OVERVIEW
 

1.0  INTRODUCTION

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a significant environmental problem associated with coal mines abandoned before mine reclamation laws were established in 1977.  AMD forms when ground water and oxygen contact and oxidize sulfur-bearing minerals (primarily pyrite) exposed by coal mining activities (Hutnik & Davis, 1973).  As abandoned mines fill with ground water or as water is filtered through large deposits of abandoned overburden or spoils, oxidative processes produce acidic waters that inevitably escape mine systems and join surface water elements like wetlands and ultimately, streams and rivers.  Once AMD has entered a watershed, it can have far-reaching effects, e.g., severe degradation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.  To date, it is estimated that AMD impacts more than 450 miles of wetlands, streams and rivers in western Maryland, including many within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

As one of its mandates, the Power Plant Research Program (PPRP) is charged with developing new strategies for dealing with both the problems associated with AMD and the disposal of coal combustion by-products (CCBPs) produced by coal-fired power plants.  The PPRP has developed and initiated several demonstration projects that deal with both AMD and disposal of CCBPs.

The PPRP and the Maryland Department of the Environment Bureau of Mines have established the Western Maryland Coal Combustion By-Products/Acid Mine Drainage Initiative.  The Initiative is a joint effort with private industry to demonstrate the benefits of using CCBPs to create flowable grouting material.  CCBPs flowable grouting material, when injected into underground coal mines, will sequester exposed metallic minerals (by paving them over) and will result in a significant reduction of associated AMD.  The Initiative is part of a multi-year project that began in 1995 and continues today (see Winding Ridge Project, report PPRP-124, November 2000 or Kempton Man Shaft Project Preliminary Engineering Report, PPRP/15435.1B.01-5/15/01).

In addition to finding new and innovative ways to address CCBPs disposal and the problems associated with AMD, wetland monitoring and restoration of wetlands damaged by AMD are considered important aspects of the overall Initiative.  Remediative engineering using CCBPs is expected to improve both hydrology and water chemistry on a watershed scale.  Therefore, monitoring of sensitive wetlands is an essential part of efforts to track and document expected patterns of change in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.  In April of 2000, the Natural Resources and Wildlife Technology Program at Garrett Community College entered into a five year agreement (2001-05) with the PPRP and the Maryland Environmental Trust Fund to monitor two wetland sites that might be improved by efforts to reduce AMD in the Kempton Mine Complex and to investigate and recommend possible restoration strategies.  The Kempton Mine Complex was mined beginning in the 1880's and abandoned in 1950 and has become the single largest producer of AMD in western Maryland.  Therefore, it must be a primary target in our effort to reduce AMD and restore degraded wetlands in the region.  This report documents the monitoring strategy and methodologies that have been developed, the results and conclusions from the first year data, and an update on strategy development for restoration.
 

2.0  STUDY AREA LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION

Two wetlands in southern Garrett County in western Maryland were chosen as monitoring sites (Fig. 1).  Both wetlands have been or continue to be impacted by AMD.  Each of these wetlands drain into the North Branch of the Potomac, a major public water supply source for metropolitan District of Columbia and adjacent urban and rural communities.  Additionally, the North Branch of the Potomac provides a major recreational water resource for the states of Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

2.1  North Branch Wetland Complex

The North Branch of the Potomac wetland complex (NBW) is near Kempton, Maryland (Fig. 2, lat/long 39.20, -79.48).  The NBW was, until recently, covered by coal mine spoil material and subject to the effects of spoil leachate.  In 1996, the Bureau of Mines, as part of an Abandoned Mine Lands reclamation project, removed the spoil to an upslope location, contoured it for positive drainage, covered it with soil, revegetated the surface, and replanted degraded areas within the wetland (Fig. 3).
 
 

Figure 1
Geographic location of the North Branch and Laurel Run wetland research stations.

 
 

Figure 2
USGS topographic quadrangle (Davis) for Maryland and West Virginia
showing location of North Branch and Laurel Run wetlands (1:24000).

Vegetation health and water quality have markedly improved since the removal of the spoil from the upper NBW.  However, despite significant improvement, there has not been a complete recovery.  The spoil provides an occasional seep of acidic drainage and, in addition, subsidence may be draining surface water from within the wetland itself.  Addressing subsidence and loss of surface water into the Kempton Mine Complex is one of the goals of the engineering (grouting) phase of the project.

