&EPA
                                 United States
                                 Environmental Protection
                                 Agency
                                 Industrial Environmental Research
                                 Laboratory
                                 Cincinnati OH 45268
                                 Research and Development
                                 EPA-600/PS7-80-154  Sept. 1980
Project Summary
                                 Demonstration  of Debris
                                 Basin  Effectiveness  in
                                 Sediment  Control
                                 R E. Bednar and D J. Fluke
                                   This  study  was  conducted  to
                                 determine the  effectiveness  of
                                 sedimentation ponds, as built during
                                 the mid-1970's,  in the removal of
                                 suspended solids discharged in the
                                 runoff from lands  disturbed by a
                                 typical  surface  mine in  eastern
                                 Kentucky.  The information  in  this
                                 report should be of interest to any
                                 program concerned with suspended
                                 solids control in runoff. The selected
                                 site included two watersheds in which
                                 very  little erosion-causing activities
                                 had occurred, although strip mining
                                 was  scheduled  for  one  (Rhoades
                                 Branch).
                                   Mining   activities  began with
                                 construction of a haul road and nine
                                 debris basins  in  August 1976  and
                                 were halted by the UMWA strike in
                                 December 1977.  During this period,
                                 only four of the basins received runoff
                                 from disturbed  areas. Monitoring
                                 showed that  efficiency was much
                                 lower during storm events than during
                                 normal  flows,  due in  part  to
                                 construction  and  maintenance
                                 practices.  The  efficiency decreased
                                 with  time  because  accumulated
                                 sediment was not removed from the
                                 ponds.
                                   This  study  was  conducted  in
                                 cooperation with  The   Kentucky
                                 Department of Natural Resources and
                                 Environmental Protection,  Office of
                                 Planning  and Research, Frankfort,
                                 Kentucky.
                                   The final report was submitted in
                                 fulfillment of Grant S-801276 by L.
                                  Robert  Kimball and  Associates,
                                  Consulting Engineers and Architects,
                                  Ebensburg, Pennsylvania,  under the
                                  partial  sponsorship  of the
                                  Environmental  Protection  Agency.
                                  Work was completed as of December
                                  1979.

                                  Introduction
                                   Two similar and adjacent watersheds
                                  in eastern Kentucky were selected for
                                  study  in an  area  where  very little
                                  erosion-causing activity had occurred
                                  Mining was proposed in only one valley
                                  (Rhoades Branch) The adjacent control
                                  watershed (Dick  Branch) was selected
                                  to provide background data on water
                                  quality  where  man's  activities
                                  continued to be limited
                                   The  Rhoades Branch - Dick Branch
                                  Study  Area (Figure  1) constitutes a
                                  small portion of the eastern Kentucky
                                  coal field m the upper reaches of Rock-
                                  house  Creek, a tributary to the North
                                  Fork of the Kentucky River.  Although
                                  coal was mined in local areas within this
                                  watershed, no surface mining had been
                                  done in  the  study area prior to its
                                  selection for this  demonstration
                                   Permission to establish the monitor-
                                  ing station in Rhoades Branch was
                                  obtained from Beth-Elkhorn Corpora-
                                  tion, the surface and-mineral owner
                                  Beth-Elkhorn Corporation also pledged
                                  the cooperation of its contract miner,
                                  Tackett and Manning Corporation, who
                                  had earlier signed a cooperation agree-
                                  ment with KDNREP
                                   Tackett and  Manning submitted a

-------
                                                                                        Ohio
                                         Indiana
         Illinois
                                                                   West
                                                                   Virginia
                                                   Tennessee
Figure 1.     Location of study area.
                                                                                                        Rhoades
                                                                                                         Branch
                                                                                                          Study
                                                                                                          Area
                                                                                                     Virginia
                                                                                          Scale: 1" - 40 Miles
mining  plan  for Rhoades Branch  to
KDNREP in June  1975, but  indicated
that a change in the coal market was
necessary before they  would  begin
mining  Construction  of  the  monitor
housing and  weir  was  completed  in
March  1976,  and electric power was
installed in June. Equipment  installa-
tion was complete by August 31,1 976
In August 1976, Tackett and  Manning
constructed an access and haul road in
Rhoades Branch They also constructed
the  debris basins as shown  on  their
mining  plan  These smaller  earthen
basins were designed in the field by the
bulldozer operator, a common practice
at that  time  in this area. Very  little
mining  was done in Rhoades Branch
until March 1977, although a head-of-
hollow fill had been constructed earlier.
Mining  continued through the spring
and summer  of  1977  By the fall  of
1977,  the  main  sediment  basin on
Rhoades  Branch  upstream  of the
monitoring  station   had  completely
filled, and rather than clean the  pond,
the company built a dumped rock barrier
across the stream 52 meters (170 feet)
upstream of the monitor station
  Mining ceased with the advent of the
UMWA  strike, December 6, 1977, and
was not resumed at the conclusion of
the  strike on March  27, 1978. The
disturbed  area  was hydroseeded  in
August 1978, and monitoring continued
through March 1979
  The project demonstrated the effec-
tiveness of debris  basins, as built in
eastern  Kentucky,  in  reducing   the
sediment load from strip mining distur-
bances to  Rhoades Branch It provided
information  on  the change  in water
quality m  Rhoades Branch during and
after mining when  compared to  Dick
Branch


