assistance and Brownfield Revitalization The former Starkey Junkyard site, located in the city of Uhrichsville along Stillwater Creek at the Uhrich’s Dam, was evaluated for the Targeted Brownfield Assessment program at the request of the City. The evaluation demonstrated that biological communities were not influenced by the junkyard. An Ohio EPA report (http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/35/documents/StillwaterCrStarkeyJ.pdf) provides insight on the monitoring and assessment support provided by the Agency at the site.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

SEDIMENT

Surficial sediment samples were collected at nine locations from Stillwater Creek and tributaries on July 17 and October 24, 2012. Sampling locations were co-located with biological sampling sites. Samples were analyzed for total analyte list inorganics, metals, nutrients, and semi-volatile organic compounds. The three sites downstream from Tappan, Clendening and Piedmont lakes were not sampled for organic parameters. Specific chemical parameters were tested and results are listed in Appendix Table 6. Sediment data were evaluated using Ohio Sediment Reference Values (SRVs) (Ohio EPA 2008), along with guidelines established in Development and Evaluation of Consensus-Based Sediment Quality Guidelines for Freshwater Ecosystems (MacDonald et al. 2000) and the Persaud et al. 1993 phosphorus guidelines using levels of lowest effect level (LEL)= 600 mg/kg, and severe effect level (SEL) = 2000 mg/kg. The consensus-based sediment guidelines define two levels of ecotoxic effects. A Threshold Effect Concentration (TEC) is a level of sediment chemical quality below which harmful effects are unlikely to be observed. A Probable Effect Concentration (PEC) indicates a level above which harmful effects are likely to be observed.

Sediment samples were conservatively sampled by focusing on depositional areas of fine grain material (silts and clays). These areas typically are represented by higher contaminant levels, compared to coarse sands and gravels. Fine-grained depositional areas were not a predominant substrate type except for three locations (Stillwater Creek at RMs 25.5 and 5.1, and Clear Fork); however, fine substrates were common along the stream margins and in backflow eddy areas.

Metals and nutrients are presented in Table 8. Sediment collected from locations in Stillwater Creek and tributaries were considered not to be harmful to sediment-dwelling organisms (MacDonald et al. 2000). Nickel was at or above the TEC level at all sites except Clear Fork at Mizer Road. Arsenic exceeded the TEC at Little Stillwater Creek and at Standingstone Creek. SRVs were exceeded for calcium, manganese and strontium at some of the locations, and for barium at one location. Phosphorus levels exceeded the SEL in Little Stillwater Creek downstream from the Tappan Lake dam discharge.

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Table 8. Chemical parameters measured above screening levels in sediment samples collected by Ohio EPA from Stillwater Creek and tributaries, 2012. Contaminant levels were determined for parameters using Ohio Sediment Reference Values (SRVs) consensus-based sediment quality guidelines (MacDonald, et al. 2000) and nutrient values exceeding the Lowest Effect Level (LEL) or Severe Effect Level (SEL) (Persaud et al., 1993). Shaded numbers indicate values above the following: SRVs-yellow; Threshold Effect Concentration (TEC)-blue; Lowest Effect Level (LEL)-Green and Severe Effect Level (SEL) - Orange.

Stillwater Cr Stillwater Brushy Fork Little Stillwater Stillwater Brushy Fork Standing- @ Egypt Rd. Creek @ @ Cassville Stillwater Clear Cr DST Creek @ DST stone Fork Reference values UST Tippecanoe RD. UST Creek DST Fork @ Piedmont Trenton Clendening Mooreland for the WAP Piedmont @ Norris Clendening Tappan Mizer Rd. Lake Ave. Lake Dam Rd. Lake Rd. Lake Lake Dam (RM 3.50) ecoregion (RM 38.24) (RM 5.10) (RM 0.29) (RM 2.48) (RM 52.80) (RM 25.50) (RM 12.5) (RM 10.50) Parameter Units 7/16/2012 10/24/2012 7/16/2012 7/16/2012 7/16/2012 10/24/2012 10/24/2012 7/16/2012 7/16/2012 SRV/TEC/PEC Aluminum mg/kg 13100 9800 8870 9220 12300 11900 1200 8010 12800 53,000/-/- Ammonia mg/kg 130 170 75 84 230 390 1200 98 280 NA Arsenic mg/kg 8.55 12.5 7.05 8.51 13.2 3.84 17.5 5.54 9.88 19/9.79/33 Barium mg/kg 149 141 111 89.6 107 136 386 62.3 135 360/-/- Cadmium mg/kg 0.703 0.631 0.546 0.575 0.747 0.686 <0.684 0.425 0.778 0.8/0.99/4.98 Calcium mg/kg 28700 14600 2590 2770 49200 4790 29200 5740 79100 27000/-/- Chromium mg/kg 17.1 14.3 12.8 13.6 18.8 18.3 15.3 12.3 17.8 53/43.4/111 Copper mg/kg 21.3 18.5 13.1 18.6 24.4 24.4 31.3 12.8 24 33/31.6/149 Iron mg/kg 29100 33400 24100 22100 31600 27700 41000 22400 32700 51000/-/- Lead mg/kg 19 22.4 16.2 18.1 18.7 26 24.1 13.1 21.6 47/35.8/128 Magnesium mg/kg 6210 3120 2370 2600 5870 3990 9120 2500 6460 9900/-/- Manganese mg/kg 2730 3640 1990 1710 1720 295 13000 680 4150 3000/-/-- Nickel mg/kg 26.5 27.4 23.1 22.7 28.9 25.8 26.5 17 31.3 61/22.7/48.6 Phosphorus mg/kg 766 844 631 553 918 578 3330 528 756 (600 LEL/2000 SEL) Potassium mg/kg 2160 <1850 <1330 <1440 <2800 <2350 <6840 <1400 <2860 14000/-/- Selenium mg/kg <2.1 <1.85 <1.33 <1.44 <2.8 <2.35 <6.84 <1.4 <2.86 2.6/-/- Sodium mg/kg <5260 <4610 <3330 <3610 <6990 <5880 <17100 <3500 <7150 NA Strontium mg/kg 158 79 26 34 409 43 <103 29 363 250/-/- TOC % NA 3.8 NA NA 2.5 NA 6.1 NA NA (10 SEL) Zinc mg/kg 96.3 89 78.4 85.7 98 108 93.2 64.9 102 NA % Solids % 41.2 38.7 59.6 55.95 33.9 30.9 11.7 56.5 31.6 NA

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

FISH TISSUE

Ohio’s Sport Fish Health and Consumption Advisory Program (SFHCAP) was reorganized in 1993 as a cooperative effort amongst the departments of Health and Natural Resources, and Ohio EPA. This multi- agency approach has produced a broad consistent fish tissue contaminant database collected from all of the State’s waters. Concurrently, the Great Lakes Governors Association, USEPA, and Ohio’s SFHCAP have improved data evaluation and risk communication. The Ohio SFHCAP website provides further information (see http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/index.aspx).

Ohio has been sampling streams annually for sport fish contamination since 1993. Fish are analyzed for contaminants that bioaccumulate in fish tissue and that could pose a threat to human health if consumed in excessive amounts. Contaminants analyzed in Ohio sport fish include mercury, PCBs, DDT, mirex, hexachlorobenzene, lead, selenium, and several other metals and pesticides. Other contaminants are sometimes analyzed if indicated by site-specific current or historic sources. For more information about the chemicals analyzed, how fish are collected, or the history of the fish contaminant program, see State Of Ohio Cooperative Fish Tissue Monitoring Program Sport Fish Tissue Consumption Advisory Program, Ohio EPA, January 2010 .

Fish contaminant data are primarily used for three purposes: 1) to determine fish advisories; 2) to determine attainment with the water quality standards; and 3) to examine trends in fish contaminants over time.

Fish advisories Fish contaminant data are used to determine a meal frequency that is safe for people to consume (e.g., two meals a week, one meal a month, do not eat), and a fish advisory is issued for applicable species and locations. Because mercury mostly comes from nonpoint sources, primarily aerial deposition, Ohio has had a statewide one meal a week advisory for most fish since 2001. Most fish are assumed to be safe to eat once a week unless specified otherwise in the fish advisory, which can be viewed at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/index.aspx.

The minimum data requirement for issuing a fish advisory is 3 samples of a single species from within the past 10 years. For Stillwater Creek, Piedmont, Clendening, and Tappan lakes, no species met this requirement in previous years prior to the 2012 survey. Therefore, the statewide advisories applied - two meals a week for sunfish (e.g., bluegill) and yellow perch; one meal a week for most other fish; and one meal a month for flathead catfish 23” and over, and northern pike 23” and over.

Data collected for the 2012 survey supported the issuance of more restrictive “once per month” advisories on northern pike and saugeye in Stillwater Creek from Piedmont Lake to State Route 800 due to mercury contamination, including Tuscarawas, Harrison, and Belmont counties (Table 10).

The data also supported the issuance of less restrictive “two meals per week” advisories for common carp and largemouth bass from Piedmont Lake and an “unrestricted” advisory for bluegill from Piedmont Lake, indicating that the fish from this lake appear to be very safe to eat (Table 11).

Fish tissue/human health use attainment In addition to determining safe meal frequencies, fish contaminant data are also used to determine attainment with the Ohio WQS human health criteria pursuant to OAC Rules 3745-1-33 and 3745-1-34. The human health water quality criteria are presented in water column concentrations of μg/liter, and

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

are then translated into fish tissue concentrations in mg/kg. [See Ohio’s 2010 Integrated Report, Section E (http://www.epa.state.oh.us/portals/35/tmdl/2010IntReport/Section%20E.pdf) for further details of this conversion.]

In order to be considered in attainment of the water quality standards, the sport fish caught within a HUC- 12 assessment unit must have a weighted average concentration of the geometric means for all species below 1.0 mg/kg for mercury, and below 0.054 mg/kg for PCBs.

Within the Stillwater Creek study area, fish tissue data were adequate to determine attainment status. At least 2 samples each from trophic levels 3 and 4 fish are needed. The following table describes the attainment status of assessment units based on 2012 Stillwater Creek study area data.

Description HUC-12 Status Lakes Buttermilk Creek-Stillwater Creek (05040001 13 04) in attainment Piedmont Brushy Fork (05040001 14 02) in attainment Clendening Craborchard Creek-Stillwater Creek (05040001 14 03) in attainment n/a Upper Little Stillwater Creek (05040001 15 03) in attainment Tappan Weaver Run-Stillwater Creek (05040001 16 03) in attainment n/a Town of Uhrichsville-Stillwater Creek (05040001 16 04) insufficient data n/a

Additionally, no PCBs were detected in any fish tissue samples from these assessment units in 2012. The 2012 fish tissue data accounted for all of the data from these assessment units in the last 10 years, and was the sole data analyzed for attainment status.

Fish contaminant trends Fish contaminant levels can be used as an indicator of pollution in the water column at levels lower than laboratory reporting limits for water concentrations but high enough to pose a threat to human health from eating fish. Most bioaccumulative contaminant concentrations are decreasing in the environment because of bans on certain types of chemicals like PCBs, and because of stricter permitting limits on dischargers for other chemicals. However, data show that PCBs continue to pose a risk to humans who consume fish, and mercury concentrations have been increasing in some locations because of increases in certain types of industries for which mercury is a byproduct that is released to air and/or surface water.

For this reason, it is useful to compare the results from the survey presented in this report with the results of the previous survey(s) conducted in the study area. Recent data can be compared against historical data to determine whether contaminant concentrations in fish tissue appear to be increasing, decreasing, or staying the same in a water body or watershed.

Fish tissue has previously been collected from Stillwater Creek in 1996, from Clendening Lake in 1994, from Piedmont Lake in 1974, and from Tappan Reservoir in 1974, 1992, and 2003. In almost no cases have PCBs or pesticides been detected in any of these waterbodies in any year, with the exception of one channel catfish from Tappan Reservoir in 1992, which showed very low levels of DDD, DDE, and PCBs.