The NBW study area encompasses approximately 70 acres, begins adjacent to the town of Kempton (Fig. 3), and is a typical Allegheny Plateau emergent wetland.  The upper end is a mosaic of sedges and rushes, occasional beaver ponds and numerous small stream channels.  As one moves downstream, there is a fairly rapid transition to a shrub wetland dominated by northern arrowwood, northern wild raisin, several species of St. Johnswort, and tussock sedge.  The shrub wetland area is characterized by a single stream channel, many meanders, and forested riparian edges.  The wetland is bordered by open fields, upland areas of rhododendron, and mixed stands of hemlock, maple, birch, oak, and other species characteristic of a northern hardwoods forest (Fig. 4).

Figure 3
Aerial photo of the North Branch wetland complex (1998).

2.2  Laurel Run Wetland Complex

The Laurel Run wetland complex (LRW) study area is a 35 acre stream and wetland complex approximately one mile north of the NBW (Fig. 2, lat/long 39.22, -79.43).  The LRW is separated from the NBW by a ridge but eventually drains into the main stem of the North Branch of the Potomac approximately five miles downstream.  The LRW is a critically important site because approximately 2,400 gallons per minute (3,456,000 gallons per day, 1,261,440,000 gallons per year) of AMD flow into the wetland from the Kempton Mine Complex airshaft and borehole (Fig. 5).

Both the airshaft and borehole drain waters associated with the Kempton Mine Pool.  The Kempton Mine Pool has an estimated capacity of 1.3 to 1.5 billion gallons and provides a constant source of acidic waters, much of which is discharged daily into the LRW.  The annual mean pH for the combined airshaft and borehole discharges is 3.1.  This discharge has caused localized degradation of wetland soils and regional degradation of associated ecosystems (see Fig. 4).  In the last five years, there has been a concerted effort to address AMD damage at the LRW.  In 1996, a lime doser was installed just below the airshaft discharge and the benefits to water chemistry have been instrumental in facilitating rapid recolonization and growth by vegetation in some areas.  However, the lime doser does not reach many places within the wetland, so different remediation strategies must be developed for those areas.
LRW is a heterogeneous landscape dominated by bare ground degraded by AMD (Fig. 6).  In addition, there are areas of unreacted lime deposition where the surface is almost white, other areas where vegetation is recolonizing (mostly near the main stream channel where the effectiveness of the doser is greatest), and small "islands" of vegetation growing near or on accumulations of organic matter (rotting wood, detritus).  These "islands" of vegetation are in otherwise inhospitable terrain, i.e., low pH and high levels of metal oxides.

Figure 4
1) upper end of North Branch wetland, 2) lower end of North
Branch wetland, 3-4) degraded areas in the Laurel Run wetland.

Figure 5
Aerial photo of the Laurel Run wetland complex (1998).

Figure 6
Photos of Laurel Run wetland complex - (L) area of recolonization and
unreacted lime deposition, (R) area where lime doser is not effective.

The LRW complex begins several hundred meters upstream of the airshaft as a small mountain stream bordered by mature upland forest (Fig. 5 and 7).  The pH of the stream component of the LRW is suitable for aquatic biota (pH mean = 6.4) and remains so until it joins the acidic airshaft discharge.  Just below the airshaft discharge and the lime doser, the LRW continues as a narrow stream channel (3 meters across) and remains so for approximately 200 meters (Fig. 7).  At this point, there is an abrupt transition from riparian habitat to open meadow, the LRW spreads out dramatically, and the single stream forms multiple channels.

The open meadow emergent wetland is a mosaic of mosses, sedges, rushes, small shrubs, occasional stunted eastern hemlocks, numerous small stream channels, stands of large dead trees, and extensive completely denuded areas heavily impacted by AMD (Figs. 6 and 7).  Several hundred meters downstream and beyond the open area, there is a fairly rapid transition to a shrub wetland dominated by several species of small shrubs, sedges, and rushes.  The shrub dominated area is characterized by a single stream channel, many meanders, and forested riparian edges.  An adjacent beaver pond overflows and drains good quality water (pH = 6.5) into the LRW at the lower end of the open area and has moderated the effects of AMD from the borehole.  This has facilitated the establishment of significant vegetative cover downstream of the beaver pond overflow.  The LRW, like the NBW, is bordered by upland areas of rhododendron, eastern hemlock, maple, birch, oak, and other species characteristic of a northern hardwoods forest.

Figure 7
(L) The upper end of Laurel Run wetland below the lime doser (notice the milky color
of the treated water) and (R) a denuded area in the middle of the wetland.

3.0  TASK DESCRIPTIONS

As part of the agreement with the PPRP, the following four tasks were to be accomplished at the North Branch and Laurel Run wetlands: 1) Monitor the Laurel Run wetland complex on an annual basis (2001-05), 2) Monitor the North Branch wetland complex on an annual basis (2001-05), 3) Develop strategies for small scale phytoreclamation of Laurel Run wetland, and 4) Special studies not anticipated may be required as more information is gathered.  Table 1 lists all tasks that were accomplished between April and September of 2001.
 