Conclusions
  A system of sediment basins, as built
in the Rhoades Branch demonstration
area,  was studied to determine their
efficiency  over  the life  of a surface
mining operation With time, efficiency
of the basins decreased due to lack of
maintenance (no  clean-out  of  the
ponds, reduced sediment  storage, and
shorter retention time). On the whole,
the  pond   system  delayed  off-site
sedimentation but did not prevent it
  The  pond system consisted of in-
stream ponds, where a bulldozer was
used to escavate a portion  of the stream
channel, using the excavated material
to form the downstream embankment.
The  principal spillway was usually  a
corregated metal  pipe, with  the open
channel emergency spillway located ai
a  slightly  higher  elevation  on  the
opposite side of the embankment Once
the ponds were constructed, they were
not maintained  Clogging of outflow
pipes   by  floating  debris  and
accumulated sediment  caused excess
use  and  rapid  deterioration  of  the
emergency spillway and embankment
and short circuiting of the ponds
  The unplanned stoppage of mining m
Rhoades  Branch indicates that future
mining within  the basin will be done.
New  ponds,  designed  according  to
existing  regulations  will  be required
before this mining begins The perma-
nent  monitoring  installation  coupled
with the high likelihood of future mining
makes this area  a prime candidate for
future sediment basin research
  The exposure of fresh rock surfaces
during   mining   resulted  in  rapid
chemical   weathering    Significantly
increased concentrations of sulfates,
hardness, and  conductivity occurred in
Rhoades  Branch  during  mining.
Although the entire mining area was
hydroseeded  in  August  1978,  little
change in the  rate of weathering was
apparent by the end of the study period
in March 1979. Sulfates, hardness, and
conductivity values have  increased by'

-------
factors of 4 5, 3.5 and 3, respectively
over their premmmg values
  The poor overall performance of the
sediment   basins  studied  may   be
attributed  in  part  to  the  following
factors

  1.  The   ponds  did  not  have  the
     required storage capacity
  2   No  maintenance was performed
  3   The  ponds were not cleaned out
     when they were filled
  4.  The  outlet pipes became clogged
     resulting in excessive use  and
     deterioration of the  emergency
     spillway
  5   No  provision was made  for re-
     moving  the pond embankment
     and  contents  when  no  longer
     operable
  The monitoring equipment has been
in operation  since  September  1976,
with random stoppages from extended
power outages and during low or zero
flow conditions A general overhaul and
equipment  reconditioning  should  be
performed before mining begins again.
Recommendations
  It was apparent during field workthat
maintenance and cleaning of the ponds
were necessary. The  importance of
maintenance should be addressed and
emphasized to  inspection officials A
schedule for cleaning and  disposition of
dredge  material should  be  required
when the  sediment basin plans are
submitted.  Pond embankments should
be  removed  and properly reclaimed
when mining  has  ceased to prevent
gradual   deterioration  and  eventual
failure
  The required  storage area is difficult
to  construct  because   of terrain
constraints in the study area, even with
ponds in  a series  To overcome this
problem,  several  techniques  and
operating procedures should be encour-
aged, including "at-source" controls
such  as  minimizing disturbed  areas,
providing vegetative buffers, and con-
structing sediment traps. Methods to
slow the  velocity of runoff before it
reaches  the  sediment   ponds  will
decrese  the amount and size of sus-
pended sediment.
  Following the field work in this study,
the permanent station was turned over
to the Department of Civil  Engineering,
University of Kentucky, so monitoring
could be continued, at least intermit-
tently.  The  interruption in  mining
strongly  indicated that future mining
will occur, and with changes regarding
sediment basin design, occurring due to
previous  studies and  the  Office of
Surface-  Mining  Regulations,   new
basins  would  be  constructed,  and
should be monitored.
  R E  Bednar  and D.  J.  Fluke are  with L. Robert Kimball and Associates,
    Consulting Engineers and Architects, Ebensburg, PA  15931
  John F. Martin is the EPA Project Officer (see below)
  The complete report, entitled "Demonstration of Debris Basin Effectiveness in
    Sediment Control," (Order No. PB 80 222730; Cost- $9.00, subject to change)
    will be available from:
          National Technical Information Service
          5285  Port Royal Road
          Springfield. VA 22161
          Telephone-  703-487-4650
  The EPA Project  Officer can be contacted at.
         Industrial Environmental Research  Laboratory
          U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
          Cincinnati, OH 45268