Average mercury concentrations by waterbody, year, and trophic level are tabulated below. Variation occurs across years, but this is less than the variation which occurs between samples of the same species

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in a given place and time, except in the case of Stillwater Creek trophic level 4 fish and Clendening Lake trophic level 4 fish. Stillwater Creek trophic level 4 fish demonstrated a 43% increase between 1996 and 2012, although the small sample size (3 fish) from trophic level 4 in 1996 leads to a higher degree of uncertainty for that year’s averaged value. Clendening Lake trophic level 4 fish demonstrated a 125% increase in average mercury concentrations between 1994 and 2012, although again, sample sizes were very small for both years. Mercury concentrations are higher in Stillwater Creek than in the three lakes (Table 9).

Table 9. Average mercury concentrations (mg/kg) in fish tissue samples collected from the Stillwater Creek watershed, 1974-2012. The shading indicates the advisory category that would apply. Green = two meals per week, yellow = one meal per week, orange = one meal per month. Trophic Mercury Waterbody Year Samples Units level (average) Stillwater Creek 1996 3 9 0.138 mg/kg Stillwater Creek 1996 4 3 0.161 mg/kg Stillwater Creek 2012 3 8 0.13 mg/kg Stillwater Creek 2012 4 13 0.231 mg/kg Clendening Lake 1994 3 4 0.066 mg/kg Clendening Lake 1994 4 2 0.071 mg/kg Clendening Lake 2012 3 5 0.093 mg/kg Clendening Lake 2012 4 3 0.16 mg/kg Piedmont Lake 1974 3 10 0.059 mg/kg Piedmont Lake 1974 4 4 0.058 mg/kg Piedmont Lake 2012 3 6 0.069 mg/kg Piedmont Lake 2012 4 3 0.088 mg/kg Tappan Lake 1974 3 18 0.065 mg/kg Tappan Lake 1974 4 2 0.025 mg/kg Tappan Lake 1992 3 2 ND (<0.019) mg/kg Tappan Lake 1992 4 2 ND (<0.019) mg/kg Tappan Lake 2003 3 6 0.054 mg/kg Tappan Lake 2003 4 3 0.106 mg/kg Tappan Lake 2012 3 6 0.045 mg/kg Tappan Lake 2012 4 3 0.072 mg/kg

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Table 10. Select fish tissue data from Stillwater Creek sampling (mg/kg). Most contaminant levels in the table were in the unrestricted consumption range except for mercury. No PCBs or pesticides were detected in any samples. The shading indicates the advisory category that would apply. Green = two meals per week, yellow = one meal per week, orange = one meal per month. Select fish tissue data from 2012 Stillwater Creek sampling (mg/kg) River Year Site Species Arsenic Lead Mercury Selenium Mile 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 BLACK CRAPPIE 0.054 <0.040 0.100 0.637 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.039 0.114 0.463 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 CHANNEL CATFISH <0.048 <0.039 0.143 0.182 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 COMMON CARP 0.190 <0.039 0.032 0.586 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.059 <0.039 0.133 0.544 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.109 <0.039 0.127 0.764 2012 Stillwater Creek @ St. Rt. 800 18.5 NORTHERN PIKE 0.055 0.134 0.248 0.439 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 NORTHERN PIKE <0.050 <0.040 0.196 0.481 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 NORTHERN PIKE <0.050 <0.040 0.356 0.468 2012 Stillwater Creek @ St. Rt. 800 18.5 ROCK BASS <0.050 <0.040 0.303 0.416 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 ROCK BASS 0.064 <0.040 0.136 0.619 2012 Stillwater Creek @ St. Rt. 800 18.5 SAUGER X WALLEYE 0.074 0.068 0.219 0.670 2012 Stillwater Creek @ St. Rt. 800 18.5 SAUGER X WALLEYE <0.049 <0.039 0.277 0.498 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 SAUGER X WALLEYE <0.049 <0.039 0.344 0.602 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 SAUGER X WALLEYE 0.060 <0.039 0.248 0.718 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 SAUGER X WALLEYE <0.049 <0.039 0.266 0.611 2012 Stillwater Creek @ St. Rt. 800 18.5 SMALLMOUTH BASS 0.100 0.046 0.135 0.456 2012 Stillwater Creek @ Tippecanoe 25.5 SMALLMOUTH BASS 0.087 <0.039 0.215 0.455 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 SMALLMOUTH BASS 0.121 <0.039 0.234 0.858 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 WHITE CRAPPIE 0.066 <0.039 0.078 0.541 2012 Stillwater Creek dst. Piedmont Reservoir 38.2 YELLOW BULLHEAD <0.049 <0.039 0.133 0.384

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Table 11. Select fish tissue data from Stillwater Creek lakes (Clendening, Piedmont and Tappan), 2012. All contaminant levels in the table were in the unrestricted consumption range except for mercury. No PCBs or pesticides were detected in any samples. The shading indicates the advisory category that applies. Unshaded = unrestricted, Green = two meals per week, yellow = one meal per week. Select fish tissue data from Piedmont, Tappan, and Clendening Lakes (mg/kg) Year Site Species Arsenic Cadmium Lead Mercury 2012 Clendening Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.050 <0.0040 <0.040 0.053 2012 Clendening Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.055 2012 Clendening Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.055 2012 Clendening Lake COMMON CARP <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.11 2012 Clendening Lake COMMON CARP <0.048 <0.0039 <0.039 0.19 2012 Clendening Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.139 0.0305 <0.039 0.138 2012 Clendening Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.097 <0.0039 <0.039 0.167 2012 Clendening Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.069 <0.0038 <0.038 0.175 2012 Piedmont Lake at middle of lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.050 <0.0040 <0.040 0.045 2012 Piedmont Lake at middle of lake COMMON CARP <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.049 2012 Piedmont Lake at middle of lake LARGEMOUTH BASS <0.048 <0.0039 <0.039 0.074 2012 Piedmont Lake at upper end of lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.042 2012 Piedmont Lake at upper end of lake COMMON CARP 0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.118 2012 Piedmont Lake at upper end of lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.059 <0.0039 <0.039 0.059 2012 Piedmont Lake near dam BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.036 2012 Piedmont Lake near dam COMMON CARP <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.124 2012 Piedmont Lake near dam LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.053 <0.0040 <0.040 0.13 2012 Tappan Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.025 2012 Tappan Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.050 <0.0040 <0.040 0.034 2012 Tappan Lake BLUEGILL SUNFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.034 2012 Tappan Lake CHANNEL CATFISH <0.048 <0.0039 <0.039 0.045 2012 Tappan Lake CHANNEL CATFISH <0.049 <0.0039 <0.039 0.062 2012 Tappan Lake CHANNEL CATFISH <0.050 <0.0040 <0.040 0.072 2012 Tappan Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.061 <0.0039 <0.039 0.049 2012 Tappan Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.093 <0.0039 <0.039 0.067 2012 Tappan Lake LARGEMOUTH BASS 0.057 <0.0040 <0.040 0.099

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

STREAM PHYSICAL HABITAT

Stream habitat conditions were assessed at 45 fish sampling sites in the Stillwater Creek basin in 2012 (Appendix Table 7). Based on the functional ability to support fish, each site’s substrate, instream cover, and channel characteristics were graded and composited using the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). Generally, QHEI scores above 60 are typical of good habitat conditions associated with WWH aquatic communities. QHEI scores less than 45 are indicative of poor habitat and are typically associated with modified conditions, while QHEI values above 75 are typical of exceptional habitat conditions and the potential to support exceptional biological communities. QHEI scores are most meaningful when considered in aggregate groups. For instance, an average of several QHEI scores from a river reach or the trend among many small streams in close proximity is more informative than relying on any single location QHEI score. It is unlikely for any site with particularly good or poor habitat to exert the same extreme influences on its resident aquatic community. Instead, aquatic assemblages at unique habitat locations tend to reflect the wider ambient condition.

As the name implies, Stillwater Creek is a naturally slow, low gradient stream with mostly pool habitat. The average QHEI score was 57, which is close to the 60 typically associated with a WWH community. In the lower section of Stillwater Creek, there were no riffles at many locations. As a result, the habitat scores ranged from good to fair and one location was poor due to backwater conditions from Piedmont Lake (Table 12). Many tributaries also had no riffles and a heavy silt bedload. Several tributaries were mined through in the past and resembled wetland streams with emergent vegetation in the middle of the channel (Miller Fork, Boggs Fork, Hitchcock Run). Mine runoff and associated sedimentation were evident at some locations within the Stillwater Creek basin. Only two locations (Brushy Fork and Spencer Creek) had excellent habitat typically associated with an Exceptional Warmwater Habitat (EWH) community.

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Table 12. Stream physical habitat quality as scored by the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) at sites in the Stillwater Creek watershed study area, 2012. River Dr. area Gradient Stream QHEI Comments Mile (mi) (ft/mi) Stillwater Creek 56.00 2.6 46.51 61.5 Good channel development, gravel substrates, moderate silt bedload Stillwater Creek Heavy silt bedload, substrates covered with muck, channel previously mine 52.80 12.4 9.95 64.0 affected, natural channel downstream with moderate cover, wetland channel upstream Stillwater Creek Heavy silt bedload, stream channelized, sparse cover, only one functional 50.20 48.1 2.13 38.5 riffle over a log, mostly glide habitat possibly backwaters from Piedmont Lake Stillwater Creek Upstream zone channelized, heavy to moderate silt bedload, fair channel 38.24 86.0 3.35 65.8 development, deep pools, unstable riffles Stillwater Creek Sand and gravel substrates, heavy silt bedload, recovering from 33.00 189.0 2.34 54.5 channelization deep pools and unstable riffles Stillwater Creek Sand and gravel substrates, moderate silt bedload, recovering from 25.50 282.0 0.97 63.8 channelization (rip rap on river left) Stillwater Creek 18.51 345.0 0.97 66.8 Sand and gravel substrates, heavy silt bedload, good pools and riffles Stillwater Creek 9.93 358.0 1.52 56.8 No riffle, heavy silt bedload, moderate cover, fair channel development Stillwater Creek 7.00 364.0 1.52 51.5 No riffle, heavy silt bedload, moderate cover, fair channel development Stillwater Creek 5.10 367.0 1.52 66.8 Downstream Trenton Ave. Dam, septic smell, nice pools and riffles Stillwater Creek 2.60 481.0 1.52 50.3 No riffle, heavy silt bedload, moderate cover, low flow and stagnant Stillwater Creek 1.34 483.0 1.52 52.3 No riffle, heavy silt bedload, moderate cover, low flow and stagnant. Downstream is cattle pasture with free access to creek, false banks, Laurel Creek 6.90 10.8 6.67 61.5 upstream is wooded with aquatic vegetation and deep pools Heavy to moderate silt, sand and gravel substrates, unstable riffles, fair Laurel Creek 0.20 28.7 2.42 54.3 development Moderate silt bedload, sand substrates, active mine adjacent to creek, septic Crooked Creek 4.00 14.9 7.27 62.0 smell, trash from adjacent or upstream landowners. Heavy silt bedload, sand and gravel substrates, good to fair channel Crooked Creek 0.70 47.3 1.63 62.5 development, moderate cover and a lot of woody debris Series of pools with beaver dams in between, no functional riffles, moderate Watson Creek 1.50 7.9 5.71 44.3 to heavy silt bedload Fair to poor development, no functional riffles, sparse cover, sand Fallen Timber Creek 0.10 9.5 10.30 46 substrates with silt and muck, a lot of algae present, septic smell No riffle, emergent wetland vegetation with muck substrates, heavy silt Weaver Run 1.70 8.5 1.39 35.5 bedload, sparse cover No riffle, wetland stream with muck substrates, heavy silt bedload, shallow Hitchcock Run 0.10 3.5 13.24 36.8 pools, poor channel development, nearly absent or sparse cover No riffles, fair to poor channel development, series of beaver dam pools, Atkinson Creek 1.50 11.8 10.99 52.5 groundwater fed (temperature was 18.3 C) Cobble and gravel substrates, moderate cover, channel relocated but is Craborchard Creek 0.80 11.4 9.52 64.5 recovering, active mine located on river left Sand and gravel substrates with boulder, cobble and bedrock slabs, Little Stillwater Creek 5.50 96.4 3.17 65.0 moderate instream cover, stable riffles, deep pools No riffle, heavy silt bedload, sparse cover, poor channel development, Little Stillwater Creek 2.80 105 2.53 35.5 recently channelized or no recovery Trib. to Little Stillwater Eroded banks (indicates flashy flows), moderate silt bedload, sparse cover, 0.50 4.3 15.15 53.8 Creek fair channel development, unstable riffles Cows have free access to stream, eroded banks, heavy to moderate silt Plum Run (Tappan Lake) 1.07 3.9 11.24 38.3 bedload, no functional riffles, unstable channel, sparse cover Moderate instream cover, nice riffles with undercut banks downstream of Clear Fork 8.50 9.9 8.60 65.3 the riffles, upstream is wooded but downstream there are no trees, heavy silt bedload High sinuosity, deep pools, moderate cover, gravel and sand substrates with Clear Fork 3.50 22.1 4.13 62.5 cobble and boulder slabs, heavy silt bedload, high conductivity (mine influenced) Sand and gravel substrates, stable riffles, good channel development, Standingstone Fork 2.50 7.7 16.00 63.5 moderate to normal silt bedload, pools filled with black anoxic substrates, high bacteria count and a lot of algae observed in the spring of 2012