Table 1.  The following tasks were initiated and/or completed between May and September, 2001 for both the North Branch (NB) and Laurel Run (LR) wetlands.

 Task Description / Status / Comment

1. Locate and map all wetland boundaries and other features and create base maps / global positioning system (GPS) technology was used to locate and map all boundaries and features / completed / new or other features may need to be mapped and added to the GIS periodically

2. Develop a geographic information system (GIS) database / a complete GIS database (ArcView) has been developed and is the primary data management and analysis tool / completed / GIS is an ongoing process

3. Locate and map all vegetation survey points / all vegetation survey points have been mapped using GPS and coordinates have been entered into the GIS / completed / we will navigate to the same survey points in subsequent years using GPS

4. Survey vegetation vegetation has been surveyed using a % cover belt transect method - a total of 732 quadrats (m2) in 11 blocks were surveyed on the NB and 184 quadrats (m2) in 7 blocks were surveyed at  LR / completed / vegetation will be surveyed each year at the same points using the same methodology

5. Locate and map all upland and wetland seeps - record  and monitor pH on an annual basis / all seeps that discharge into the wetland have been located using GPS / pH has been measured and recorded and incorporated into the GIS / completed / any new or undocumented seeps will be recorded on an annual basis

6. Measure muck depth at LR (as an indicator of oxide and unreacted lime deposition from AMD and doser) / muck depth at LR has been measured in each of the 7 vegetation blocks - 5 measurements per block / completed / muck depth will be monitored on an annual basis

7. Initiate phytoreclamation field trials / a small scale trial was initiated in a heavily degraded section of LR just below the borehole discharge - two organic matter augmentation treatments are being evaluated / completed / larger scale trials will be developed for subsequent years

8. Initiate greenhouse phytoreclamation trials / native seeds are in the process of being cold stored , i.e., stratification, and will be planted when ready (spring 2002) / in progress / greenhouse trials will be used to evaluate the effect of different organic matter treatments, soils, and species

9. Locate and map bird survey points and monitor during breeding season / 12 survey points at NB and 9 at LR were located using GPS - bird communities were surveyed during breeding season and all data have been incorporated into the GIS / completed / surveys will be done at the same time and same points in subsequent years

10. Develop methodology for small mammal surveys / two live trap and release transects were established at NB at LR and small mammals were trapped and released during six trap nights (3 each wetland site) / completed / larger scale trapping will be done in subsequent years

11. Collect soil samples from both wetlands / 5 samples per block were collected (55 NB and 35 LR)  / completed / soil chemistry data received from lab

12. Conduct literature review and investigate feasibility of using hyper-accumulators for phytoremediation / a preliminary literature review has been done - several candidate species show promise for phytoreclamation and metal oxide sequestration / in progress / more review needs to be done, should be complete by Fall, 2002

2002 Field Season Goals and Objectives

For the complete Kempton Mine Wetlands Monitoring and Restoration Annual Report 2001 report, use the following link  (Warning! - the Annual Report file is 45 mb and may take a while to download):

 Annual Report for Kempton Mine Wetlands Monitoring and Restoration Project
 

NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM  (NRWT)

IMAGES FROM THE WETLANDS

Peter Skylstad - Associate Professor of Biology and Natural Resources Technology
Project Director and Principal Investigator
September, 2000 at the Mine Airshaft (below)

Natural Resources and Wildlife Technology Program students/biological technicians at work in the wetlands (2001-2002)

Biological Technicians who worked on the Kempton Mine Wetlands Monitoring and Restoration Project:

Name:  Gary Aronhalt - Westernport, MD
Title:  biological technician and crew chief (2001, 2002)

Gary is from Westernport, MD and is a 2002 graduate of the NRWT Program at Garrett College.  Gary was the assistant biological technician crew chief for the Kempton Wetlands Project in 2001.  Gary performed a variety of tasks including vegetation sampling, establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, identification of all plant species, data collection and entry, use of GPS technology, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Gary is also working on a digital image library that will document all the plant species found at both wetland sites.  Gary is now in his second year on the project and has been promoted to project crew chief.  He has done an excellent job in this capacity and often takes the initiative in implementing innovative approaches to solving problems in the field and in the GIS lab.  Gary will attend Frostburg State University in the Fall (2002) and will pursue a B.S. in Biology.

