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(&Z) NONPOINT SOIREE SICEESS STORY
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PRO^°
Virqima,
Implementing Best Management Practices on Mined Land Improves
Aquatic Health of Dumps Creek
Waterbody Improved Total dissolved so'ids (TDS) and suspended solids (TSS) from coal
mine drainage led to the degradation of aquatic life in Dumps
Creek. As a result, in 1994 the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) added a 3.54-
mile segment of Dumps Creek to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters
for benthic impairments. Reclaiming mined lands and restoring unmanaged forestlands in the
Dumps Creek watershed helped reduce sediment transport to the creek. Subsequently, the segment
was removed from Virginia's impaired waters list in the 2016 CWA section 305(b)/303(d) Water
Quality Assessment Integrated Report.
Problem
Dumps Creek, which is just northwest of the town
of Cleveland in Russell County, is the largest stream
in the coalfields of southwest Virginia (Figure 1).
Dumps Creek is a tributary to the Clinch River, which
is part of the Tennessee/Big Sandy River Drainage
Basin. The 3.54-mlle Impaired stream segment
(VAS-P08R_DUM01A94) extends from the Hurricane
Fork confluence downstream to the mouth where
Dumps Creek flows into Clinch River at Carbo, near the
Appalachian power plant.
Land use in the 20,300-acre Dumps Creek watershed
includes forest (71%), permitted mining operation
(14%), abandoned surface mine sites (4%), spoils/tail-
ings (4%: mine waste discarded in fills, ponds or piles),
reclaimed mine lands (3%), and disturbed mining land
(1%). The remaining 3% of watershed area falls under
agriculture, water/wetlands and urban/industrial
land uses. Mining operations in the watershed have
occurred in different locations over time. As a result,
land uses transition between forest, active mining, and
reclaimed areas.
The Dumps Creek watershed has a long history of
mining activities, including several deep mines. The
water flow from abandoned mine lands (AML) and
acid mine drainage (AMD) areas have the potential
to deliver sediment loads, iimiting benthic health in
Dumps Creek.
A biological assessment conducted by DEQ at a
location near monitoring station 6BDIJM001.09
Figure 1. Locations of biological monitoring stations and the
delisted segment in the Dumps Creek watershed.
indicated a moderately impaired (Ml) status in water-
body; as a result, DEQ placed Dumps Creek on the
Commonwealth of Virginia's 1994 CWA section 303(d)
list of impaired waters for not supporting the state's
aquatic life use.
A total maximum daily load (TMDL) developed by
DEQ in 2004 indicated point sources and nonpoint
sources as potential contributor with TDS and TSS as
primary stressors. The primary nonpoint sources were
the drainage from AML areaSj which include mine
spoils, benches (abandoned surface mine sites leaving
exposed high walls), and the disturbed mined areas.
~
Monitoring Station

Delisted Waters

River/Stream
/V
US Highway *

Dumps Creek River Wateshed

6th Order Hydrologic Unit
Dam Same
1.5 2
0565. M Deportment of [iMiwmentol Quality
W Deportment of (oiaetvowi and Remuiiw. VA Deportment ofTiampotlotitin
2016 Proposed Delist for Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Dumps Creek - VAS-P08R_DUM01A94 - 3.54 Miles

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Figure 2. After the Hurricane gob pile in the Dumps
Creek watershed (inset photo) was removed, the area
was revegetated.
Story Highlights
The Virginia Department of Mines, Mineral and Energy
(DMME) and the coal industry implemented reclama-
tion activities in 2010-2014, including:
•	Stopped dewatering older underground mines at
two outfalls, which reduced a major source of IDS
loading to Dumps Creek and helped to meetTMDL
targeted pollutant reductions for active mines.
(Underground dewatering had been conducted to
allow access to more underground coal reserves.)
•	Cleaned about 21 miles of streams in the coalfield
areas to improve stream flow conditions. An old
pond used in the mining process was transformed
Into a wetland area that helped filter out silt and
other particles in surface runoff.
•	Planted trees to reclaim approximately 70 acres of
coal-mined lands in the watershed. Additionally,
restoring unmanaged forestlands in these areas
helped reduce sediment transport within the Dumps
Creek watershed.
Restoration efforts have continued. In 2015, a sub-
sidiary company of Contura Energy, Inc., restored
approximately 2,600 linear feet of Dumps Creek.
Restoration activities included re-grading the near-
bank floodplain and installing instream structures
that provided grade control and sediment transport.
About 1.5 million tons of gob pile (mixture of waste
containing small amount of coal and shale from coal
mining operations) was removed from Hurricane Fork,
an upstream tributary (Figure 2); part of the waste was
shipped to the Dominion's Virginia City Hybrid Energy
Center for fuel production.
Results
Ceasing dewatering of mines and implementing
restoration activities reduced the total IDS waste load
by 6,886,525 kilograms per year, leading to improve-
ment of Dumps Creek. To assess aquatic life condi-
tions, DEQ employed a Virginia Stream Condition Index
(VSCI) based on a comprehensive biometrics analysis.
A waterbody that achieves a rating score of 60 and
above for an entire year is considered supportive of
biological integrity, and, therefore, is considered to be
attaining the aquatic life designated use.
Monitoring conducted at station 6BDUM000.23
showed a VSCI score of 67.5 in November 2012,
up from a VSCI of 51.3 in April 2012. Monitoring in
June and October 2014 showed scores of 64.86 and
72.83, respectively—remaining above the minimum
threshold of 60. Benthic macroinvertebrate sampling
conducted by the coal industry showed similarly high
VSCI scores (65.51 in spring 2013, 63.11 in fall 2013,
and 65.29 in spring 2014), which confirmed water
quality standards attainment. As a result, the 3.54-mile
segment of Dumps Creek was removed from Virginia's
CWA section 305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment
Integrated Report for benthic impairment in 2016.
Partners and Funding
All reclamation projects were designed and adminis-
tered by the DMME, with the cooperation of federal,
state, and local officials and stakeholders. The projects
were supported by approximately $3.35 million in
funding from the Federal AML Reclamation Program.
Additional restoration funding was provided by coal
mine permit holders operating in the watershed,
primarily Alpha Natural Resources, as a requirement to
meet TMDL targeted load reductions for active mine
permits. These load reduction actions, at an estimated
cost of approximately $700,000, were used to reduce
sedimentation from nearly 70 acres of AML and were
over and above the reclamation required for their per-
mitted operations. DEQ biologists conducted sampling
and monitored the biological status of Dumps Creek to
support the delisting.
&
PROt*°
2
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-19-0010
April 2019
For additional information contact:
Rodney Baker
Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy
(276) 523-8159 • rodney.baker@dmme.virginia.gov
Martha Chapman
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
(276) 676-4845 • Martha.Chapman@deq.virginia.gov

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