o
NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STORY
M (Mrytfcnd
Tarkiln Run pH Impairment Remedied by Successful Acid Mine
Drainage Treatment
Waterbody Improvsd Maryland's Tarkiln Run, a tributary to Casselman River in Garrett
County, was impaired by low pH associated with acid mine drainage
(AMD) and was added to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list in 1996. An assessment of
an AMD seep impacting Casseiman River tributaries ranked this stream high priority for mitigation.
Successful AMD mitigation brought the stream into compliance with the state water quality
standard for pH. As a result, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is delisting Tarkiln
Run for pH impairment in Maryland's 2018 Integrated Report.
Problem
Tarkiln Run headwaters are in Maryland's Savage River
State Forest south of US 1-68 near Amish Road; it is
a tributary to the Casseiman River's North Branch
(Figure 1). Western Maryland's Casseiman River water-
shed drains to Pennsylvania toward the Ohio River.
Prior to WWII, the river and its tributaries were com-
monly high-quality waterways that supported native
brook trout. During several following decades, coal
mining changed the local hydrology, which resulted in
AMD that caused pH declines in numerous streams,
including Tarkiin Run.
The Casseiman River watershed, including Tarkiln Run
and other streams, was listed for pH impairment in
1996. In 2005, water quality monitoring to support pH
total maximum daily load (TMDL) development found
that Tarkiln Run was consistently below the Maryland
water quality standard for pH, which requires that pFI
be within the range 6.5-8.5.
In 2008 EPA approved the pH TMDL for pH-impaired
streams in western Maryland, including Tarkiln Run.
Water quality monitoring in 2010-2013 showed that
Tarkiln Run pH continued to fall below Maryland's
water quality pH standard most of the time.
A benthic macroinvertebrate assessment performed
in 2011 and 2012 rated the stream as 2.25, which is
classified as poor on the benthic index of biological
integrity. Maryland's 2014 Integrated Report clarified
the pH conditions in the Casseiman River watershed by
separately listing Tarkiin Run for pH impairment.
Figure 1. Casseiman River watershed monitoring sites.
Story Highlights
In late 2008 MDE ini tiated watershed planning to
make the Casseiman River watershed eligible for CWA
section 319(h) grant implementation funds. The plan-
ning process included assessment of potential AMD
Casseiman
Monitoring Sites
t %
I Maryland
West V rg n i
CASS-001
Tarkiln Run
Sand Application Area
CASS-014'
Legend
g	MDE Proposed WQ Stations
g	Treatment Implementation - Leach Bed
g	Treatment Implementation - Sand Dump
-	pH TMDL Impaired Stream
"2	Casseiman 8 Digit Watershed
CASS-006

-------
Casselman River Phase 1 AMD: Tarkiln Run
MDE Casselman Monitoring Project - AMD/BMP
WQ standard for pH:6i to 8.5
Figure 2. Tarkiln Run sand dump site.
mitigation sites like Tarkiln Run. The plan also analyzed
AMD mitigation technologies. One of the technologies
recommended to address pH while also minimizing
capital and operation and maintenance costs was lime-
stone sand application, sometimes called a limestone
"sand dump." This technique involves constructing
a driveway for a dump truck to pull up adjacent to
the stream so that measured quantities of pulverized
limestone can be delivered directly to stream edge.
Then, natural variation in stream flow distributes the
particles of limestone downstream. The limestone
sand particles in the stream tend to raise in-stream pH
and increase acid neutralizing capacity. The amount
and timing of limestone sand application at each site is
determined by periodic monitoring of in-stream pl-l.
In 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
accepted the Casselman River Watershed Plan for pH
Remediation, and section 319(h) grant funds were
approved to help mitigate AMD-impacted areas.
Tarkiln Run was selected to be one of 11 Phase i
projects because the land was publicly owned, the site
was accessible and permit requirements were attain-
able. In mid-2013 one limestone sand application site
was constructed. During its first year of operation, the
Tarkiln Run site received 41.65 tons of iimestone sand
(Figure 2).
Results
After installing the limestone sand application sites,
MDE's Abandoned Mine Land Division (AMLD) periodi-
cally monitored the pH at Tarkiln Run and scheduled
delivery of limestone sand to the application sites
as needed. After a period of adjustment in late 2013
and early 2014, water quality data collected in Tarkiln
Run from mid-2014 through 2016 demonstrated
Figure 3. Tarkiln Run meets the pH standard.
that in-stream pH consistently met Maryland's water
quality standard (Figure 3). As a result, MDE is delisting
Tarkiln Run for pH impairment in Maryland's 2018
Integrated Report.
Benthic macroinvertebrate assessments were per-
formed in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The overall average
rating was 3.167, which is categorized as fair on the
benthic index of biological Integrity—an Improvement
from the poor rating received In 2011-2012.
Partners and Funding
MDE AMLD and MDE integrated Water Planning
Program (IWPP) cooperated to write the Casselman
River Watershed Plan for pH Remediation. Drafting the
plan used $55,000 from the federal fiscal year (FFY)
2008 CWA section 319(h) grant. MDE was awarded
$644,115 from the FFY2009 CWA section 319(h) grant
to help pay for mitigating more than a dozen differ-
ent sites impaired by AMD in the Casselman River
watershed. The Garrett Soil Conservation District (SCD)
was hired to oversee contractor hiring, construction
management and inspection for all these project sites,
including the Tarkiln Run limestone sand application
project. The SCD's total capital cost for the Tarkiln Run
site was only $8,868.
Other partners contributed work at no cost to the
project. Watershed plan drafting by MDE IWPP staff
was funded by the section 319(h) grant that supports
the state Nonpoint Source Management Program.
Also, before/after water quality monitoring by MDE's
Field Services Program was funded by separate
ongoing section 319(h) grant projects. The Maryland
Fisheries Service assessment and analysis was inde-
pendently funded by the state of Maryland.
^tDST:%
0
PRO^°
s
©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-19-001P
April 2019
For additional information contact:
Connie Loucks
Maryland Dept. of the Environment
301-689-1461 • connie.loucks@maryland.gov

-------