Anthracite Mine Drainage Strategy Summary
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Publication 279a Susquehanna Anthracite Region December 2011 River Basin Commission Mine Drainage Remediation Strategy SUMMARY In 2009, SRBC initiated the he largest source of Anthracite Coal challenging and ambitious one, especially Susquehanna River Basin Twithin the United States is found in light of current funding limitations. Anthracite Region Strategy, which in the four distinct Anthracite Coal However, opportunities exist in the is based on a similar scope of work Fields of northeastern Pennsylvania. Anthracite Coal Region that could completed for the West Branch The four fields – Northern, Eastern- encourage and assist in the restoration Susquehanna Subbasin in 2008. Middle, Western-Middle, and Southern of its lands and waters. – lie mostly in the Susquehanna River In the Anthracite Region, SRBC Basin; the remaining portions are in the For example, the numerous underground is coordinating its efforts with the Delaware River Basin. The Susquehanna mine pools of the Anthracite Region hold Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition watershed portion covers about 517 vast quantities of water that could be for Abandoned Mine Reclamation square miles (Figure 1). utilized by industry or for augmenting (EPCAMR). Sharing data between streamflows during times of drought. EPCAMR’s Anthracite Region The sheer size of these four Anthracite In addition, the large flow discharges Mine Pooling Mapping Initiative Coal Fields made this portion of indicative of the Anthracite Region also and SRBC’s remediation strategy Pennsylvania one of the most important hold hydroelectric development potential is valuable in moving both resource extraction regions in the United that can offset energy needs and, at the initiatives forward. Both agencies States and helped spur the nation’s same time, assist in the treatment of the will continue to work together Industrial Revolution. Anthracite Coal utilized AMD discharge. to implement the restoration became the premier fuel source of strategy and continue the mine nineteenth and early twentieth century To help address the environmental pool mapping effort in additional America and heated most homes and impacts while promoting the resource Anthracite Coal Fields. businesses. development potential of the Anthracite Coal Region, the Susquehanna River The Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania, Basin Commission (SRBC) determined however, bears the legacy of past there would be significant benefits to unregulated mining. With almost developing a remediation strategy for this 534 miles of waterways impaired by AMD-impaired region. SRBC initiated abandoned mine drainage (AMD), it is a review and analysis of water quality the second most AMD-impaired region impacts and prepared the remediation of the Susquehanna River Basin. Only strategy to be used as a guide to help the Bituminous Coal Region in the West resource agencies and organizations Branch Susquehanna River Subbasin achieve comprehensive, region-wide contains more AMD-impaired stream environmental results over the long term. miles. From the outset of this project, SRBC SRBC Contact: Tom Clark These mining impacts degrade the stated its intention not to duplicate the Mine Drainage Program Coordinator environment and limit the use of the efforts of other agencies and organizations E-mail: [email protected] waters of the Susquehanna River Basin where problem-identification and as a resource. These losses are not just problem-prioritization initiatives Susquehanna River Basin Commission 1721 N. Front St. limited to biology, habitat, and recreation, were already underway or completed. Harrisburg, PA 17102 but affect human health, quality of life Instead, the purpose of this strategy is Phone: (717) 238-0423 and the region’s socioeconomic status to help identify overlapping goals and Fax: (717) 238-2436 as well. opportunities, and to offer alternatives for Website: www.srbc.net remediation efforts through conceptual The long-term goal of fully restoring treatment plant suggestions. Sterling Slope Pump Discharge in the the Anthracite Coal Region of the Shamokin Creek Watershed. Susquehanna basin is an extremely METHODS impoundments. Only Those 14 tributaries and five discharges instream and discharge were analyzed for their direct AMD (iron, stations were utilized manganese, aluminum, acidity) loading for the analyses. Of contribution to the Susquehanna River. the 745 unique stations, All five of the discharges that directly 346 are AMD discharge flow into the Susquehanna River are points while 399 are located in the Northern Field. instream points. In the final strategy, of the Comparison of Anthracite Coal Field 346 discharge points, Discharges only 320 were used Flow, iron, manganese, aluminum, and for analysis because acidity