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Acid line Drainage Reduction Efforts Restore Tomhicken Creek
Waterbody Improved Abandoned mine drainage (AMD) discharge in 3.5 miles of
Tomhicken Creek, a tributary of Catawissa Creek, created toxic
conditions for fish and macroinvertebrate, which prompted the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP) to add Tomhicken Creek to the state's 1996 Clean Water Act
(CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for aquatic life. In 2003 and 2005, PADEP approved
a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of runoff and finalized the Catawissa Creek Watershed
Implementation Plan (WIP). The TMDL assessment targeted load reduction goals for acidity, iron and
aluminum. Tomhicken Creek partners installed two passive treatment systems, significantly reducing
metals and acidity levels and raising the pH and alkalinity of the creek. Approximately 3.5 miles
of Tomhicken Creek improved and now meet water quality standards; in 2018, PADEP delisted
Tomhicken Creek as an impaired waterbody.
Problem
Catawissa Creek, a 41.8-mile-long tributary of the
Susquehanna River, starts in Luzerne County and
flows through northern Schuylkill County. It is part
of the Greater Hazelton region of Pennsylvania. The
153-square-mile Catawissa Creek watershed is primar-
ily forested with very little development or agriculture.
Tomhicken Creek, a tributary of Catawissa Creek, is
approximately 11 miles long (Figure 1).
Coal mining was the primary industry in the eastern
Catawissa Creek watershed from the mid-1800sto
the early 1970s. Large land tracts of the watershed's
eastern portion are unreclaimed strip pits and subsid-
ence areas from abandoned underground mine work-
ings. Pollution in Catawissa Creek and its tributary,
Tomhicken Creek, is primarily caused by AMD from five
deep mine tunnels In the watershed. Pollution levels
from AMD endangered the fish population and other
aquatic life. In 1996, PADEP added 3.5 stream miies
of Tomhicken Creek to CWA's section 303(d) list of
impaired waters for aquatic life. A TMDL was approved
in 2003, and the Catawissa Creek WiP was completed
in 2005. The WIP identified AMD-reiated load reduc-
tions for acidity, iron and aluminum that were needed
to meet water quality objectives.
This project focused on two AMD discharges that
were contributing high pollutant loads to Tomhicken
Creek. The first AMD discharge (Oneida #1) drains
Figure 1. Tomhicken Creek is in the Catawissa Creek
watershed in east-central Pennsylvania.
the North Green Mountain Coal Basin into Sugarloaf
Creek, a tributary to Tomhicken Creek, between the
Lake Susquehanna and Lake Choctaw impoundments.
Before construction of the Oneida #1 treatment
system at this site, monitoring data showed low pH
(3.6- 4.2), no alkalinity, high acidity levels of 40-50
milligrams per liter (mg/L) and aluminum levels of
1.4-4.9 mg/L. The second AMD discharge (Oneida
#3) drains the South Green Mountain Coal Basin and
emptied directly into Tomhicken Creek. This was the
largest source of AMD discharge to the creek. Before
construction of the Oneida #3 treatment system at
this site, monitoring data showed low pH (3.9-4.7),
net acidity of 15 mg/L, and elevated iron (2 mg/L) and
total manganese (0.5 mg/L).
EPCRMR

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Figure 3. The Oneida #3 treatment system discharges
through a limestone channel into a settling pond.
Figure 2. The Oneida #1 treatment system discharges
through oxic limestone drains into a settling pond.
Story Highlights
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boating Commission con-
ducted several surveys of the main stem of Catawissa
Creek, including itsTomhicken Creek tributary, and
found that by reducing AMD pollution through mine
reclamation projects, Tomhicken Creek could provide
substantial coldwater recreational fisheries. In 2001,
the Schuylkill Conservation District, Catawissa Creek
Restoration Association (CCRA), Eastern Pennsylvania
Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR)
and other partners installed two passive treatment
systems (Oneida #1 and #3) in the headwaters of
Catawissa Creek.
Oneida #1, a passive treatment system consisting of
a series of three buried limestone cells, effectively
neutralizes AMD pollution entering Sugarloaf Creek,
a tributary to Tomhicken Creek. Water flows through
an oxic limestone drain in the treatment system that
neutralizes the acidity and raises pH and alkalinity
levels. A final polishing pond and Lake Choctaw serve
as oxidation/precipitation basins that remove any
remaining aluminum from the water (Figure 2).
in 2009, project partners installed Oneida #3, which
consisted of one in-flow style concrete tank filled with
limestone and settling ponds for treating discharged
mine water (Figure 3). The treatment system increases
pH levels of tunnel discharge and reduces metals and
acidity loading to Tomhicken Creek.
Results
PADEP documented water quality improvement in
Tomhicken Creek after installing the Oneida #1 and
Oneida #3 passive treatment systems. The treat-
ment systems effectively neutralize AMD pollution,
increasing the creek's pH and alkalinity levels. After
treatment, the creek averages a pl-l of 6.5 and alkalin-
ity of 9-26 mg/L; iron and acidity levels were reduced
to zero. Lake Choctaw monitoring data shows very
good water quality with high pH, high alkalinity, and no
acidity or aluminum. Lake Choctaw, once acidified and
devoid of fish, now supports a stocked fish population.
During a 2016 sampling survey, data showed Index of
Biotic Integrity scores of 62.9 at station D-TC02 and
69.8 at station D-TC03, which indicated no AMD impact.
Partners and Funding
Project success is a result of partnerships between
CCRA, Schuylkill Conservation District, Columbia
Conservation District, EPCAMR, Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PADEP
Pottsvilie District Mining Office, and PADEP Watershed
Support Section. Approximately $1,300,000 were
awarded through EPA's CWA section 319 grant pro-
gram. An additional $100,000 came from the following
sources: PADEP's Growing Greener grants program,
the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and the Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-21-001C
January 2021
For additional information contact:
Wayne Lehman
Schuylkill Conservation District
570-622-3742 • wlehman(S)co.schuylkill.pa.us
Ann Devine
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
717-772-5653 • adevine@pa.gov

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