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 12. Stream physical habitat quality as scored by the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) at sites in the Stillwater Creek watershed study area, 2012. River Dr. area Gradient Stream QHEI Comments Mile (mi) (ft/mi) Cow pasture with free access to stream, heavy bank erosion, moderate silt Skull Fork 13.00 7.2 7.41 50.5 bedload, fair channel development, recovering from channelization Wetland stream, no flow, heavy silt bedload, sand and muck substrates, high Skull Fork 6.80 26.9 3.14 53.0 sinuosity, fair channel development, riffles are not functional No riffle, heavy to moderate silt bedload, moderate cover, deep pools, sand Skull Fork 5.24 36.4 3.14 52.5 and muck substrates, fair channel development, channelization. Moderate cover, good development, heavy to moderate silt bedload, deep Skull Fork 2.20 43.8 3.16 70.3 pools, moderate sinuosity, wide wooded riparian Moderate cover, good development, normal silt bedload, stable riffles, Skull Fork 0.50 46 3.16 73.3 moderate sinuosity, moderate wooded riparian Nearly absent cover, fair channel development, narrow wooded riparian, no Trib. to Skull Fork 0.62 1.5 27.78 44.3 functional riffles, interstitial flow. Wetland stream, no wooded riparian, poor development, recent or no Miller Fork 0.90 6.3 3.86 42.0 recovery from channelization, heavy silt bedload, moderate cover No riffles, moderate silt bedload, silt and muck substrates, sparse cover, fair Boggs Fork 6.70 6.7 5.10 41.5 channel development, wetland origins Heavy silt bedload, moderate cover, fair channel development, narrow to no Boggs Fork 0.70 28.6 3.35 53.8 wooded riparian, silt and muck substrates, wetland origins. Plum Run (Trib. to Wetland stream with predominantly sand substrates, moderate silt bedload, 0.40 6.7 10.42 55.8 Boggs Fork) fair channel development, tree removal adjacent causing bank erosion Heavy to moderate silt bedload, sparse cover, very narrow to no wooded Trail Run 0.75 6.4 7.24 39.5 riparian, moderate to heavy bank erosion, poor development, channel entrenched with recent or no recovery Good channel development, no channelization, moderate sinuosity, Brushy Fork 18.90 2.8 26.67 70.0 moderate to normal silt bedload, moderate cover, high conductivity from mine drainage Good channel development, no channelization, moderate sinuosity, Brushy Fork 12.50 26.7 5.41 70.5 moderate silt bedload, moderate to sparse cover, high conductivity from mine drainage Deep pools, no functional riffles, moderate to sparse cover, high sinuosity, Elk Run 0.20 5.6 8.20 62 could be affected by lake backwaters from Clendening Lake Cobble and gravel substrates with bedrock, boulder and sand, high sinuosity, Spencer Creek 6.80 6.7 25.97 75.5 good channel development, moderate silt bedload, surrounded by reclaimed mines Spencer Creek No riffle, heavy silt bedload, sparse cover, poor channel development, 3.20 20.7 5.62 36.5 channelized, deep pools, silt and muck substrates, very high conductivity from mine drainage

General narrative ranges assigned to QHEI scores. Narrative QHEI Range Rating Headwaters (<20 mi2) Larger Streams Excellent >70 >75 Good 55 to 69 60 to 74 Fair 43 to 54 45 to 59 Poor 30 to 42 30 to 44

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

FISH COMMUNITY

A total of 28,228 fish representing 70 species and six hybrids were collected from the Stillwater Creek watershed study area between June and October, 2012. Relative numbers, species collected per location, and IBI and MIwb scores are presented in Table 13 and Appendix Table 9.

Sampling locations were evaluated using WWH biocriteria. The overall average IBI score and MIwb score for the watershed were 42 and 8.3, respectively. Of the 43 fish sampling locations, 30 (69.8) were meeting the WWH biocriteria for fish. Fish data has been collected in the Stillwater Creek watershed from 1983 to 2012, but past sampling has mostly focused on the mainstem and a few tributaries (Atkinson Creek, Craborchard Creek and Skull Fork). Overall since 1983, average IBI and MIwb scores have increased.

1992 1998 2003 2012 IBI 33 37 37 41.2 MIwb 7.4 7.4 7.5 8.2

Ten of the twelve sites (83.3%) on Stillwater Creek met the recommended WWH fish biocriteria. In 2012, the average IBI and MIwb scores for the twelve mainstem Stillwater Creek sites were 44 and 8.7, respectively. The narrative scores on the mainstem ranged from fair to exceptional. The two locations on the mainstem that were impaired are located below Little Stillwater Creek (Tappan Lake) and Brushy Fork (Clendening Lake). Both Clendening and Tappan lakes discharge very poor quality water because, at the time of this survey, the structure at the dam only allows for a bottom release of the lake water. During the late summer when the lake is stratified, the water that is released from the bottom of the lake is typically low in D.O., high in nutrients such as ammonia and phosphorus, and high in sulfates. Planned modifications to the dam structures to allow for a top release of lake water will greatly improve the water quality of the mainstem and should bring the mainstem into full attainment of the WWH biocriteria.

Tributaries to Stillwater Creek that were not meeting the WWH biocriteria for fish included Laurel Creek (RM 0.17), Hitchcock Run, Little Stillwater Creek (downstream from Tappan Lake at RM 2.8), Skull Fork (RMs 13.8 and 6.8), Trib to Skull Fork, Boggs Fork (RM 6.7), Brushy Fork, Elk Run and Spencer Creek (RM 3.25). With the exception of Laurel Creek, the rest of the streams have been extensively mined for coal and are affected by non-acidic mine drainage. Fish communities in these streams are typically in the fair narrative range but are close to meeting the WWH biocriteria.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 13. Summary of fish and QHEI data from the Stillwater Creek study area, 2012. Number (all) River of Relative Relative Relative Drainage Mileª Species Weight Number Number QHEI IBI MIwbb Narratives (IBI:/MIwb) Area (mi2) Stillwater Creek (17-350-000) 56.0 E 15 296.0 1116.0 61.5 50 NA Exceptional : NA 2.6 52.80 E 14 405.0 592.5 64.0 40 NA Marginally : NA 12.4 good 50.20 E 17 43.9 241.5 193.5 38.5 40 8.1 Marginally : Marginally 48.1 good good 38.24 D 21 68.2 357.0 581.3 65.8 44 8.3 Good : Marginally 86.0 good 33.00 D 24 39.2 186.9 244.3 45.5 46 7.9 Very Good : Marginally 189.0 good 25.50 D 21 24.6 97.5 111.0 63.8 43 7.0 Marginally : Fair 282.0 good 18.51 A 27 455.5 503.3 558.3 66.8 52 9.0 Exceptional : Good 345.0 9.93 A 19 132.2 181.0 233.0 56.8 37 8.5 Marginally : Marginally 358.0 good good 7.00 A 21 151.1 170.0 250.0 47.5 35 8.6 Fair : Good 364.0 5.10 D 34 243.6 1236.0 833.48 66.8 52 10.8 Exceptional : Exceptional 367.0 2.60 A 25 114.9 276.0 328.0 50.3 39 8.9 Marginally : Good 481.0 good 1.34 A 29 159.1 425.0 540.0 52.3 37 9.7 Marginally : Exceptional 483.0 good Laurel Creek (17-351-000) 6.90 E 18 1216.0 2386.0 61.5 48 NA Very Good : NA 10.8 0.17 E 24 2.7 565.0 1189.0 54.3 39 8.0 Fair : Marginally 28.7 good Crooked Creek (17-352-000) 4.00 E 24 757.5 1966.5 62.0 44 NA Good : NA 14.9 0.70 E 27 10.6 433.0 839.0 62.5 41 8.8 Marginally : Good 47.3 good Watson Creek (17-353-000) 1.43 E 20 1152.0 2488.0 44.3 50 NA Exceptional : NA 7.9 Fallen Timber Creek (17-354-000) 0.05 E 21 1248.0 2954.0 46.0 40 NA Marginally : NA 9.5 good Weaver Run (17-356-000) 1.65 E 20 282.5 832.5 35.5 44 NA Good : NA 8.5 Hitchcock Run (17-357-000) 0.10 E 9 65.0 442.5 36.8 28 NA Fair : NA 3.5 Atkinson Creek (17-358-000) 1.50 E 20 216.0 648.0 52.5 40 NA Marginally : NA 11.8 good

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 13. Summary of fish and QHEI data from the Stillwater Creek study area, 2012. Number (all) River of Relative Relative Relative Drainage Mileª Species Weight Number Number QHEI IBI MIwbb Narratives (IBI:/MIwb) Area (mi2) Craborchard Creek (17-359-000) 0.80 E 17 510.0 1450.0 21.5 40 NA Marginally : NA 11.4 good Little Stillwater Creek (17-360-000) 5.50 D 29 9.1 511.5 658.5 65.0 47 8.2 Very Good : Marginally 96.4 good 2.80 D 29 5.9 270.0 607.5 35.5 33 7.2 Fair : Fair 105.0 Trib. to L. Stillwater Creek (RM 7.60) (17-360-001) 0.50 E 16 682.0 2010.0 55.8 44 NA Good : NA 4.3 Plum Run (17-363-000) 1.07 E 16 298.0 738.0 38.3 40 NA Marginally : NA 3.9 good Clear Fork (17-369-000) 8.50 E 17 2194.5 2848.5 65.3 52 NA Exceptional : NA 9.9 3.50 E 19 26.8 440.0 736.9 62.5 40 8.4 Marginally : Good 22.1 good Standingstone Fork (17-370-000) 2.48 E 13 210.0 709.5 63.5 42 NA Marginally : NA 7.7 good Skull Fork (17-371-000) 13.80 E 16 1426.5 3562.5 54.5 36 NA Fair : NA 7.1 6.80 E 18 3.9 261.0 334.0 53.0 48 7.4 Very Good : Fair 26.9 2.20 E 24 7.7 241.0 384.0 70.3 41 8.2 Marginally : Marginally 43.8 good good Trib. to Skull Fork (RM 13.87) (17-371-002) 0.62 E 2 10.0 120.0 44.3 22 NA Poor : NA 1.5 Millers Fork (17-372-000) 0.90 E 20 392.0 666.0 42.0 44 NA Good : NA 6.3 Boggs Fork (17-373-000) 6.70 E 11 184.0 262.0 41.5 36 NA Fair : NA 13.2 0.75 D 26 28.3 241.5 351.0 53.8 49 8.2 Very Good : Marginally 28.6 good Plum Run (17-374-000) 0.40 E 24 918.0 2016.0 55.8 46 NA Very Good : NA 6.7 Trail Run (17-375-000) 0.75 E 20 258.0 382.0 39.5 50 NA Exceptional : NA 6.4 Brushy Fork (17-380-000) 18.85 E 9 216.0 514.0 67.3 38 NA Fair : NA 2.8 12.50 D 12 89.8 320.7 361.3 70.5 37 7.8 Fair : Fair 26.7

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 13. Summary of fish and QHEI data from the Stillwater Creek study area, 2012. Number (all) River of Relative Relative Relative Drainage Mileª Species Weight Number Number QHEI IBI MIwbb Narratives (IBI:/MIwb) Area (mi2) Elk Run (17-386-000) 0.20 E 10 70.0 142.0 62.0 32 NA Fair : NA 5.6 Spencer Creek (17-392-000) 6.85 E 13 742.5 1279.5 75.5 46 NA Very Good : NA 6.7 3.25 D 17 21.5 134.4 185.8 36.5 41 7.4 Marginally : Fair 20.7 good a A – boat site, D – sport yak, E – longline site b MIwb is not applicable (NA) to headwater streams with drainage areas ≤20 mi2.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY

Macroinvertebrate communities were evaluated at 47 stations in the Stillwater Creek study area (Table 15, Appendices 10 and 11). The community performance was evaluated as exceptional at 3 stations, very good at 5, good at 9, marginally good at 11, fair at 11, low fair at 6, poor at 1 and very poor at 1. The station with the highest total mayfly (Ephemeroptera), stonefly (Plecoptera), and caddisfly (Trichoptera) taxa richness (EPT) was on Plum Run (Trib. to Boggs Fork) at Old Piedmont Road (RM 0.4) with 20 taxa. The station with the highest number of total sensitive taxa (ST) was on Laurel Creek at Laurel Run Road (RM 6.9) with 23 taxa. Five uncommonly collected sensitive taxa and eight species of freshwater mussels were collected during this study and their collection locations are listed in Table 14. None of the freshwater mussels are included on the state list of wildlife that are endangered, threatened or species of concern. This study area had a relatively low number of uncommonly collected sensitive taxa which is an indication of the moderate to high impact to the aquatic resource quality in the Stillwater Creek basin from primarily coal mining activities.