-------
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Postage and
Fees Paid
Environmental
Protection
Agency
EPA 335
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
    r
                                           00604
    L
                           J

-------
v-xEPA
                                    United States
                                    Environmental Protection
                                    Agency
                                    Industrial Environmental Research
                                    Laboratory
                                    Cincinnati OH 45268
                                    Research and Development
                                    EPA-600/PS7-80-158  Oct 1980
Project  Summary
                                    Fugitive  Dust  from  Western
                                    Surface  Coal  Mines

                                    Frank Cook, Arlo Hendnkson, L  Daniel Maxim, and Paul R Saunders
                                      In this study, field measurements of
                                    •fugitive dust levels were made 250 to
                                    500  meters  downwind  of  mining
                                    activities  and  areas at four surface
                                    coal  mines in  the  Northern  Great
                                    Plains during three different climatic
                                    conditions. Ambient dust levels were
                                    also  monitored.  Wide   ranges  of
                                    temperature,   wind  speed,  wind
                                    direction,  precipitation, soil moisture,
                                    and  mining  activity  levels  are
                                    represented in the field data.

                                    Introduction
                                      Some fundamental  findings  were'
                                    mine-to-mine differences  in average
                                    total  suspended  particulates  (TSP)
                                    levels were significant, the evidence for
                                    seasonal  differences  is weaker,  but
                                    consistent  with physical theory  and
                                    prior judgements; and on the average,
                                    downwind TSP levels were 35 percent
                                    higher than ambient (upwind) levels.
                                      Most  strippable  western coal is
                                    located in  semi-arid,  high plains areas
                                    characterized  by  sparse  vegetation,
                                    erodable soils,  and high winds  High
                                    ambient dust levels are a result of these
                                    factors Disturbance of land by surface
                                    coal  mining may worsen  these dust
                                    conditions
                                      There exist theoretical models for use
                                    in estimating the dispersion patterns for
                                    paniculate  matter  emanating from a
                                    point source, such as  a power plant
                                    stack  Recently, attempts  have been
                                    made to model  emission,  dispersion,
                                    and deposition  of  fugitive dust from
                                    point and  non-point sources typical of
                                    those from western surface coal mines.
                                     To date, however, there have been few
                                     attempts to apply statistical techniques
                                     to determine  empirical  relationships
                                     between suspended particulate levels
                                     in mining areas and explanatory vari-
                                     ables, such as mining activity levels and
                                     meteorological  variables.  This  study
                                     employs such techniques to examine
                                     the effects of  mine operations on  air
                                     quality  under various meteorological
                                     and operational conditions.
                                      It is recommended that a large-scale,
                                     long-term  experimental  program  be
                                     conducted  to develop and  validate
                                     empirical relationships between total
                                     suspended particulate levels in western
                                     surface  coal  mining  areas and
                                     explanatory variables which measure
                                     the characteristics of the  real dust
                                     sources found at such  mines Total sus-
                                     pended  particulate levels  should  be
                                     measured at two or more mines over a
                                     period  long enough to ensure that a
                                     wide range of mining and meteorolog-
                                     ical variables are observed. Empirical
                                     results should be systematically com-
                                     pared  to  those  estimated  using
                                     published  emission factors and
                                     dispersion/deposition assumptions
                                      In  brief, the data  collection plan
                                     included three visits  during different
                                     seasons to each of four surface mines
                                     Four high  volume air samplers were
                                     used to measure  dust concentrations
                                     during these visits  Additional data were
                                     collected on  soil  moisture, weather
                                     conditions, and activity levels of various
                                     mining or  mining-related operations.
                                     These data are candidate explanatory
                                     factors to describe the observed van-

