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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
Group Restores Stream Degraded by Abandoned Coal Mine Discharges
Discharges from abandoned coal mines and runoff from coal spoil
VV3t6rDOCly IrnprOVGd material used on roads contributed acidic water and elevated levels
of metals (particularly aluminum and manganese) to Pennsylvania's Miller Run. Consequently, in 1996
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) added Miller Run to the state's Clean
Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for metals and low pH impairments. Watershed
partners used several funding sources to construct acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems and
remove coal spoil material from roads. Water quality improved, and PA DEP expects to remove the
4.47-mile stream segment from the CWA section 303(d) list in 2012.
Problem
Miller Run flows through the Broad Top coal
fields in Pennsylvania's Huntingdon County. It is
a tributary of Shoup Run, which empties into the
Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. This area of
Pennsylvania supported deep-mining operations
dating back to the early 1900s and surface mining
operations; both were mostly abandoned by the
1980s. Before 1977, no regulations were in place
to mandate stabilization of coal mining operations.
Improperly reclaimed coal-mining areas in the
watershed left minerals such as iron sulfide (pyrite)
exposed to the elements. Pyrite chemically reacts
with water (provided by rain, stormwater runoff or
groundwater) and produces acidic (low-pH) water,
which often carries toxic levels of iron, manganese
and aluminum into nearby waterbodies. Low pH
and elevated metal loads place stress on aquatic
organisms, sometimes to the point at which the
organisms perish and the streams become lifeless.
By the 1990s Miller Run could support fish only in
its headwaters, upstream of the most significant
AMD impacts. Water quality monitoring showed
that Miller Run exceeded the state's water quality
criteria for metals and pH, prompting PA DEP to add
a 4.47-mile segment of the stream to the 1996 CWA
section 303(d) list of impaired waters.
A PA DEP biologist's survey in June 2004 near
the mouth of Miller Run documented metal
precipitates in the stream and an impaired aquatic
community with only acid- and metal-tolerant
macroinvertebrate species present. Other surveys
conducted in the watershed at the same time
indicated that the headwaters and tributaries of
Miller Run (above the AMD sources on the Miller
Run main stem) were unimpaired.
Figure 1. This limestone pond treats AMD in the
Miller Run watershed.
Project Highlights
The Shoup Run Watershed Association (SRWA)
formed in 1998 and began working to restore Shoup
Run and its tributary, Miller Run. Since the late
1990s, SRWA has completed many nonpoint source
pollution control projects, including installing AMD
treatment systems (the group's primary focus),
stabilizing stream banks and restoring stream
channels.
AMD sources are typically addressed through a
variety of remediation approaches. For example,
the alkalinity of the polluted streams is increased
to neutralize the acidity of the water and reduce
metal loads, enabling aquatic organisms to return.
SRWA installed passive treatment systems in the
Miller Run watershed, including several limestone
ponds (Figure 1) and wetlands, which allow metal
precipitates to settle out. Limestone sand added
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directly to Miller Run and
one of its tributaries raised
the pH of the water. The
group also stabilized areas
on the land surface that
were contributing AMD
runoff to Miller Run.
In one reclamation effort,
SRWA and the Huntingdon
County Conservation
District (HCCD) partnered
to install a passive alkalinity
project for an unpaved
access road to State
Game Lands #67, which
runs along Miller Run. The
road had been built out of coal mine spoil and was
contributing AMD to Miller Run with each runoff-
producing rainfall event. The partners removed
the acid-producing material from the roadway and
replaced it with limestone rock. They also placed
limestone rock in more than a mile of roadside
ditches to reduce erosion and raise the alkalinity of
runoff flowing to Miller Run (Figure 2).
from the CWA section 303(d) list in 2012. Miller
Run now supports a healthy brook trout population
from its mouth to its headwaters. The Coldwater
Heritage Foundation is funding a project to develop
a Coldwater Conservation Plan for the stream to
ensure that Miller Run's good water quality can be
maintained. SWRA has begun working on the plan
and is seeking public input.
Partners and Funding
Figure 2. Partners added limestone
rock to roadside ditches on the State
Game Lands #67 access road to
provide passive treatment for runoff.
Results
Samples collected show that water quality in Miller
Run has improved significantly and now meets
state water quality criteria for metals and pH
(Figures 3, 4 and 5). As a result, PA DEP expects
to remove the 4.47-mile segment of Miller Run
Funding provided by the Western Pennsylvania
Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
helped launch SRWA's work in the Shoup Run
watershed. SRWA acquired funds from PA Growing
Greener, the CWA section 319 program, and the
federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to support
remediation efforts in Miller Run. Since the work
began, SWRA has partnered with EPA, OSM, PA
DEP, PA Game Commission, HCCD and the Western
Pennsylvania Watershed Program, as well as many
other public and private organizations.
Since the late 1990s, approximately $500,000 has
been spent building 11 projects to remediate Miller
Run. Several projects consisted of two phases
of treatment system upgrades. Most of the cost
and effort was directed toward addressing AMD;
however, a few smaller projects addressed eroding
stream banks and flooding issues. Approximately
$300,000 in CWA section 319 program funding
was awarded through the PA DEP Watershed
Management Program.
Manganese Levels (in mg/L) at the Mouth of Miller Run
Water Quality Criteria
1.00 mg/l (maximum)
Aluminum Levels (in mg/L) at the Mouth of Miller Run
Water (
0.75m
duality Criteria:
3/1 (maximum)
1999 2006
pH Levels at the Mouth of Miller Run
Water Quality Criter
6.0 (minimum)
Figure 3. Manganese levels in Miller Run
meet water quality standards.
Figure 4. Aluminum levels in Miller Run
meet water quality standards.
Figure 5. pH levels in Miller Run meet water
quality standards.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-11-001AA
April 2011
For additional information contact:
Joe Kelly
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
717-783-2404 • josephkel@state.pa.us
Donna Carnahan
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
717-772-5173 • docarnohan@state.pa.us
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