Report on the AMD Inventory
EY 2001

Introduction:

OSM and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) have compiled an inventory of long-term pollutional mine discharges (commonly referred to as acid mine drainage or AMD) from post primacy permits. The cooperative effort has involved PADEP providing an inventory of active and inactive permits with AMD and OSM compiling the inventory of bond forfeited permits with AMD. The function of the inventory is to pinpoint the geographic location where drainage problems occur, and to characterize the magnitude and abatement cost of water pollution for defined geographic areas. The purpose of this report is to compare findings from oversight inspections with the information in the inventory to verify the completeness and accuracy of the inventory.

Summary Findings:

This evaluation year OSM inspectors conducted 32 inspections of sites with 47 potential long-term pollutional discharges. Of those permits visited, 41 were found with discharges in violation of effluent limitations found at PA regulations 87.102 and 89.52. Three of the 41 discharges in violation were marginal in nature. The 41 pollutional discharges were found on 28 permits.

The permits with discharges were reviewed to determine which permits were not currently in the AMD Inventory. Of the 41 pollutional discharges reviewed, 14 were not currently on the AMD Inventory. Those 14 discharges were found on 10 different permits.

The ten permits with pollutional discharges were reviewed to determine the activity status of the permits. Of the ten permits with identified long-term pollutional discharges, eight were bond forfeited permits and two permits were in active/inactive status. The eight forfeited permits had eleven pollutional discharges and the two permits in the active/inactive activity status had three pollutional discharges.

Of the eleven newly identified long-term discharges on bond forfeited sites, two were alkaline with a total iron load of 1.5 ppd, and six were net acid discharges with pH ranging from a high of 4.7 to a low of 2.8, a total acid load of 715 pounds per day (ppd) and a total iron load of 239 ppd. One other discharge reviewed on a bond-forfeited site exhibited a marginal violation of pH. This site will require additional sampling to determine whether it should be considered a long-term pollutional discharge and added to the inventory.

Pennsylvania continues to maintain a complete and accurate inventory of pollutional discharges from active and inactive sites. Only three new discharges were found on two permits with an activity status of active/inactive. One of the sampled discharges was net acid and two were alkaline. The acid discharge had a flow of 2 gallons per minute (gpm) and had a pH of 4.7. The two alkaline discharges had a total flow of 7 gpm, an iron load of 1 ppd, and a manganese load of .5 ppd.

Disposition of Findings:

The two permits with discharges from active/inactive sites have been referred to the PADEP for review and possible inclusion in the inventory. The HFO will follow-up during the next evaluation year to determine the status of these sites.

OSM is reviewing the bond forfeited sites with newly observed pollutional discharges to determine if the discharges are long-term and; therefore, should be included in the bond forfeiture AMD inventory. As noted above, the bond forfeiture portion of the inventory is managed by OSM. Results of this review will be finalized during evaluation year 2002.

For the site with marginal violation of effluent standards, more data will be collected to evaluate whether it remains in violation.

Methodology:

This year’s sample was taken from a historical list of sites with potential AMD. This list did not distinguish between short-term and long-term discharges. The inspections were done to identify sites where the nature of the discharge and water (pre-treatment) sample results indicated the presence of a long-term pollutional discharge. All water sample data in this study represents a snapshot in time. No background data was reviewed.