-------
ability in dust concentrations
  Observations for this  project were
taken at several sites within four mines
Three visits were made to each mine to
ensure that a wide variety of operating
conditions  were  observed  and,
additionally,  to  study the  effect  of
seasons  of  the  year on  paniculate
values
  Variables measured during the mine
visits included dust concentrations, soil
moisture, quantitative  data   on the
pattern  and intensity of  mining activ-
ities, and meteorological variables such
as wind speed and direction, tempera-
ture,  and  precipitation.  Aerial
photographs  were taken from which
maps were drawn
  Several factors must be considered in
the  design  of a  sampling  plan  for
measuring the atmospheric concentra-
tion of particulates  Some of these are

 1   Emissions sources to be measured
 2.  Direction of the air  sampler from
    the source
 3   Distance of theairsamplerfrom the
    source
 4   Duration of sampling interval.

  The goal is to place the monitors in
such a  manner that a  profile of the
concentration  of  particulates  can  be
obtained.  Sampler  locations  and
sampling intervals are such that suffi-
cient amounts of  particulates  will  be
collected to give  reliable estimates of
the air  concentration at the receptor
point  We  first considered sampling
intervals
  Dust concentrations were measured
with General Metal Works GMWL 2000
high volume  air samplers These draw
in paniculate matter and pass them
through a graded series of paper filters
At the  end of each observation period,
the filters were removed  and weighed,
and  the accumulated dust was con-
verted  to a concentration  in  units of
 micrograms per cubic meter
  Soil   moisture  as  percent  of  total
weight   was  recorded  at  locations
designed to reflect diverse soil condi-
tions haul roads, the pit and bench, off-
 mine roads, topsoil or spoil piles, areas
 of contouring or  reclamation,  and the
 surrounding landscape
  Mining  activities  were  recorded
 during shifts when dust  sampling was
 active  Twelve potential dust-producing
 activities were observed  dragline oper-
 ation, coal haulage, vehicular traffic on
 mine roads, vehicular traffic on nearby
 public  roads (usually unpaved), water
                                   2
trucks, scraping, grading, coal loading,
coal unloading, blasting, and drilling of
overburden and coal
  The report summarizes the results of
various statistical analyses of the data
collected as part of this study  It judges
differences  in  particulate  values
measured at  various locations,  mines,
and seasons that can be  held  to be
statistically  significant   Estimates  of
mam   and  interaction  effects  and
complete   components  of  variance
analysis are furnished in the report The
report presents the findings of differ-
ences   among   samplers   such  as
differences  arising  between the
ambient sampler  and those downwind
of the mining operation Shown also is
the relationship between particulates
and  activity  variables  at the  mining
operations visited
  Reported,in particular.are the results
of preliminary statistical analysis of the
data and analysis of variance (ANOVA)
on total particulates The results of the
analysis   of   variance  support  the
contention that there were significant
differences in readings among samplei
locations
  Also  discussed are  some  of  the
results   of  regression   analysis  tc
determine  the  relationship  betweer
observed  TSP  and activity levels foi
various  mining operations
  The independent variables consistec
of observations on some twelve activ-
ities at  the  mine  operation,  including
dragline  operation,   coal  haulage,
drilling,   blasting, loading,  scraping,
grading,  etc Additionally, wind speed
and  precipitation were  employed in
view  of  their  observed or postulated
relationships in previous analyses  The
first observation of interest m examin-
ing the  relationship  between mine
activity and resulting TSP  values is the
pattern  of simple correlation coeffici-
ents Two points are worthy of note the
exception  of   variable Q3  (on-mme
vehicles)  TSP is positively correlated
with each of the activity variables and
the correlation  coefficients  are  not
great
   Frank. Cook, Arlo Hendnkson, L.  Daniel Maxim, and Paul R. Saunders are with
     Mathematica, Inc., Princeton,  NJ 08540
   Edward R. Bates is the EPA Project Officer fsee below)
   The complete report, entitled "Fugitive Dust from Western Surface Coal Mines,"
     (Order No. PB 80 221955: Cost. $15.00, subject to change) will be available
     from:
           National Technical Information Service
           5285 Port Royal Road
           Springfield, VA 22161
           Telephone: 703-487-4650
   The EPA Project Office can be contacted at-
           Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory
           U S Environmental Protection Agency
           Cincinnati, OH 45268

-------
 9BU-/5/-064'0186 Region No.  5-11
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Postage and
Fees Paid
Environmental
Protection
Agency
EPA 335
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
    r
    L

-------