Stillwater Creek Mainstem The Stillwater Creek mainstem was sampled at 13 stations in 2012 (Figure 12, Table 15). The five most

MACROINVERTEBRATE BIOCRITERION 60% Attainment, 40% Non-Attainment

upstream stations were achieving or marginally achieving the WWH macroinvertebrate biocriterion. The three most upstream stations were evaluated as marginally good. The most notable community component that was not meeting WWH expectations was the mayfly populations, which were limited to a few facultative taxa. The mayfly diversity was probably limited by elevated total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations (average 1296 and 1141 mg/l at RMs 52.8 and 50.2, respectively) and siltation. Elevated ion concentrations have been documented to greatly decrease the mayfly diversity (Pond et al. 2008, Pond 2010). Within the Stillwater Creek basin, the mayfly diversity drastically declined at a conductivity

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

of 1300 µmhos/cm or TDS of 1000 mg/l (Figure 11). The EPT and ST diversities increased at the next two stations downstream which had lower average TDS concentrations and were evaluated as good. The macroinvertebrate community (RM 25.5) evaluated at the station located downstream from Brushy Fork (Clendening Lake) was impacted by the Clendening Lake outflow. The ICI (30 - fair), EPT and ST all declined below WWH expectations. The macroinvertebrate communities evaluated at the remaining downstream stations were generally meeting WWH expectations except for the stations that either did not have current due to impoundment (RMs 9.93 and 7.0) or that contained low gradient conditions within a channelized stream channel (RMs 2.6 and 1.34). Two septic discharges were observed just upstream from Trenton Avenue (RM 5.1, river left) on 21 August 2012. Freshwater mussels were inventoried adjacent to the 6th Street lift station (RM 4.7) on 21 August 2012 in preparation of repairs to the lift station and the sewer line that runs under the stream. The sewer line was observed to be leaking mid-channel on that date. The Stillwater Creek mainstem was sampled at two stations downstream from the Twin City WWTP discharge (RM 3.08). The macroinvertebrate communities were not exhibiting a significant impact from the discharge. At most, there was an indication of mild enrichment with increases in the percent tolerant taxa ICI metric (9% and 13% at RMs 2.6 and 1.34, respectively; compared to 7.1% at RM 9.93, which had similar flow conditions). However, the qualitative communities at these two sites had similar EPT and ST diversities when compared to upstream stations which had slow to non-detectible flow conditions and similar community compositions.

Stillwater Creek Basin Mayfly vs. Conductivity (N = 47) Stillwater Creek Basin Mayfly vs. TDS (N = 47) 12 12

# Mayfly Taxa # Mayfly Taxa

10 10

8 8

Mayfly Diversity Dropoff Mayfly Diversity Dropoff Conductivity (1300 µmhos/cm) Concentration (1000 mg/l) 6 6

4 4

Number Mayfly Mayfly Taxa Number Number Mayfly Mayfly Taxa Number

2 2

0 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

Average Conductivity (µmhos/cm) Average TDS (mg/l)

Figure 11. Relationship between number of mayfly taxa (qualitative sample only) and conductivity and TDS in the Stillwater Creek basin, 2012.

Stillwater Creek Tributaries (headwaters to below Boggs Fork) Five Stillwater Creek tributaries were sampled at seven stations in this part of the watershed. Spencer Creek, the downstream station on Boggs Fork (RM 0.75) and Plum Run were evaluated as marginally good or better. Plum Run was one of the few streams in this basin to be evaluated as exceptional and had the highest EPT diversity (20 taxa) in this study. The Plum Run station also had the lowest average TDS concentration (576 mg/l) in this segment. The remaining stations, Sixmile Run, the upstream station on Boggs Fork (RM 6.7) and Trail Run; were evaluated as fair. Boggs Fork and Trail Run were impacted by some combination of elevated or high TDS and sedimentation from channelization and coal mining. Sixmile Run was limited by wetland conditions that may have been natural.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Stillwater Creek Tributaries (below Boggs Fork to below Brushy Fork) Seven Stillwater Creek tributaries were sampled at 11 stations in this portion of the watershed. The downstream station on Skull Fork (RM 2.2), tributary to Skull Fork at RM 13.87, Miller Fork, Craborchard Creek, Atkinson Creek and Elk Run were evaluated as marginally good or better. The macroinvertebrate station on the tributary to Skull Fork at RM 13.87 (RM 0.4) supported five cold-water macroinvertebrate taxa (the stonefly Leuctra, the caddisfly Ceratopsyche slossonae, and the dipterans Dicranota, Zavrelimyia, and Parametriocnemus). One cold-water fish (southern redbelly dace) was present in Skull Fork just downstream from the tributary at RM 13.0 so it’s possible that cold-water fish species could be found in the tributary to Skull Fork. A WWH use recommendation is being made for this tributary, but it should be evaluated for fish again to determine if cold-water fish are present. The upstream stations on Skull Fork (RMs 13.8 and 6.8) and the upstream stations on Brushy Fork (RMs 18.85 and 12.5) were evaluated as fair.

Skull Fork was impacted by high TDS (average of 1574 mg/l at RM 13.8), sedimentation and low flow (interstitial flow at RM 6.8 on 16 July 2012). Brushy Fork upstream from Clendening Lake was impacted by high TDS (averages of 3132 and 1992 mg/l at RMs 18.85 and 12.5, respectively). The headwaters of Skull Fork and Brushy Fork were extensively strip mined which was considered the source of the high TDS and possibly a portion of the sedimentation in the streams. The Brushy Fork station (RM 0.29) downstream from Clendening Lake was evaluated as very poor (ICI=2, EPT=1, ST=1). The stream had a strong hydrogen sulfide smell and the substrates were covered with a whitish colored growth that may have been sulfur-loving bacteria colonies. Clendening Lake’s bottom release was the source of high hydrogen sulfide and low D.O. concentrations at this Brushy Fork station. See the Lakes section for more information about Clendening Lake and the formation of hydrogen sulfide.

Stillwater Creek Tributaries (below Brushy Fork to Tuscarawas River, excluding L. Stillwater Cr.) Six Stillwater Creek tributaries were sampled at eight stations in this portion of the watershed. Crooked, Watson, Laurel and Fallen Timbers creeks were evaluated as marginally good or better. Weaver and Hitchcock runs were evaluated as fair and were impacted by a combination of low flow (interstitial or intermittent) and siltation from channelization and possibly coal mining.

Stillwater Creek Tributaries (Little Stillwater Creek) Little Stillwater Creek and four of its tributaries were sampled at eight stations. The two downstream Little Stillwater Creek stations (RMs 5.5 and 2.8), the downstream Clear Fork station (RM 3.8) and the tributary to Little Stillwater Creek at RM 7.60 were evaluated as marginally good or better. The Little Stillwater Creek station (RM 10.5) downstream from Tappan Lake was evaluated as poor (ICI=6, EPT=1, ST=0). The stream had a strong hydrogen sulfide smell and the substrates were covered with a whitish colored growth that may have been sulfur-loving bacteria colonies. Tappan Lake’s bottom release was the source of high hydrogen sulfide and low D.O. concentrations at this Little Stillwater Creek station. The upstream station on Clear Fork (RM 8.5) and Standingstone Fork were evaluated as fair. Both of these stations were impacted by high TDS and sedimentation. The headwaters of Clear Fork and Standingstone Fork were extensively strip mined, which was considered the source of the high TDS and possibly a portion of the sedimentation in the streams. Plum Run was evaluated as low fair (EPT=3, ST=3) and was impacted by a combination of low flow (interstitial on 17 July 2012), siltation, high manganese (average of 4717 µg/l) and elevated TDS (average of 1104 mg/l). Coal strip mining was common on the hillsides adjacent to the Plum Creek valley which was probably the source of high manganese and elevated TDS and possibly a portion of the sedimentation.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Macroinvertebrate Trends The 2012 survey was the first time that the majority of the Stillwater Creek basin was systematically sampled. The Stillwater Creek mainstem was sampled at three stations in 2003 to evaluate impacts from the Starkey Junkyard (Ohio EPA, 2003). The communities sampled during this study were performing the same within the impoundment and similar downstream from the impoundment in terms of the ICI scores, but had substantially higher qualitative sample EPT and ST diversities (Figure 12). The macroinvertebrate community evaluated in Craborchard Creek at RM 0.8 was similar to evaluations in 2006 and 1998 with very good to exceptional evaluations and diverse EPT and ST diversities. The macroinvertebrate community evaluated in Little Stillwater Creek at RM 2.8 improved into the marginally good range (ICI=34, 14 EPT, 10 ST) compared to an evaluation in 1983 of low fair (4 EPT, 1 ST). The macroinvertebrate community evaluated in Skull Fork at RM 13.8 improved into the high fair range (9 EPT, 7 ST) compared to low fair in 1994 (4 EPT, 0 ST).

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Stillwater Creek 60 Brushy Fork 2012 ICI (Clendening Lake) dam pool 50 2003 ICI Twin City WWTP

40 WWH Expectation

30 ICI WWH Non-Significant Departure 20

0 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

River Mile

35 2012 EPT dam pool 2003 EPT 30 Brushy Fork Twin City WWTP 25 (Clendening Lake)

20 EWH Expectation

15 WWH Expectation

Qualitative Qualitative EPT 10

0 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 River Mile

2012 ST dam pool 40 2003 ST

30 Brushy Fork (Clendening Lake) Twin City WWTP 20 EWH Expectation

WWH Expectation

10 Qualitative Sensitive Taxa Qualitative Sensitive

0 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 River Mile

Figure 12. Longitudinal trend of the Invertebrate Community Index (ICI), number of EPT taxa (EPT) in the qualitative sample, and number of sensitive taxa (ST) in the qualitative sample in Stillwater Creek, 2003-2012.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 January 17, 2017

Table 14. Uncommonly collected sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa and all of the freshwater mussels collection locations in the Stillwater Creek basin, 2012.