Name:  Scott Campbell - Ebensburg, PA
Title:  biological technician and crew chief (2001)

Scott is from southwestern Pennsylvania and is a 2001 graduate of the Natural Resources and Wildlife Technology (NRWT) Program at Garrett College.  Scott was the biological technician crew chief for the Kempton Wetlands Project 2001 field season.  He was in charge of vegetation sampling, which included establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, identification of all plant species, data collection and entry, use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database creation and maintenance.  Scott has since gone on to work for the Forest and Park Service of Maryland's DNR.  He was an excellent employee.
 

Name:  Aaron Holochwost - Bowie, MD
Title:  biological technician (2001, 2002)

Aaron is from Bowie, MD and is a 2002 graduate of the NRWT Program.  Aaron has focused on bird and small mammal communities for the Kempton Wetlands Project.  He performed multiple surveys of birds and small mammals in 2001 and 2002 with very little supervision and has done a superb job.  In addition to surveys, Aaron applied GPS and GIS technology in mapping and managing geospatial data.  Aaron also worked on phytoreclamation at Laurel Run and is currently working on a digital image library that will document all the bird and small mammal species found at both wetland sites.  Aaron plans to take several more courses at Garrett College in preparation for transfer to Frostburg State University where he plans to major in wildlife science.

Name:  Anna Brenes - Garrett County, MD
Title:  GIS technician (2001)

Anna was not a student in the NRWT Program.  However, she attended several environmental technology courses at Garrett College as part of her effort to earn her Master's Degree in Environmental Science.  Anna was invaluable as a GIS/GPS technician on the Kempton Wetlands Project in 2001.  She performed a myriad of tasks including mapping wetland seeps, collecting data on water chemistry, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Anna has since moved to Minnesota where she now works for Svoboda Ecological Resources.  She continues to work in wetland restoration and management.

Name:  Sally Wilts - Bruceton Mills, WV
Title:  biological technician  (2001)

Sally is from Bruceton Mills, WV and holds two degrees in addition to the A.A.S. in Natural Resource Technology she earned at Garrett College in 2001.  She is very active in regional natural resources issues.  Sally was responsible for a number of tasks during the Kempton Wetlands Project 2001 field season.  Sally was part of the team that located all upland and wetland seeps within the Kempton wetland area.  She used GPS and GIS technology, collected data on water chemistry, and participated in phytoreclamation efforts.  Sally now works for the Friends of the Cheat, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to restoring the Cheat River.   She is developing an interpretive program to educate the public about acid mine drainage and related issues.

Name:  Beth Rumer - Swanton, MD
Title:  biological technician  (2001)

Beth earned an A.A.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife at Garrett College in 2001.  She assisted with establishing the wetland monitoring design and operated a GPS unit during the Kempton Wetlands 2001 field season.  In addition, she trapped, measured, and released small mammals, assisted with bird surveys, and was also part of the phytoreclamation project.

Name:  Shane Hoover - Westminster, MD
Title:  biological technician  (2001)

Shane is from Westminster, MD and is a 2002 graduate of the NRWT Program at Garrett Collegeand a recipient of the Garrett County Trout Unlimited scholarship award.  In 2001, Shane worked on bird community surveys for the Kempton Wetlands Project.  He used GPS and GIS technology and assisted with data collection and entry.

Name:  Sarah Kaufman - Bowie, MD  FSU B.S. Wildlife 2001
Title:  biological technician  (2002)

Sarah earned a B.S. in Wildlife at Frostburg State University in 2001.  Sarah has worked on small mammal and bird surveys, assisted with phytoreclamation efforts, and helped map the wetland monitoring design during the Kempton Wetlands Project 2002 field season.  She has used GPS and GIS technology, collected and entered data, and is currently developing a digital library of bird and small mammal species found in the Laurel Run and North Branch wetlands.  Sarah plans to stay in the field of wildlife management and plans to stay in Garrett County for a year.  She then plans to attend graduate school..

Name:  Jason Savage - Friendsville, MD
Title:  biological technician  (2002)

Jason is currently a student in the NRWT Program at Garrett College.  He worked on Maryland's DNR Continuous Forest Inventory project in Garrett County in 2001 and has done an excellent job in his first field season on the Kempton Wetlands Project (2002).  Jason's primary responsibilities include vegetation sampling, establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, identification of all plant species, data collection and entry, use of GPS technology, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Jason is also working on a digital image library that will document all the plant species found at both wetland sites.  Jason plans to graduate from the NRWT Program at Garrett College in Spring, 2003 and has yet to decide what he will do after graduation.

