&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
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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'
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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
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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
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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-
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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
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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
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