Taxa Collection Location by River Mile Mayflies Acerpenna macdunnoughi Stillwater Cr. 38.24; Atkinson Cr. 1.5 Stoneflies Acroneuria carolinensis Elk Run 0.2 Caddisflies Oecetis avara Stillwater Cr. 5.1 Midges Cladotanytarsus vanderwulpi group Stillwater Cr. 25.5; Crooked Cr. 4.0, 0.7; Clear Fk. 3.8 sp. 4 Cladotanytarsus vanderwulpi group Stillwater Cr. 18.51; L. Stillwater Cr. 2.8 sp. 5 Freshwater Mussels (live or fresh-dead shells) Amblema plicata Stillwater Cr. 5.1, 4.7; L. Stillwater Cr. 5.5 Elliptio dilatata Stillwater Cr. 4.7 Fusconaia flava Stillwater Cr. 32.9, 5.1; Crooked Cr. 4.0 Stillwater Cr. 52.8, 38.24, 32.9, 18.51, 5.1, 4.7; Plum Run (Trib. Lampsilis radiata luteola to Boggs Run) 0.4; Skull Fk. 6.8, 2.2; Miller Fk. 0.9; Crooked Cr. 4.0, 0.7; L. Stillwater Cr. 5.5, 2.8; Clear Fk. 3.8 Stillwater Cr. 52.8, 38.24, 5.1, 4.7; Miller Fk. 0.9; Brushy Fk. 12.5; Lasmigona complanata L. Stillwater Cr. 5.5 Leptodea fragilis Stillwater Cr. 5.1; L. Stillwater Cr. 5.5 Stillwater Cr. 38.24, 5.1, 4.7, 3.1; L. Stillwater Cr. 5.5; Clear Fk. Pyganodon grandis 3.8; Plum Run (Trib. to L. Stillwater Cr.) 0.4 Quadrula pustulosa Stillwater Cr. 18.51 Quadrula quadrula Stillwater Cr. 4.7 Tritogonia verrucosa Stillwater Cr. 38.24, 32.9, 9.93, 5.1, 4.7 Utterbackia imbecillis Miller Fk. 0.9

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Table 15. Summary of macroinvertebrate data collected from artificial substrates (quantitative sampling) and natural substrates (qualitative sampling) in the Stillwater Creek study area, July to October, 2012. Stream DA Data Qual. EPT Sensitive Taxa Density CW Predominant Organisms on the Natural Narrative RMa (mi2)b Codesc Taxa Ql. / Totald Ql. / Totale Ql. / Qt.f Taxag Substrates with Tolerance Category(ies)h ICIi Evaluationj Stillwater Creek (17-350) 54.00 9.4 - 45 10 7 L-M 2 Caddisflies (MI,F), midges (F), riffle beetles (F) - Marg. Good Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), Caenis mayflies 52.80 12.4 - 53 13 7 L 1 - Marg. Good (F), riffle beetles (F) 51.00 37.6 15 52 11 / 11 5 / 5 L / 424 0 Midges (F), riffle beetles (F) 34 Marg. Good Elimia snails (MI), caddisflies (F), riffle beetles 38.24 86.0 12 61 15 / 15 11 / 12 L / 148 0 (32) Good (F) 32.90 189.0 - 49 13 / 16 9 / 12 L / 248 0 Riffle beetles (F), midges (F), Corbicula clam (F) 38 Good Riffle beetles (F), Elimia snails (MI), 25.50 282.0 - 53 8 / 9 5 / 6 L / 610 0 30 Fair hydropsychid caddisflies (F) Baetid mayflies (F), Elimia snails (MI), 18.51 345.0 - 53 15 / 17 14 / 14 L / 547 0 42 Very Good heptageniid mayflies (F, MI) 9.93 358.0 8 40 7 / 9 4 / 4 L / 247 0 Riffle beetles (F), midges (MT), scuds (F) 20 Fair 7.00 364.0 - 48 3 1 L-M 0 Midges (MT), scuds (F), riffle beetles (F) - Low Fair 5.10 367.0 13 65 18 / 18 16 / 16 M / 1108 0 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F, MI) 36 Good Midges (MT, F), riffle beetles (F), leptocerid 3.10 481.0 15 53 13 / 16 7 / 10 L-M / 266 0 (26) Marg. Good caddisflies (MI, F) 2.60 481.0 8 44 10 / 12 4 / 4 M / 665 0 Midges (MT), riffle beetles (F) 14 Fair 1.34 483.0 8 43 5 / 6 4 / 4 254 0 Riffle beetles (F), midges (MT), damselflies (F) 16 Fair Spencer Creek (17-392) 6.85 6.7 - 49 13 10 L 4 Caddisflies (MI, F), midges (F) - Marg. Good Midges (F, T), riffle beetles (F), Nyctiophylax 3.25 20.7 - 42 11 / 13 5 / 6 L-M / 322 0 38 Good caddisflies (MI) Sixmile Run (17-379) 1.30 4.8 27 29 3 1 L 0 Scuds (F), midges (F, MT) - Low Fair

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Table 15. Continued Stream DA Data Qual. EPT Sensitive Taxa Density CW Predominant Organisms on the Natural Narrative RMa (mi2)b Codesc Taxa Ql. / Totald Ql. / Totale Ql. / Qt.f Taxag Substrates with Tolerance Category(ies)h ICIi Evaluationj Boggs Fork (17-373) 6.70 13.2 - 44 8 3 L 0 Riffle beetles (F), hydropsychid caddisflies (F) - Fair 0.75 28.6 - 55 13 / 14 8 / 8 L / 270 0 Riffle beetles (F), Elimia snails (MI) 42 Very Good Trail Run (17-375) 0.75 6.4 - 46 9 3 L 0 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F) - Fair Plum Run (Trib. to Boggs Fork) (17-374) Baetid mayflies (F,MI), hydropsychid caddisflies 0.4 6.7 - 65 20 17 L-M 2 - Exceptional (F,MI), midges (F) Skull Fork (17-371) 13.80 7.1 - 44 9 7 L-M 3 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F,MI), midges (F) - Fair 6.80 26.9 9 44 8 6 L 0 Mayflies (F,MI), water boatmen (MT) - Fair 2.20 43.8 8 52 15 / 16 7 / 8 L / 245 0 Heptageniid mayflies (F) 34 Marg. Good Tributary to Skull Fork @ RM 13.87 (17-495 / 17-371-002) Midges (F), stoneflies (F, MI), riffle beetles (MI, 0.40 2.1 - 43 11 11 L 5 - Marg. Good F) Miller Fork (17-372) Riffle beetles (F), hydropsychid caddisflies (F), 0.90 6.3 - 64 14 9 L 0 - Marg. Good heptageniid mayflies (F) Craborchard Creek (17-359) 0.80 11.4 - 67 19 13 M 0 Caddisflies (F,MI), mayflies (MI,F), midges (F) - Very Good Atkinson Creek (17-358) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), heptageniid 1.50 11.8 - 69 18 17 L 4 - Exceptional mayflies (MI), riffle beetles (F,MI) Brushy Fork (17-380) 18.85 2.8 - 31 6 4 L 2 Hydropsychid caddisflies (MI,F) - Fair 12.50 26.7 - 57 9 / 10 7 / 7 L-M / 912 1 Midges (F, T), hydropsychid caddisflies (MI,F) 30 Fair 0.29 69.0 - 30 1 / 1 1 / 1 M-H / 66 1 Aquatic segmented worms (T), midges (T,MT, F) 2 Very Poor

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Table 15. Continued Stream DA Data Qual. EPT Sensitive Taxa Density CW Predominant Organisms on the Natural Narrative RMa (mi2)b Codesc Taxa Ql. / Totald Ql. / Totale Ql. / Qt.f Taxag Substrates with Tolerance Category(ies)h ICIi Evaluationj Elk Run (17-386) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), mayflies (F), riffle 0.20 5.6 - 62 17 13 L-M 3 - Very Good beetles (F,MI) Weaver Run (17-356) Water boatmen (F,MT), scuds (F), alderflies 1.65 8.5 9 46 6 4 L 0 - Fair (MT) Hitchcock Run (17-357) Water boatmen (F,MT), Physella snails (T), 0.10 3.5 9 45 5 4 - 1 - Fair fingernail clams (MT) Crooked Creek (17-352) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), riffle beetles (F), 4.00 14.9 - 54 12 8 L 0 - Marg. Good midges (F) 0.70 47.3 15 59 15 / 15 12 / 13 L / 285 0 Mayflies (MI,F), riffle beetles (F) 38 Good Watson Creek (17-353) Caenis mayflies (F), midges (F,MI,MT), water 1.40 7.9 - 71 14 9 M 0 - Marg. Good mites (F) Laurel Creek (17-351) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), Isonychia mayflies 6.90 10.8 - 71 19 23 M 3 - Exceptional (MI), riffle beetles (MI) 0.17 28.7 15 61 17 / 20 13 / 13 L / 545 0 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), mayflies (MI) 44 Very Good Fallen Timbers Creek (17-354) Midges (F), caddisflies (F,MI), heptageniid 0.05 9.5 - 70 18 9 M 1 - Good mayflies (MI) Little Stillwater Creek (17-360) 10.5 71 - 32 1 / 1 0 / 0 H / 396 1 Blackflies (F), midges (T,MT,F) 6 Very Poor Hydropsychid caddisflies (F,MI), baetid mayflies 5.50 96.4 - 77 16 / 16 12 / 12 L-M / 579 0 40 Good (F) Hydropsychid caddisflies (MI,F), Corbicula clams 2.80 105 - 58 14 / 15 10 / 10 L / 419 1 34 Marg. Good (F)

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Table 15. Continued Stream DA Data Qual. EPT Sensitive Taxa Density CW Predominant Organisms on the Natural Narrative RMa (mi2)b Codesc Taxa Ql. / Totald Ql. / Totale Ql. / Qt.f Taxag Substrates with Tolerance Category(ies)h ICIi Evaluationj Clear Fork (17-369) 8.50 9.9 - 45 9 7 L 0 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F,MI), flatworms (F) - Fair 3.80 21.9 8 53 10 / 10 10 / 10 L / 423 0 Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), midges (F,MI) 36 Good Standingstone Fork (17-370) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F,MI), midges 2.48 7.7 - 54 9 6 L 1 - Fair (T,F,MT), riffle beetles (F) Plum Run (Trib. to L. Stillwater Cr.) (17-363) 0.40 4.3 9 38 3 3 L 0 Alderflies (MT), beetles (T), snails (T,F) - Low Fair Tributary to Little Stillwater Creek @ RM 7.60 (17-494 / 17-360-001) Hydropsychid caddisflies (F), baetid mayflies 0.50 4.3 - 55 14 13 L 3 - Good (F,MI), midges (F) a - RM: River Mile. b - DA: Drainage Area c - Data Codes: 8=Non-Detectable Current, 9=Intermittent or Near-Intermittent Conditions, 12=Suspected High Water Influence, 13=Suspected Disturbance by Vandalism, 15=Current >0.0 fps but<0.3 fps, 27=Wetland Stream Sample. d - Ql.: Qualitative sample collected from the natural substrates. e - Sensitive Taxa: Taxa listed on the Ohio EPA Macroinvertebrate Taxa List as MI (moderately intolerant) or I (intolerant). f - Qt.: Quantitative sample collected on Hester-Dendy artificial substrates, density is expressed in organisms per square foot. Qualitative sample relative density: L=Low, M=Moderate, H=High. g - CW: Cold Water. h - Tolerance Categories: VT=Very Tolerant, T=Tolerant, MT=Moderately Tolerant, F=Facultative, MI=Moderately Intolerant, I=Intolerant i - ICI values in parentheses are invalidated due to insufficient current speed over the artificial substrates or by disturbance. The station evaluation at these sites is based on the qualitative sample narrative evaluation. j - Narrative evaluation that appears next to non-parenthetical ICI scores corresponds to the ICI score and is not the narrative evaluation of the qualitative sample.

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LAKES

Inland Lakes Monitoring Ohio EPA has implemented a sampling strategy that focuses on evaluating chemical conditions near the surface and physical conditions in the water column of inland lakes. Physical profile measurements are summarized either for the entire water column or the epilimnion depending on thermal stratification. The sampling target consists of an even distribution of a total of ten sampling events divided over a two-year period and collected during the index period of May 1 – October 31. Key parameters used to determine the attainment status of lakes include chlorophyll-a, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, pH, total dissolved solids and various metals. Other parameters used to evaluate the degree of support or non-support includes Secchi depth, total phosphorus and total nitrogen. Details of the sampling protocol are outlined in Appendix I of the Ohio EPA Surface Water Field Sampling Manual which can be found at http://epa.ohio.gov/Portals/35/documents/Inland_Lake_Sampling_Manual.pdf.

