2005 Targeted Watersheds  Grants:
                                      Huff Run
                                           Ohio
WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
Located in eastern Ohio, the Huff Run watershed is small, at only 14.1 square miles, but its water
quality problems loom large. Mining was a part of the local community from 1853 until the 1970s,
but with the lack of regulatory oversight at that time, it has left a negative environmental legacy
that continues even today.  Approximately 30 percent of the land in the watershed has been
impacted by mining operations and acid mine drainage (AMD).

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
The Targeted Watersheds Grant will focus on one site, Belden, with the following environmental
challenges:

•  Highwalls and long trenches, which are left over from mining operations, are filled with acidic
   water.
•  Acid mine drainage, which is present in the streams, has caused the pH in Huff Run to drop to
   unhealthy levels, negatively impacting fisheries. A full 7.0 miles of the total 9.9 miles of Huff
   Run do not meet aquatic use attainment.
•  In addition to acidity, Huff Run is impacted by sedimentation and toxic metals, such as iron,
   aluminum and manganese.

RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
The Huff Run Watershed Restoration Partnership will use EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grant funds to
improve the water quality of Huff Run and promote citizen awareness. As part of the Belden project, the
Partnership will:

•  Reclaim areas of acidic ponds
•  Install open limestone channels to reduce acidity
•  Seal a high wall to prevent further leakage of acid mine drainage into Huff Run
•  Create a vertical flow wetland (successive alkalinity-producing  system) to improve water quality
•  Promote citizen involvement, environmental stewardship, and youth education.
A representative stream in the Huff Run Watershed, affected by
acid mine drainage. Credit: Maureen Wise
EPA840-F-07-001C
www.epa.gov/twg

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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE
The Huff Run Watershed Restoration Partnership, a
project of Rural Action brings together a broad base
of support including:


•  Ohio Department of Natural Resources

•  Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

•  National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

•  U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface
   Mining
   An Environmental Explorers Club (EEC) meeting
   where members made terrariums.
   Credit: Terri Sponaugle-Schrock

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                                                                                        s

      EPA's Targeted Watersheds
                   Grants

  EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants program is
  a competitive grant program designed to
  encourage collaborative, community-driven
  approaches to meet clean water goals.
     For More Information Contact:

     Maureen E. Wise
     Huff Run Watershed Coordinator
     Huff Run Watershed Restoration
     Partnership, Inc.
     maureen@ruralaction.org
     (330)859-1050

     www.huffrun.org

     Funding: $711,301
Part of the Belden project site that will be reclaimed with TWG funds.
Credit: Cheryl Socotch
                            2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants - Huff Run

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