DEP: Mine drainage a problem without a solution
The state Department of Environmental Protection admits drainage from abandoned coal mines in Washington and Greene counties is a problem without a solution. “I don’t want to tell you there is a solution, but there is a problem,” DEP abandoned mine manager Scott Horrell said, as he addressed questions and concerns raised at a meeting held at California University of Pennsylvania.
The problem is DEP has an insufficient amount of money to treat drainage from five coal operations owned by LTV Steel Co. Inc, which has filed for bankruptcy and is expected to discontinue treatment of mine drainage at those sites, something that will have a devastating effect on the Monongahela River.
“Discontinuing the treatment of mine drainage at these and other LTV mining sites would have a serious, devastating effect on our waterways,” Horrell said.
DEP only has $2.2 million in a trust fund to treat drainage from five coal operations, owned by LTV, a task that is expected to cost approximately $32 million, according to DEP construction chief Bill Dadamo. Dadamo said the fund currently in place will treat the mine drainage for a little more than a year.
As of now LTV is treating 1.5 million gallons of mine runoff a day at the Clyde Mine in East Bethlehem Township, near Fredericktown (Washington County), and the Nemacolin coal refuse pile in Greene County.
The company also treats mine runoff at its other Pennsylvania mines, the Banning Mine in Rostraver and South Huntingdon townships and the Russleton Mine and coal refuse pile in West Deer Township, Allegheny County.
Horrell said the DEP is negotiating with LTV to get more money to treat the sites. He said DEP did collect that $2.2 million from the company for the treatment of Clyde Mine, but the money will be used for the treatment of all five mines.
DEP is hoping to get at least another $200,000 from LTV and $10 million from the bankruptcy settlement to add to the current trust fund handled by Clean Stream Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the treatment of abandoned mines.
Joel Koricich, DEP engineer supervisor, said DEP is a party in the bankruptcy proceeding now under way and is working to get a larger distribution, but is currently third on the list behind administrators, lawyers and loan agencies.
Horrell said he expects Pennsylvania to “fare pretty good” in the bankruptcy settlement, but he said that the DEP will not get enough money to treat all five sites.
“The truth to it is there’s not a funding mechanism in place for us to deal with the issue long term. There’s time to look at alternative funding and that is what we will have to do,” he said.
Wyona Coleman of West Brownsville, an officer with the Tri-State Mining Network, asked the DEP officials what they plan to do about the problem.
“We’re looking at a significant impact on the Monongahela River, which is a main source of water to Pennsylvania,” she said. “We as citizens are looking at these two issues, is the drinking water going to be polluted and will the river continue to provide as a viable water source?”
Koricich said, “There is a global approach started on this issue and the department is aware of it.”
But Koricich said if “untreated” drainage was discharged into the Monongahela, it would not have a “total devastating impact.”
“It would not be so heavily polluted that there would be a void of life. It (Monongahela) would be taking quite a shot, but it would still be vibrant. The impact is hard to quantify, but there is so much water that the river has dilution capabilities.”
At present, Dadamo said LTV is treating an average of .3 million gallons of drainage a day at the Nemacolin coal refuse pile, which discharges directly into the Monongahela River. The mine itself is not discharging into the river. Once LTV discontinues treatment there and then and the DEP runs out of funds, that runoff will run into the river untreated.
LTV is currently treating 1.5 million gallons a day at the Clyde Mine to keep the mine down, and prevent drainage into the waterways, according to Dadamo.
Koricich said the drainage from the mine is pumped out, treated and pumped back into the mine. He said that process keeps the levels down so there is no drainage.
Dadamo said that treatment cost approximately $600,000 a year. He said again, once the DEP runs out of funds, the drainage will eventually be released to the waterways. Drainage from the Clyde Mine would not exit directly into the Monongahela River, according to Koricich, but would exit into Ten-Mile Creek, which in turn exits into the Monongahela. He said if drainage from Clyde Mine were to spill into the creek it would have a “significant impact” there, but would be significantly diluted in the Monongahela.
“We owe it to the community to tell them what’s going on,” Koricich said.
Horrell said one of the agency’s hope is $1.5 billion set aside for abandoned mines at the federal level.
“There is money at the federal level. We have $1.5 billion sitting in Washington. Problem is, we can’t get to it,” Horrell said.