Water Quality Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Life in Lakes Presently, lakes in Ohio are designated as Exceptional Warmwater Habitat (EWH) with respect to the aquatic life use designation (with the exception of upground reservoirs which are designated Warmwater Habitat [WWH]). Revisions to Ohio’s WQS that would change the aquatic life use from EWH/WWH to Lake Habitat (LH) were proposed for adoption in December, 2011, but were subsequently withdrawn. A future rulemaking is anticipated but the timeframe is unknown. A primary reason for this revision is that in Ohio, a set of biological criteria applies to rivers and streams, whereas no biocriteria apply to lakes. The numeric chemical criteria to protect the LH use will remain the same as the criteria to protect the EWH or WWH uses that currently apply to lakes and upground reservoirs, with a suite of nutrient criteria added. These criteria are tiered based on the type of lake and the ecoregion in which it is located. A set of numeric criteria that applies to all surface waters for the protection of aquatic life, regardless of specific use designation, also apply to inland lakes and are referred to as “base aquatic life use criteria” in the proposed WQS rules. The base aquatic life use criteria will be the same aquatic life numeric criteria that currently apply to lakes. Examples include various metals such as copper, lead, and cadmium as well as organic chemicals such as benzene and phenol. Specific details concerning the progress of revisions to Ohio's Water Quality Standards involving the proposed Lake Habitat aquatic life use and associated criteria can be found on the Agency’s surface water rules web page (http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dsw/dswrules.aspx) as information becomes available. Details of the proposed use designation, draft criteria and assessment methodology are previewed in Section I2 of the Ohio EPA 2012 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (http://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/tmdl/OhioIntegratedReport.aspx#123143419-2012).

Stillwater Creek Basin Lake Sampling A water quality survey of Piedmont, Clendening and Tappan lakes (Figure 13) was conducted by Ohio EPA in 2012 and 2013 as a part of the Division of Surface Water’s Inland Lakes Monitoring Program (Ohio EPA 2010) and in coordination with the Stillwater Creek watershed survey. All three of the lake’s L-1 stations were sampled 10 times for chemistry while the L-2 stations were sampled nine times for chemistry. The L-1 station is located at the deepest part of the lake, typically near the dam and the L-2 stations were located at a mid-lake location. All lakes were sampled 10 times for bacteria in the lake and at Tappan’s beach and Clendening’s and Piedmont’s marina. Fish tissue was collected at all lakes to provide data in support of sport fish consumption advisories for the public (see Fish Tissue section above). One sediment sample was collected at the L-1 station at each lake and sampling for cyanotoxins occurred in each lake once at the L-1 and L-2 stations. Tappan Lake’s L-1 station was sampled in 2012 and 2013 for cyanotoxins and the L-2 station was sample twice in 2013. Cyanotoxin and microcystin were sampled during each sampling event. Cylindrospermopsin was sampled at Tappan Lakes L-1 station in May 2012 and both

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Tappan L-1 and L-2 were sampled in October 2013. Cylindrospermopsin was also sampled at Piedmont in September 2013. The only detection for cyanotoxins was the Piedmont Lake sample in September 2013. The result was 0.436 µg/L which is below the Recreational Public Health. Advisory level of 5.0 µg/L (State of Ohio, 2016).

The three lakes are part of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) and are among the 14 reservoir comprehensive flood control structures used to conserve water for beneficial public use. The MWCD was created in 1933 following Ohio’s law to carry out comprehensive flood control and water conservation projects within the Muskingum River watershed in response to the massive 1913 flood. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates the dam structures while MWCD operates and maintains the reservoirs and adjacent areas.

Piedmont Lake Piedmont Lake is located northwest of the city of St. Clairsville in Belmont and Harrison counties and is the southernmost lake evaluated in the survey (Figure 13). Figure 13. Stillwater Creek lake locations. Piedmont lake was created in 1937 by damming Stillwater Creek. The reservoir is 2,368 acres of water with 36.9 miles of shoreline and is surrounded by 4,416 acres of MWCD public and restricted areas. Most of the shoreline is forested. Maximum depth is approximately 30 feet near the dam. The watershed for the reservoir is about 84 square miles which is composed of 32% agricultural activities, 56% forested areas with the remaining 12% composed of wetlands (0.5%), developed areas (6%), open water (5%) and barren areas (0.5%). Forty-six percent of the land within the Piedmont Lake watershed has been or is being coal surface mined. Surface mining has taken place in Indian, Lick, Robinson, and Sixmile runs and Stillwater Creek and its tributaries Buttermilk and Spencer creeks and Coal Run. Some of the surface mining was done under the 1977 Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), therefore the areas disturbed by mining have been reclaimed to approximate original contour. Much of these areas are in grassland and provide livestock grazing lands. Areas mined before SMCRA have highwalls and mine pits, but are mostly in grass or emergent forests, thus reducing erosion. Abandoned underground coal mines also are in the upper portion of Sixmile Run, Spencer Creek and Stillwater Creek. These underground mines operated from the 1910s through 1970. Underground mines in these stream watersheds were in the Meigs Creek No. 9 and Pittsburgh No. 8 coal seams. These coal seams were mined using mostly drift mining. Drift mines typically enter the coal seam at grade which may allow the mine water to flow out into nearby streams.

The USACE has commissioned studies into the sedimentation of Piedmont Lake in the past. Lake sediment profiles from those studies show that approximately 278 acres of lake had been impacted by 3 to 10 feet of sediment. This sediment was mostly in the inlets to the lake, near the upper most part of the lake. Some of the sediments were determined to be sulfate-rich sediment. The source of the sediment and sulfate was also determined to be strip mine areas around the headwaters of the lake. These strip mine areas were not reclaimed under SMCRA, since they were mined between 1965 and 1975. The sulfate-enriched sediment may be a major contributing source of sulfate for the production of hydrogen sulfide gas produced in the tailwaters below the Piedmont Lake dam.

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Piedmont Lake’s diverse bottom composition and cover from stumps and fallen trees provide excellent habitat for a number of sport fish. The lake maintains populations of muskellunge, largemouth and smallmouth bass, saugeye, channel and flathead catfish, white bass and crappies. Channel catfish, saugeye and muskellunge populations are maintained by stocking yearlings. The existing state record for muskellunge was taken at Piedmont Lake (ODNR Division of Wildlife).

Pasture land and hay production are the dominant agricultural practices within the watershed. The reclaimed and abandoned strip mine lands provide good forage and grazing areas for livestock since these areas are mostly treeless and have easy access to mine ponds and streams. Residences are also sparse within the watershed. Most of the housing is along the watershed boundary and in the headwaters. All the large communities such as Barnesville, Morristown and Bethesda, have sanitary sewer systems that discharge to streams outside of the headwaters of the Stillwater Creek watershed. There are some seasonal residential clusters on both sides of the lake which are served by on-site septic systems. Piedmont Marina Campground has 80 campsites, and a 10 room motel and 4-H Camp Piedmont (Camp Presmont) are also near Piedmont Lake. Piedmont Marina Campground and Camp Presmont are served by small sanitary package plants. The on-site septic systems and small sanitary treatment plants can be a potential source of nutrients to the lake. Proper operation and maintenance of these systems should be encouraged to help control nutrient loadings to the lake.

Water chemistry samples and bacteria samples were collected 10 times at the L-1 station and nine times at the L-2 stations in 2012 and 2013. One sediment sample was collected in 2012 at the L-1 station and results showed arsenic and nickel above the Threshold Effect Concentrations levels. All organic compounds were below detection limits in the sample. The ammonia and phosphorus in the sediment could provide an internal loading source for these nutrients during lake turnover. No exceedances of Ohio WQS criteria for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, or zinc were found in the epilimnion and hypolimnion samples for both L-1 and L-2 stations. Nickel was detected in each sample at both stations. Sulfate was above the 250 mg/l WQS criterion for drinking water at each sampling location. All bacteria samples for Piedmont Lake L-1 and the marina were below the recreation use criteria (geometric average <126 cfu/100ml and <298 cfu/100ml as a maximum sample value) for PCR Class A. Results from all but one cyanotoxin samples collected in May, September and October 2013 were below the method detection limits. One sample for cylindrospermopsin at the L-1 sampling station had a result of 0.436 μg/L on September 10, 2013. The recreational public health advisory level is 5.0 μg/L (Ohio EPA 2015).

In 2012 and early summer 2013, Piedmont Lake displayed the profiles of a classically stratified lake at the L-1 station during the summer; stratification persisted during 2012 until the early fall sample in October. In Figure 14 (upper), the temperature profiles indicated that a thermocline set up early in the year, and persisted for much of the summer. As a result of this thermocline, dissolved oxygen levels were strongly influenced (Figure 14, lower). The fall turnover started in October as shown by the almost linear temperature profile in October 2012. Assessment of attainment status for the L-1 station will use epilimnion data only because of this pronounced stratification. The L-2 station was well mixed throughout each sampling season.

Piedmont Lake was impaired for the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) use due to excessive chlorophyll-a, and high nutrients (Tables 16 and 17). While ammonia was usually below detection limit in the epilimnion, total nitrogen and chlorophyll-a were above WAP target values at both stations and Secchi depth readings

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were not meeting the minimum WAP target of 2.16 meters. The L-2 was also impaired for total phosphorus.

The sources of nutrients can be from runoff in the tributaries or from lake sediments which act as a nutrient sink or source. The internal loading or regeneration of phosphorus within the hypolimnion under anoxic conditions happens through chemical, biological and physical processes and is then released into the water column. Phosphorus can be released as deep as 20 cm into the sediment (Søndegarrd 2003). The internal loading of nutrients in Piedmont Lake will be a factor in trying to understand the nutrient function of this system. Hypolimnetic generation of ammonia during stratification would rapidly be converted to nitrate (NO2-NO3) upon autumnal mixing. Likewise, the sequestration of total phosphorus in sediment at 518 mg/kg, and the generation of orthophosphate during periods of anoxia in the hypolimnion, affect overall nutrient budgets.

Figure 14: Temperature profile at L-1 sampling station for Piedmont Lake, 2012 and 2013

Figure 15: Dissolved Oxygen profile at L-1 sampling station for Piedmont Lake, 2012 and 2013.

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Table 16. Assessment of lake data collected from Piedmont Lake L-1 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use, associated criteria and recreation use criteria. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Piedmont Lake L-1 Recreation Use

Total Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen D.O. NH3 Parameter Phosphorus pH E. coli (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (µg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Date Sampling Date 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 pH & temperature 126 cfu/100ml

5/23/2012 2.18 2.8 550 981 8.89 7.87 < <10 8/2/2012

7/23/2012 1.32 14.2 500 13 9.93 7.76 < <10 9/6/2012

8/7/2012 1.04 17.2 490 12 6.63 8.16 < ------

9/11/2012 0.94 17.4 150 26 6.44 7.7 < ------

10/15/2012 1.42 15.7 570 24 7.89 7.83 < ------

6/5/2013 3.01 2.3 150 11 6.45 8.5 < <10 7/2/2013

6/18/2013 2.14 4.7 300 5 6.57 8.27 < <10 7/11/2013

7/30/2013 1.23 15.3 390 5 5.08 8.05 < <10 8/21/2013

8/19/2013 1.33 26.8 610 10 2.57 7.77 0.064 <10 9/4/2013

9/10/2013 1.09 14.6 590 15 6.94 8.13 > <10 10/7/2013 Median values of proposed Lake Habitat Below criteria or number of 2 of 10 Below Detect Detect 1.325 14.95 495 12.5 0 of 10 samples exceeding OMZA (20%) (0%) Each criterion. (% Exceeded) Season

Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Support Non-support Support Support Support

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Table 17. Assessment of lake data collected from Piedmont Lake L-2 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use, associated criteria and Recreation Use. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Recreation Use Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Piedmont Lake L-2 Essex Bay – Marina Total Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen D.O. NH3 Parameter Phosphorus pH E. coli (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (µg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Date Sampling Date 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 pH & temperature 126 cfu/100ml

7/23/2012 1.2 18.7 450 17 9.5 7.74 < ------

8/7/2012 0.98 18.7 650 16 6.2 8.1 < <10 9/6/2012

9/11/2012 0.73 24.5 350 35 7.27 7.73 < ------

10/15/2012 0.89 21.4 630 23 8.23 7.96 < ------

6/5/2013 2.06 3.5 470 11 8.07 8.5 < 20 7/2/2013

6/18/2013 1.23 10.7 300 12 8.43 8.19 < <10 7/11/2013

7/30/2013 1.0 20.2 350 12 6.87 7.99 < <10 8/21/2013

8/19/2013 1.08 28.9 510 114 4.71 7.77 < 30 9/4/2013

9/10/2013 0.92 30.6 500 18 8.71 8.29 < <10 10/7/2013 Median values of Below proposed Lake Habitat Geometric criteria or number of Below Detect Mean or 1 of 9 0 of 9 samples exceeding 1.0 20.1 470 17 0 of 9 Maximum 11% (0%) OMZA criterion. (% (0%) Value Exceeded) Each Season Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Watch-list Support Support Support

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Tappan Lake A water quality survey of Tappan Lake was conducted by Ohio EPA in 2012 and 2013. Tappan Lake is located northwest of Cadiz, Harrison County and southeast of Twin Cities (Uhrichsville and Dennison), Tuscarawas County. The lake is located entirely in Harrison County. It is the northernmost lake in Figure 13.

