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'.&?) NONPOINTSOIREESICEESSSTORY
V G-/
PRO^°
Acid Mine Drainage Abatement Projects Continue to Improve Water
Quality in the Crab Orchard Creek Watershed
> a / , i I- i	i In 1998 Crab Orchard Creek and Laurel Creek were listed as
Waterboches Improved . . .. „ .. . . .	D +
1	impaired due to acid mine drainage (AMD). Between 2006
and 2011, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Tennessee
Department of Agriculture (TDA), with support from a Clean Water Act (CWA) section 319 grant,
restored portions of the watershed adversely impacted by legacy mining. In 2010, a 2.3-mile
segment of Crab Orchard Creek had improved and was delisted by TDEC. The reclamation activities
are still paying dividends, as an additional 7.9 miles portion of Crab Orchard Creek and 3.7 miles of
Laurel Creek were delisted by TDEC in 2014. Through the state of Tennessee's Agricultural Resources
Conservation Fund (ARCF) support, additional best management practices (BMPs) are being installed
throughout the watershed to protect newly restored segments of Crab Orchard Creek and Laurel
Creek, and to benefit segments still in need of restoration.
Problem
Crab Orchard Creek (TN06010208020-3000) and
Laurel Creek (TN06010208020-0700) are within the
Crab Orchard Creek watershed (060102080406) in
Morgan County, Tennessee (Figure 1). Laurel Creek
flows into Crab Orchard Creek, which flows into the
Emory River.
in 1982, 22 miles of Crab Orchard Creek were included
on the Nationwide Rivers Inventory for exceptional
scenery, recreation, geology, fish and wildlife values.
Crab Orchard Creek watershed (including Laurel Creek)
was included on Tennessee's 1998 CWA section 303(d)
for impairments for phi and siItation due to abandoned
mines. Field data collected by TDEC in 1999-2000
indicated that Crab Orchard Creek (TN06010208020-
3000) was impaired for pH, metals and manganese,
while Laurel Creek was impaired for pl-l alone. A pH
total maximum daily load (TMDL) was developed for
the Crab Orchard Creek watershed in 2001, which indi-
cated that resource extraction (i.e., mining activities)
were the cause of impairment to both Crab Orchard
Creek and Laurel Creek. Tennessee's Fish and Aquatic
Life criteria pH range of 6.5 to 9.0 (the most stringent)
was chosen as the criteria for the Crab Orchard Creek
watershed in the TMDL. Samples tested between
October 1999 and June 2000 indicated pH values for
Crab Orchard Creek ranged from 4.0 to 6.5; the pH in
Laurel Creek ranged from 4.5 to 5.7.
Figure 1. Crab Orchard Creek and Laurel Creek are in
central Tennessee.
Project Highlights
Mine reclamation and AMD treatment efforts were
initiated by TDEC using a 2005 CWA section 319
grant. Between 2006 and 2010, TDEC installed eight
AMD treatment systems/ponds and reclaimed 57
acres of previously mined lands (Figure 2). These
restoration efforts contributed to the removal of
Wmpiiroiirirfcw. B W
Crab OrcharcfcCreek TN03010208020-3000
& Laurel Creek TN03010208020-0700

^Morgan County, TN
LEGEND
2014 Delisted Segments of Crab
Orchard Creek and Laurel Creek
O HUC-12 Watershed
~ 319-Funded BMPs
A ARCF-Funded BMPs
TDEC Stream Assessment

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Before
Figure 2. Mining land area before and ten years after
reclamation activities were performed.
a downstream segment of Crab Orchard Creek
(TN06010208020-2000) from Tennessee's 2010 list of
impaired waters.
In addition to addressing pollution from mining lands,
partners have been working to control agricultural
sources of pollution for many years. As early as 2002,
partners began installing agricultural BMPs in the
watershed. In total, through the support of ARCF, 37
BMPs to reduce agricultural pollutants were installed
in the Crab Orchard Creek watershed in 2002-2016.
The practices included exclusion fencing, alterna-
tive watering facilities, livestock heavy use areas and
cropland conversion.
Results
The pH of Crab Orchard Creek was analyzed in April-
June of 2014. The pH levels ranged from 6.10 to 7.24
during the sampling period (meeting the applicable
criteria), indicating a considerable improvement from
previous observations.
Manganese concentrations varied from 48 micrograms
per iiter (|ig/L) to 600 ng/L; four of the six observations
showed concentrations less than 200 |ig/L, Previous
concentrations of manganese in Crab Orchard Creek,
observed in 1999 and 2000 during the development of
the Crab Orchard Creek TMDL, were as high as 7,480
|ig/L. During the 1999-2000 sampling period, only one
manganese sample in Crab Orchard Creek had concen-
trations under 200 |ig/L.
In addition, benthic invertebrates were sampled in
2012 by TDEC, and a Tennessee Macroinvertebrate
Index (TMI) was calculated to determine if the remain-
ing manganese was causing a condition of pollution.
The TMI yielded scores of 36 and 32; a score of 32 of
higher is considered passing for biocriteria guidelines.
As a result of these data, an additional 7.9 miles of
Crab Orchard Creek (TN06010208020-3000; imme-
diately upstream from the segment delisted in 2010)
and 3.7 miles of Laurel Creek (TN06010208020-0700)
were removed from Tennessee's 2014 impaired waters
list. The delisting of these two additional watershed
segments illustrates that the installation of the AMD
treatment systems and mine reclamation continues to
provide water quality benefits.
Partners and Funding
The lead organization on the project was the Land
Reclamation Section of TDEC's Division of Water
Resources, which was awarded a CWA section 319
grant totaling $409,200. TDEC provided $209,800 in
matching funds to assist with the construction of the
mine reclamation and treatment systems. Additional
support was provided by the Crab Orchard Creek
Restoration Partnership (COCRP), which consisted of
organizations and nongovernmental agencies dedicat-
ed to removing Crab Orchard Creek and its tributaries
from the impaired waters list. Partners within COCRP
included TDEC, Tennessee Valley Authority, Emory
River Watershed Association, Morgan County, Oakdale
School, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency, University of Tennessee,
Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, and Chota Canoe
Club. Members of the COCRP provided technical assis-
tance, community outreach/education, and monitoring.
In addition to the AMD remediation supported by the
section 319 grant, Tennessee's ARCF provided $80,878
to help implement 37 agricultural BMPs. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and NRCS are also currently active
in the watershed, supplying cost-share opportunities
and technical assistance for additional BMPs protective
of water quality. Installing agricultural BMPs is critical
in the Crab Orchard Creek watershed to prevent newly
restored segments from being overburdened by other
pollutant sources.
0
PRO^°
S
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-16-001II
December 2016
For additional information contact:
Sam Marshall
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Land and Water Stewardship Section
615-837-5306 • Sam.Marshall@tn.gov

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