Name:  Travis Buckel - Grantsville, MD
Title:  biological technician  (2002)

Travis is currently a student in the NRWT Program at Garrett College.  His primary responsibilities include establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, revegetation and phytoreclamation, data collection and entry, water quality sample collection and analysis, use of GPS technology, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Travis plans to graduate from the NRWT Program in Spring, 2003 and has yet to decide what he will do after graduation.

Name:  Wes Ewing - Hico, WV
Title:  biological technician  (2002)

Wes is from Hico, WV and is a graduate of the NRWT Program at Garrett College.  His primary responsibilities include establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, revegetation and phytoreclamation, data collection and entry, water quality sample collection and analysis, use of GPS technology, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Wes has plans to work in the natural resources field in the western U.S. in the near future.

Name:  Jim Ashby - Oakland, MD
Title:  biological technician  (2002)

Jim is from Oakland, MD and is a 2002 graduate of the NRWT Program at Garrett College.  His primary responsibilities include establishing the initial wetland monitoring design in the field, revegetation and phytoreclamation, data collection and entry, water quality sample collection and analysis, use of GPS technology, and GIS database creation and maintenance.  Jim plans to continue his education at Salisbury University in Maryland.

Name:  John Carey - Grantsville, MD
Title:  GIS technician  (2002)

John excelled in the GIS technician course offered at Garrett College and as a consequence, was offered a part-time position as a GIS technician.  His work on the Kempton Wetlands Project includes data entry and GIS database management.  John is also developing a digital library of interpolations for the ten most abundant plant species in the wetlands.  John plans to attend Frostburg State University in the Fall and has an interest in GIS technology and physical geography.

Name:  Eric Null - Fairchance, PA
Title:  Macroinvertebrate Specialist  (2002)

Eric is an undergraduate student in his senior year attending California University of Pennsylvania, where he is a Wildlife and Fisheries Biology major. He is involved in an undergraduate research program under the direction of Dr. William Kimmel and he is performing a two-year water quality survey on the Casselman River delayed harvest area in Grantsville, Maryland. He is also involved with multiple acidified stream reclamation projects that are headed by Dr. Kimmel. His areas of interest are water chemistry and assessment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. He is also an avid fly fisherman and an active member of Trout Unlimited Nemacolin Chapter.

Name:  Craig Foster, Smithfield, PA
Title:  Macroinvertebrate Specialist  (2002)

Craig is an undergraduate student in his junior year at California University of Pennsylvania. His major is wildlife and fisheries biology. Craig has a special interest in qualitative analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities as a means of  determining water quality due to specific community presence. Craig is currently involved in a qualitative analysis of the tributaries of the Casselman River delayed harvest area in Grantsville, Maryland.  He hopes to link his work with Eric Null’s water quality survey on the main river. Craig is an avid fly fisherman and active member in Trout Unlimited Nemacolin Chapter.
 

CONCLUSION

Wetlands are a major component of many landscapes around the world.  They are also among the most important of ecosystems.  They provide a myriad of ecological services, many that have yet to be documented or quantified.  Some estimates are that wetlands provide services on an annual basis that are worth the equivalent of $150,000 per acre.  One such service is stabilizing water supplies, which in turn reduces the magnitude and frequency of floods and drought.  For example, 80-90% of the wetlands in the upper Mississippi watershed have been drained and transformed.  In the 1990s, the middle and lower Mississippi drainages suffered severe and catastrophic flooding, primarily because of the loss of wetlands in critical areas.  The costs have been tremendous, e.g., the great flood of 1995 is estimated to have cost more than 50 billion dollars.

Other important benefits delivered by wetlands include polluted water filtration and cleaning, shoreline erosion protection, groundwater recharge, providing carbon dioxide sinks which moderate climate on a global scale, functioning as repositories of rare plants and other biota that may hold cures for a variety of diseases, producing sources of high quality protein via fish and other aquatic animals (wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth), and providing unique and essential habitats for a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Lastly, wetlands are places of magic and mystery and possess incredible aesthetic value.  Both the North Branch and Laurel Run wetlands were once pristine and fully functional.  A traveler, in a diary written at the beginning of the 20th century, wrote about Laurel Run and described it as a pristine trout stream of spectacular beauty where his party caught over 400 trout in one day's fishing.  Today, sadly, Laurel Run is a severely degraded wetland as a result of AMD and is devoid of trout or any other aquatic vertebrates.  However, there is a growing will, in both the public and private sector, to analyze and address the problems associated with AMD and to attempt to undo the damage of many decades.  It is, after all, in our best interests to have numerous, healthy wetlands, considering the multitude of essential economically and aesthetically valuable services they provide.

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