Tappan Lake was created by damming Little Stillwater Creek and was completed in 1936. Maximum depth of the lake is approximately 24 feet near the dam. The reservoir is 2,272 acres of water with 38 miles of shoreline and is surrounded by 5,000 acres of MWCD public and restricted areas. Tappan Lake has the most developed shoreline of the three lakes. Areas along the tributaries on the north side of the lake have summer cottages along the shore with boat access to the lake. Half of the village of Deersville is within the watershed. The watershed for the reservoir is about 71 square miles and land use is 70% forested, 18% agriculture, and 6.2% developed, with the remaining 5.8% composed of open water (5%) and barren lands and wetlands (0.8%). Within the Tappan Lake watershed, 3800 acres of the land have been strip mined for coal. Some of the strip mining was done under the 1977 SMCRA law; therefore, the areas disturbed by mining have been reclaimed to the approximate original contour. The entirety of past and present mining has taken place in the upper reaches of Standingstone and Clear forks, near the village of Cadiz. Active and abandoned underground coal mines also are in the upper portion of the Tappan Lake watershed. The underground mines are below drainage (below the lowest surface point) in the Lower Freeport No. 6A coal seam.

Water chemistry samples and bacteria samples were collected 10 times at the L-1 station and 9 times at the L-2 stations in 2012 and 2013. One sediment sample was collected in 2012 at the L-1 station and results showed arsenic, zinc and nickel above the Threshold Effect Concentrations levels. Additionally, the ammonia and phosphorus in the sediment could provide an internal loading source for these nutrients during the lake turnover. There were no exceedances of Ohio WQS criteria for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, or zinc in the epilimnion and hypolimnion samples for either the L-1 or L-2 station. Nickel was detected at both stations. Sulfate was above the 250 mg/l WQS criterion for drinking water in four of 38 samples. All bacteria samples for Tappan Lake were below the recreation use criteria (geometric average <126 cfu/100ml and <298 cfu/100ml as a maximum sample value) for PCR Class A (Tables 18 and 19). The Tappan Lake Park beach did have an E. coli count of 8400 cfu on 8/8/2012. It was observed during sampling that the beach area had numerous seagulls and Canada geese present when the beach was not in use and could be a source of the high bacteria levels. Results for all cyanotoxins assessed from samples collected in May, September and October 2013 were below the method detection limits.

Dissolved oxygen measurements were below the LH use target of 6.0 mg/l in seven out of 10 measurements at the L-1 station (Figure 15). This may be due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the water column. A hydrogen sulfide odor was noted in numerous hypolimnion samples. The dam discharge has had hydrogen sulfide gas releases as high as 300 ppm. Levels at or above 100 ppm can be lethal; thus, the USACE has placed warning signs near the discharge points for all three lakes assessed in this study along with hydrogen sulfide gas monitors (Figure 7). Additionally, hydrogen sulfide gas can combine with oxygen to form sulfuric acid aerosols (Dunnette, et al. 1984). Over the years, the sulfuric acid has impacted some of the metal structures around the dams and the acid has minimally deteriorated some of the concrete within the dam outlet structures. (See Sulfate and Hydrogen Sulfide section below for further discussion on this issue.)

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

The three lakes sampled in the Stillwater Creek watershed have dam outlet structures that are bottom release only. Dam outlet structures on more modern dams have the ability to release water from the lake at different elevations in the water column. This allows for a mixing of oxic and anoxic lake water during release and lessens the impact of low dissolved oxygen water releases to the waterway downstream. In early 2015, the USACE modified the trash rake in front of the outlet structure at Tappan Lake. As part of the trash rake modification, USACE installed baffles that now allow lake water from above the anoxic zone to be mixed with bottom lake water before it is released. USACE and ODNR collected dissolved oxygen lake profile samples monthly starting in April 2015 and ending in September 2015 at 40 sites in both Clendening and Tappan lakes. This should help USACE in determining if this type of structural change will help with other dam outlet structures that they operate, including Piedmont and Clendening lakes.

The MWCD has plans to dredge the headwater areas of Tappan Lake in 2016. This will include the Beaverdam Run, Clear Fork and Standingstone Fork embayments. The removal of sediment will return the lake’s flood capacity closer to the original capacity. Much the sediment’s origin is from surface mining that was done before SMCRA and may be an additional source of sulfate in the lake. The removal may also help in reducing nutrients and sulfate.

2012 and 2013 Temp. Tappan Lake L-1

Temperature oC 5/23/2012 5 10 15 20 25 30 7/9/2012 0.0 8/7/2012 1.0 9/11/2012 2.0 9/24/2012 3.0 5/29/2013 4.0 6/17/2013 7/30/2013 5.0 Depth(m) 8/19/2013 6.0 10/1/2013 7.0 8.0 2012 and 2013 D.O. Tappan Lake L-1 5/23/2012 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 7/9/2012 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 8/7/2012 0.0 9/11/2012 9/24/2012 2.0 5/29/2013 4.0 6/17/2013 7/30/2013

Depth(m) 6.0 8/19/2013 10/1/2013 8.0

Figure 16. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (D.O.) profiles at L-1 sampling station for Tappan Lake, 2012 and 2013.

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Table 18. Assessment of lake data collected from Tappan Lake L-1 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Tappan Lake L-1 Recreation Use L-1

Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen Total Phosphorus D.O. NH3 Parameter pH E. coli (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Date Sampling Date 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 pH & temperature 126 cfu/100ml

5/23/2012 1.37 8.00 540 39000 8.49 8.12 < ------

7/9/2012 0.54 44.5 1410 27 7.02 8.15 < <10 8/2/2012

8/7/2012 0.62 33.7 890 21 4.71 8.35 < <10 9/6/2012

9/11/2012 0.73 33.0 600 40 6.91 8.02 < ------

9/24/2012 1.22 12.2 810 47 3.33 7.07 0.491 ------

5/29/2013 1.03 13.7 350 17 5.31 8.53 0.051 <10 7/2/2013

6/17/2013 1.11 11.6 150 14 3.97 7.75 < <10 7/11/2013

7/30/2013 0.90 24.5 960 16 4.81 7.86 < <10 8/21/2013

8/19/2013 0.93 44.3 510 20 3.77 7.92 < <10 9/4/2013

9/10/2013 0.78 87.2 960 21 5.50 8.09 < 20 10/7/2013 Median values of Below proposed Lake Habitat Geometric criteria or number of Below Detect 7 of 10 0 of 10 Mean or samples exceeding 0.915 28.75 705 21 0 of 9 70% (0%) Maximum OMZA criterion. (% (0%) Value Exceeded) Each Season

Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Support Support Support

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Table 19. Assessment of lake data collected from Tappan Lake L-2 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Recreation Use Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Tappan Lake L-2 Tappan Beach

Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen Total Phosphorus D.O. NH3 Parameter pH E. coli (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Date Sampling Date pH & 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 126 cfu/100ml temperature

7/9/2012 0.57 44.3 910 36 8.37 8.6 < 70 6/20/2012

8/7/2012 0.88 41.7 600 28 7.41 8.43 < <10 8/2/2012

9/11/2012 0.56 44.8 360 55 6.8 7.89 < 8400* 8/8/2012

9/24/2012 0.73 37.8 710 44 8.25 7.41 < 220 8/21/2012

------<10 9/6/2012

5/29/2013 0.82 17.8 610 16 5.93 8.44 < <10 7/2/2013

6/17/2013 0.80 23.9 380 22 7.66 8.24 0.052 20 7/11/2013

7/30/2013 0.13 69.4 840 44 7.56 8.24 < <10 8/21/2013

8/19/2013 0.71 46.5 460 157 5.5 8.09 < 20 9/4/2013

10/1/2013 0.74 63.0 550 50 8.76 8.61 < 80 10/7/2013 Median values of proposed Lake Habitat Geomean criteria or number of Below Detect 2012 2 of 9 0 of 9 samples exceeding 0.73 44.3 600 44 0 of 9 79.8 22% (0%) OMZA criterion. (% (0%) 2013 Exceeded) 15.2

Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Watch-list Support Support Support * Greater than the maximum single sample value (298 cfu/100ml) for PCR Class A.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Clendening Lake A water quality survey of Clendening Lake was conducted by Ohio EPA in 2012 and 2013. Clendening Lake is located west of Cadiz, near the small village of Tippecanoe in northwest Harrison County. It is the middle lake in Figure 13.

Clendening Lake was created by damming Brushy Fork and was completed in 1937. Maximum depth of the lake is approximately 35 feet near the dam. The reservoir is 1,732 acres of water with 37 miles of shoreline and is surrounded by 4,800 acres of MWCD public and restricted areas. The entire shoreline is forested. Residences are generally sparse throughout the watershed with most of the housing in the headwaters. Part of the village of Cadiz is within the watershed, but its treatment plant discharges to a stream outside of the Brushy Creek watershed. Half of the village of Deersville is within the watershed, and sewage is treated via on-site septic systems. The watershed is also home to Fort Steuben Scout Reservation and the YMCA's Camp Tippecanoe. Camp Tippecanoe has a small wastewater treatment plant which discharges to the Clendening Lake watershed. The watershed for the reservoir is about 70 square miles, which is 67% forested, 23% agriculture, 5.45% developed, and 4.2% open water; the remaining 0.35% is barren lands and wetlands. Twenty-eight percent of the land within the Clendening Lake watershed has been surface mined for coal. Some of the surface mining was done under the 1977 SMCRA; therefore, the areas disturbed by mining have been reclaimed to approximate the original contour. All past and present mining has taken place in the upper portion of Brushy Fork, including Elk, Slab Camp, Lees, and Huff runs and South Fork Brushy Fork. Abandoned underground coal mines also are in the headwaters of Brushy Fork and South Fork Brushy Fork. The underground mines in Brushy Fork are below drainage (below the lowest surface point) in the Lower Freeport No. 6A coal seam. The South Fork underground mines are in the Pittsburgh No. 8 coal seam, which is at an elevation of 1,082 feet. The Pittsburgh No. 8 coal seam may be above drainage in areas.

Water chemistry samples and bacteria samples were collected 10 times at the L-1 station and nine times at the L-2 station in 2012 and 2013. One sediment sample was collected in 2012 at the L-1 station and results showed a nickel concentration above the Threshold Effect Concentrations levels. Additionally, the ammonia and phosphorus in the sediment could provide an internal loading source for these nutrients during the lake turnover. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium and zinc were typically below the method detection limit in the epilimnion and hypolimnion samples for both the L-1 and L-2 stations. Low levels of nickel were detected at both stations. Sulfate was above the 250 mg/l WQS criterion for drinking water in 95% of the samples. All bacteria samples for Clendening Lake were below the method detection limit of 10 cfu. Results for all cyanotoxins assessed from samples collected in May, September and October 2013 were below the method detection limits.

