Section 319
               NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SOCGESS STORY
 Treating Acid Mine Drainage Improves Cherry Cree
WatPrhndv Imnrnvpd   Abandoned coal mines contributed high levels of acidity and
                                metals to Maryland's Cherry Creek, which flows into Deep
 Creek Lake. As a result, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) added the Deep
 Creek Lake watershed, including Cherry Creek, to the state's 1996 Clean Water Act (CWA)
 section 303(d) list of impaired waters for pH. Acid mine drainage (AMD) mitigation projects
 were implemented in Cherry Creek, which now consistently meets the total maximum daily
 load (TMDL) goal for pH. In addition, acidity, iron and aluminum levels have declined.
 Problem
 Western Maryland's Cherry Creek begins near
 Savage River State Forest, flows about eight miles
 through a 7900-acre watershed, and empties into
 Deep Creek Lake (Figure 1). Outflow from the lake
 enters the Youghiogheny River, which is in the
 Ohio River Basin. The Cherry Creek watershed is
 composed of 69 percent woodlands and 12 percent
 wetlands; the remainder is mixed agriculture and
 developed lands. Deep Creek Lake is a manmade
 recreational impoundment that is popular for fishing
 and boating.

 The name Cherry Creek can be traced to the water-
 body's deep reddish color, which was historically
 caused by bog tannins from sphagnum wetlands.
 These wetland complexes include coniferous forest
 and marshes, and they contribute natural organic
 acidity to the stream.

 In the 1920s Cherry Creek was a natural trout
 stream and the site of a trout-rearing station.
 During the next several decades, AMD associated
 with coal mining increased. In 1957 a large fish kill
 caused by low pH brought an end to trout stock-
 ing in Cherry Creek. A 1973 study reported that
 almost the entire main stem of Cherry Creek was
 severely or moderately polluted by AMD. That study
 also estimated that one-fourth of the acid load in
 the stream is derived from mines; the rest is from
 natural sources. In the 1980s it was estimated that
 Cherry Creek was the source of half the acidity
 entering Deep Creek Lake.

 Before project implementation, AMD generally
 caused the in-stream pH to fall to between 4.0
 and 4.3,with a pH as low as 3.2 during periods of
 low flow. To address this impairment, the TMDL
          Cherry Creek Watershed
               Deep Creek
      Deep Creek  Lake
     Lake Watershed
Figure 1. The Cherry Creek watershed is in western Maryland.


approved for Cherry Creek calls for a pH of 4.6 or
higher. That level takes into account the naturally
low pH arising from the sphagnum wetlands that
characterize Cherry Creek.
Project Highlights
Between 1986 and 1989, MDE created a series of
treatment wetlands to help reduce AMD impacts in
the Cherry Creek watershed. The Department con-
structed additional AMD treatment systems between
1998 and 2001, including successive acid treatment
systems and more treatment wetlands. Several
commercial AMD treatment systems were also
introduced, including an Aluminator® (a successive

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Figure 2 . Partners installed a
successive alkalinity-producing
system at the Everhart project site.
Figure 3 . Partners installed a
limestone doser adjacent to
Cherry Creek.
alkalinity-producing system
that includes a treatment
cell designed to precipitate
aluminum while keeping
iron in a soluble form), a
Pyrolusite®cell (bioremedia-
tion using limestone and
bacteria to remove metals),
and a Boxholm® doser (a
system that introduces lime
to the water at a given rate).
(See  Figures 2 and 3.) The
Cherry Creek mitigation
effort used approximately
6,760 tons of limestone, not
including the lime used for
the doser.
                                 Results
In-stream sampling con-
ducted after AMD imple-
mentation (2003-present)
shows that pH is gener-
ally greater than 6.0 and
is always greater than 5.2,
meeting the TMDL goal (a
pH of 4.6 or greater). Data
also showthat individual
AMD treatment  sites have
significantly reduced
concentrations of pollutants
while also increasing alkalin-
ity (Table 1).
             Fish surveys show that fish populations have
             increased. In 1971  only three species of lake fishes
             were found in Cherry Creek, and they were found
             only near the confluence of the creek with Deep
                                                  Creek Lake. In 2004, after implementation of AMD
                                                  mitigation, a survey found seven fish species in
                                                  the stream. The survey report stated that rainbow
                                                  trout, brown trout and smallmouth bass were com-
                                                  mon enough to support some recreational fishing
                                                  and that the range of several fish species extended
                                                  from the stream mouth upstream about 1.5 miles
                                                  to the vicinity of the lime  doser. According to the
                                                  2004 survey report, fish have not progressed far-
                                                  ther upstream because of a complete blockage by
                                                  an old mill dam and inflowfrom a small unnamed
                                                  tributary, which might be contributing additional
                                                  AMD. A 2012 analysis of all  benthic macroinverte-
                                                  brate data for Cherry Creek found that the Benthic
                                                  Index of Biological Integrity might have improved,
                                                  but the stream's condition continues to be classi-
                                                  fied as poor overall. The sources of this continuing
                                                  biological impairment are believed to  include AMD.
                                                                Partners and Funding
                                                  MDE's Abandoned Mine Lands Division was the
                                                  primary implementer of the Cherry Creek AMD
                                                  mitigation projects. The total capital cost for the
                                                  restoration project was $496,000 over 15 years;
                                                  funds were provided  by the State of Maryland; the
                                                  U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface
                                                  Mining; and the U.S.  Environmental Protection
                                                  Agency. In addition, the private Sprenger Lang
                                                  Foundation paid for the purchase and construction
                                                  of the lime doser, which is located  on property
                                                  owned by the Rock Creek Trust. Funds for operation
                                                  and maintenance of the doser ($30,000 annually)
                                                  come from the State  of Maryland and the U.S.
                                                  Department of the Interior. Other partners that
                                                  help manage and monitor Cherry Creek include
                                                  the Maryland Department of Natural Resources'
                                                  Fisheries Service and the University of Maryland's
                                                  Appalachian Lab.
        Table 1. Monitoring Data for Cherry Creek Project Sites, Before and After Installation of
        AMD Treatment (Average)
Project Site
Everhart site
Glotfelty site
Teets site
PH°
Before
3.5
5.3-5.9
3.1
After
6.1
6.9
7.1
Acidity b
Before
300
372
486
After
21
0.0
0.0
Alkalintyb
Before
0.0
N/AC
0.0
After
23
N/AC
106
Ironb
Before
65
111-147
73
After
1.5
0.83
1.2
Aluminum b
Before
4.9
1.5-3.5
37
After
0.1
0.1
0.1
        1 In standard units.
                       ' In milligrams per liter (mg/L).  ° Not available.
UJ
O
                  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Office of Water
                  Washington, DC

                  EPA841-F-13-001A
                  January 2013
                              For additional information contact:
                              Connie Loucks, Maryland Department of the
                                Environment, Abandoned Mine Land Division
                              301-689-1461 • cloucks@mde. state, md. us
                              Ken Shanks, Maryland Department of the Environment,
                                Watershed Protection and Restoration Program
                              410-537-4216 • kshanks@mde.state.md.us

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