loading were calculated for all of several points were the 320 discharges found in the Anthracite sampled on the same Region of the Susquehanna River Basin. total discharge flow. The 320 discharges were then ranked from highest to lowest for each parameter. Data Comparisons The top 10 ranked discharges for each Using GIS, SRBC parameter were selected and are noted calculated the amount in Tables 3 - 7. of abandoned mine land (AML) areas Twenty discharges were represented within each of the in at least one of the Top-10 parameter four Anthracite Coal rankings. Since these 20 discharges Fields and the ten comprise a vast majority of the flow Figure 1. Anthracite Coal Region major Anthracite Coal and AMD loading that impacts the Field watersheds. Susquehanna River Basin, they Calculations of AMD constitute the initial treatment system Data Collection stream mileage were also made for the recommendations plan of this strategy, This strategy is based entirely on Coal Field watersheds. called the Top-20 Plan. existing data and information — no new water quality information was Staff further compared the difference Potential Consumptive Water Use collected. The Pennsylvania Department in discharge flows and metal loads/ Mitigation Sites of Environmental Protection (PADEP) yields between both the coal fields and Due to massive mine pool water storage served as the primary source of individual watersheds. capacity, the Anthracite Coal Region information. Additional sources included holds tremendous potential as a center the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Current Stream Conditions for consumptive water use mitigation SRBC monitoring data, Skelly & Loy, Using the most recent data at mainstem projects that will also improve basin Inc., Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC, sampling locations, SRBC selected 128 water quality. Using the Anthracite and Bloomsburg and Wilkes Universities. of the 399 instream data points to analyze Region Water Quality Database, SRBC In its calculations, SRBC focused water current stream conditions. highlighted several potential consumptive quality data collected post-2000. Data water use mitigation/water quality from years prior to 2000, however, were Those 128 points were then used for a GIS improvement projects to create a short not excluded and were utilized when mapping exercise that illustrates sections list of examples for initial investigation. more recent data were not available. of the watershed mainstem that do not The estimated amount of water creation/ meet water quality standards for pH and storage for each of these prospective Data Review & Database Creation iron and/or aluminum concentrations. projects was calculated to illustrate the In total, there are 745 unique stations consumptive use mitigation potential in the database, containing 17,661 AMD Loadings to the River held within the Anthracite Region of the individual samples. The database Fourteen tributaries that contain listed Susquehanna River Basin. emphasizes information on discharges AMD impairment along with five AMD and instream stations, but also includes discharges from the Anthracite Coal information on boreholes, strip pits, and Region flow into the Susquehanna River. 2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION COMPARISON OF THE ANTHRACITE COAL FIELDS COMPARISON OF THE ANTHRACITE COAL FIELD WATERSHEDS Impaired Stream Miles Impaired Stream Miles Susquehanna River Basin streams that drain the four Anthracite The four Anthracite Coal Fields are drained by ten large Coal Fields contain 533.75 stream miles that are listed by watersheds: Lackawanna River, Nescopeck Creek, Catawissa PADEP as AMD impaired. Those impaired stream miles are Creek, Shamokin Creek, Mahanoy Creek, Mahantango Creek, fairly comparable between the four fields. Wiconisco Creek, Stony Creek, and Swatara Creek (Table 1). Several small watersheds also drain the area of the Northern Abandoned Mine Lands Field that is not drained by the Lackawanna River and will be More than 12 percent of the total Anthracite Coal Field area considered a separate tenth watershed area (Susquehanna River– within the Susquehanna River Basin (63.81 square miles) Northern Field). is listed on PADEP’s AML Inventory System (AMLIS). Total AML acreage between the fields is quite different. The Impaired stream miles are fairly comparable between seven of the Northern and Western-Middle Fields contain 83.1 percent, ten watersheds and range from 10.5 to 15.1 percent of the total 48.8 and 34.3 percent, respectively, of the total AMLs. The AMD impaired mileage. Three watersheds, Wiconisco Creek, Eastern-Middle and Southern Fields contain significantly less Mahantango Creek, and Stony Creek, contain significantly less of the AML area with 16.9 percent of the total (9.6 and 7.3 impaired mileage, 5.0, 3.2, and 2.6 percent, respectively. percent,