In 2012 and early summer 2013, Clendening Lake displayed the profiles of a classically stratified lake at the L-1 station during the summer; stratification persisted during 2012 until the early fall sample in October. In Figure 17 (upper), the temperature profiles indicated that a thermocline set up early in the year, and persisted for much of the summer. As a result of this thermocline, dissolved oxygen levels were strongly influenced (Figure 17, lower). The fall turnover started in October as shown by the almost linear temperature profile in October 2012. The low dissolved oxygen profile during the October 9, 2012 sampling event was strongly influenced by the high hydrogen sulfide in the water column. Assessment of

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

attainment status for the L-1 station will use epilimnion data only because of this pronounced stratification. The L-2 station was well mixed throughout each sampling season.

Temperature Profile Clendening Lake L-1

Temperature oC 5/23/2012

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 7/9/2012 0.0 8/7/2012 1.0

9/11/2012 2.0 3.0 10/9/2012 4.0 5/29/2013 5.0

6.0 6/17/2013 Depth(m) 7.0 7/30/2013

8.0 8/19/2013 9.0 9/10/2013 10.0

Dissolved Oxygen Profile Clendening Lake L-1

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 5/23/2012

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 7/9/2012 0.0 8/7/2012 1.0 2.0 9/11/2012 3.0 10/9/2012 4.0 5/29/2013 5.0

6.0 6/17/2013 Depth(m) 7.0 7/30/2013

8.0 8/19/2013 9.0 9/10/2013 10.0

Figure 17. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (D.O.) profiles at L-1 sampling station for Clendening Lake, 2012 and 2013.

Clendening Lake was impaired for the LH use due to excessive chlorophyll-a, and high nutrients (Tables 20 and 21). While ammonia was usually below the detection limit in the epilimnion, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a were above WAP target vales at both stations and Secchi depth readings did not meet the minimum WAP target value of 2.16 meters. Dissolved oxygen readings at the L-1 and L-

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2 stations were below WQS criterion numerous times, placing D.O. in the non-support LH narrative. At the L-1 station, a strong hydrogen sulfide odor was noted during many sampling events. Hydrogen sulfide and sulfate reducing bacteria can result in low D.O. in the water column. Sulfate levels at the Clendening Lake L-1 and L-2 monitoring stations were above the Safe Drinking Water Act’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 250 mg/l in 37 of 39 samples. The drinking water MCL for sulfate is based on taste and odor concerns, though high sulfate levels in drinking water have been linked to diarrhea in some people. The main source of sulfate in the lake is coal mining runoff. Brushy Fork at RM 12.5 averaged 1228 mg/l in 2012. The other two upstream sampling locations, Brushy Fork RM 18.8 and Elk Run, averaged 1862 mg/l and 425 mg/l, respectively, during 2012. (see Sulfate and Hydrogen Sulfide section below for further discussion of this issue.)

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Table 20. Assessment of lake data collected from Clendening Lake L-1 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Recreation Use Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Clendening Lake L-1 L-1

Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen Total Phosphorus D.O. NH3 Parameter pH E. coli (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Sampling Date Date pH & 126 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 temperature cfu/100ml

5/23/2012 1.95 5.5 490 3020 9.685 8.295 <

7/9/2012 0.83 20.2 630 19 12.35 8.28 < <10 8/2/2012

8/7/2012 0.63 33.3 960 21 3.29 8.04 < <10 9/6/2012

9/11/2012 0.60 31.7 300 31 2.77 7.595 < ------

10/9/2012 1.75 13.2 1200 28 0.46 7.03 0.633 ------

5/29/2013 1.90 6.1 310 13 7.345 8.595 0.056 <10 7/2/2013

6/17/2013 1.13 8.0 330 13 4.95 8.11 < <10 7/11/2013

7/30/2013 0.75 33.8 790 19 2.95 7.75 < <10 8/21/2013

8/19/2013 0.95 26.1 870 20 3.131 7.91 < <10 9/4/2013

9/10/2013 0.88 20.8 570 16 3.025 7.833 < <10 10/7/2013 Median values of proposed Lake Habitat Below Below criteria or number of 7 of 10 0 of 10 Detect Detect 0.915 20.5 600 19 samples exceeding OMZA 70% (0%) 0 of 10 Each criterion. (% Exceeded) (0%) Season

Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Support Support Support

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Table 21. Assessment of lake data collected from Clendening Lake L-2 station, 2012 and 2013, using the proposed Lake Habitat (LH) aquatic life use and associated criteria. Note - As of the finalization of this report, the proposed LH use and these criteria have not been adopted into the Ohio WQS and the assessments provided in this table should be considered as examples of how the adopted use and criteria would be applied.

Recreation Use Lake Habitat Aquatic Life Use – Clendening Lake L-2 L-2 at Marina

Secchi Depth Chlorophyll a Total Nitrogen Total Phosphorus D.O. NH3 E. coli Parameter pH (m) (µg/l) (µg/l) (µg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) Proposed Lake Habitat Criteria Base Aquatic Life Use Criteria (Western Allegheny Plateau) Sampling Sampling Date Date pH & 126 2.16 min. 6.2 median 350 median 14 median 6.0 min. 6.5-9.0 temperature cfu/100ml

7/9/2012 0.89 46.2 910 30 3.2 7.76 < <10 8/2/2013

8/7/2012 0.58 48.3 1030 32 5.41 8.44 < <10 9/6/2012

9/11/2012 0.49 64.3 560 59 6.77 8.13 < ------

10/9/2012 0.74 51.9 1030 29 8.46 8.20 < ------

5/29/2013 1.35 8.8 470 12 7.89 8.72 < <10 7/2/2013

6/17/2013 1.14 13.6 280 14 7.77 8.29 < <10 7/11/13

7/30/2013 0.54 54.6 870 31 7.82 8.50 < <10 8/21/13

8/19/2013 0.85 45.3 750 95 1.80 7.70 < <10 9/4/13

9/10/2013 0.64 72.1 740 31 7.16 8.54 < <10 10/7/13 Median values of proposed Lake Habitat Below Detect criteria or number of 3 of 9 0 of 9 Below 0.74 48.3 750 31 0 of 9 samples exceeding OMZA 33% (0%) Detect (0%) criterion. (% Exceeded)

Non- Narrative Non-support Non-support Non-support Non-support Support Support Support support

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Sulfate and Hydrogen Sulfide Since the implementation of the 1978 WQS, Piedmont Lake is the only public lake in Ohio that is exempted as a Public Water Supply [PWS; OAC rule 3745-1-07(B)(3)(a)(i)]. This was due to the large scale coal strip mining in the watershed at the time of the WQS implementation. The concern in 1978 was that the water in the reservoir could not be made fit for public consumption using only conventional treatment to remove sulfates, and, thus, was not a good candidate for the PWS use designation. Although coal mining was occurring in the Tappan and Clendening lake watersheds in the 1970s and 1980s, these two lakes were not included in the PWS use designation exemption. Of the three lakes, Clendening Lake has the highest levels of sulfates.

The three lakes surveyed in the Stillwater Creek watershed all exhibited very high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas during the fall lake turn-over. Hydrogen sulfide gas is formed by sulfur-reducing bacteria that occur naturally in water. The bacteria use the sulfur decaying plants and surface runoff in the water column as their food source. Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of this process. The sulfur bacteria do not cause disease, but their presence in water can cause a bad taste or odor (Miller and Mancl). The production of hydrogen sulfide from sulfate stored in sediment and the water column causes an increased oxygen demand. This demand results in a lowering of dissolved oxygen in the water column (Dunnette, et al. 1984). An extreme example of this was demonstrated during Clendening Lake sampling on October 9, 2012. The water column temperature profile for the L-1 station shows that the lake was completely mixed. The combination of hydrogen sulfide production and mixing resulted in low dissolved oxygen throughout the profile. Dissolved oxygen never reached 1 mg/l, even at a half meter below the surface. Hydrogen sulfide can be toxic to fish and macroinvertebrates, especially when the pH is below 7 S.U. (Dunnette, et al. 1984). This was also the case at Clendening Lake L-1 station during the October 2012 sampling.

Figure 18. Bushy Fork at the Clendening dam discharge and Clendening Lake dam pool – note the milky-white water (October 9, 2012).

When Clendening Lake was stratified at the L-1 station, the dissolved oxygen could have been lower by 6.0 mg/l within a two meter drop in lake elevation. During the October 9, 2012 sampling, a bioassay was conducted at the L-1 station on the bottom sample (Appendix H). After fifteen minutes, there was 100% mortality of the flat head minnows (Pimephales promelas), although the water fleas (Ceriodaphnia dubia) showed no toxicity. The lake at the dam had turned a milky white color and the discharge was milky white as well (Figure 18).

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Clendening Lake Tributaries Average Values 1200

Pennsylvain Age 1000 Monongahela Group TDS Sulfate Calcium

800 mg/L 600

Pennsylvanian Age Conemaugh Group 400

200

0 Brushy Fork Elk Run Helfing Run Coleman Run McFadden Run Figure 19. Clendening Lake tributaries mineral inputs, 2014 and 2015.

In late 2014 and early 2015, additional chemistry sampling was conducted in five tributaries to Clendening Lake. This was done to determine the source of sulfate in the lake. Three streams were in undisturbed areas (non-mined) and two streams were in areas with large amounts of earth disturbance from the surface coal mining process. Conductivity in the non-mined tributaries was in the 200 to 300 umhos/cm range while the tributaries with surface mining had a conductivity as high as 2000 and as low as 900 umhos/cm. The sulfate levels from three non-mined tributaries to Clendening Lake averaged 19.68 mg/L, 20.64 mg/L and 23.22 mg/L, respectively (Figure 19). The sulfate levels from the two mined tributaries to Clendening Lake averaged 667.9 mg/L for Brushy Fork and 263.2 mg/L for Elk Run. The tributaries to Clendening Lake with no coal mining are geologically set in the Pennsylvanian Age - Conemaugh Group (ODNR 2002). This geologic group typically has non-economic coal seams with calcareous sedimentary rock, which may be partially composed of calcium sulfate (gypsum) and locally may have high iron concentrations. The tributaries with coal mining are geologically set in the Pennsylvanian Age – Monongahela Group (Figure 19) which has economically viable coal seams. Again, calcium sulfate may be a major component of the limestone over burden and sulfur may be present in the coal itself. In areas that are reclaimed, the over burden (rock) is stockpiled during the coal extraction process and then used in the reclamation of the site. This over burden is broken into smaller, manageable pieces during the mining process. Water then seeps through the gaps in the soil leaching out different salts. This is born-out by the huge gypsum seep in a reclaimed coal mine along State Route 22 in the headwaters of Brushy Creek (Figure 6). The main difference apparent in the water quality data between the two geologic settings may be attributed to the massive land disturbance. This disturbance has resulted in the leaching of sulfate and calcium from the coal over burden that is now exposed to the environment.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

Figure 20. Clendening Lake watershed with the 2014 and 2015 stream sampling locations in association with the geologic setting and surface mined areas.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following Ohio EPA staff provided technical expertise for this project:

Report preparation and analysis Kelly Capuzzi, Michael Bolton, Randy Spencer and Gary Klase Data support Bryan Schmucker and Robert Miltner Reviewers Jeff DeShon, Angela Dripps, Maggie Selbe, Ben Rich, Chris Skalski and Rachel Taulbee Stream sampling Macroinvertebrates – Michael Bolton Fish/Habitat – Ben Rich, Kelly Capuzzi and Randy Spencer Chemistry – Randy Spencer, Kelly Capuzzi, Joann Montgomery and Dan Imhoff Modeling – Claire Sorrell, Paul Gledhill

We would also like to thank Chad Kinney, Mike Mozena, Randy Householder, Dave Williamson and Tamara Richards with ODNR-MRM for their assistance with field reconnaissance and data collection. Seasonal college interns who assisted with field data collection include Devan Wolfe (now Ohio EPA-SEDO), Mariah Thrush, Cheryl Kilmer, Andrew Phillips (now Ohio EPA-CO), Dan Welch, Eric Hoying, John Sullenbarger, Jennifer Bare, Laurel Cope, Ellie Kern, and Samantha Spence.

The Ohio EPA appreciates the numerous property owners who allowed field staff access to the project area.

EAS/2015-11-07 Stillwater Creek Watershed 2012 December 18, 2015

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