Treated mine drainage effluent benefits Maryland and West Virginia fisherman
- Mettiki Coal Corp., Oakland, MD (United States)
In January of 1994, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources-Freshwater Fisheries Division and Mettiki Coal Corporation of Oakland, Maryland entered into a cooperative agreement to construct a trout rearing facility within Mettiki`s 10 million gallons per day acid mine drainage treatment system to supplement the DNR stockings in the newly revitalized North Branch of the Potomac River. Due to pyrite oxidation and a lack of alkaline buffering capacity in the Freeport coal strata, seven thousand gallons per minute of acidic water containing oxidized sulfide minerals must be pumped through Mettiki`s AMD treatment systems and elevated to Federal standards prior to discharge into the Upper North Branch of the Potomac River. Utilizing hydrated lime, aeration, flocculation, sedimentation, and sludge recirculation, Mettiki`s treatment imparts superior trout propagation qualities to the discharge (pH of 8.1, dissolved oxygen of 8.0 ppm, temperature ranges of from 52 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) and has allowed for weight gain throughout the typically dormant winter months. Presently, 30,000 brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout are suspended in floating net pens within the systems` discharge collection pond where pH, flow, temperature, feed assimilation, and growth rates were compared with typical stream diversion hatcheries. Growth rates, lack of significant disease, and quality parameters coupled with ideal temperatures suggests treated acidic mine effluent can offer successful fish propagation opportunities.
- OSTI ID:
- 257173
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950952-; TRN: IM9631%%379
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 12. annual international Pittsburgh coal conference, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 11-15 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Twelfth annual international Pittsburgh coal conference: Proceedings. Coal -- Energy and the environment; PB: 1248 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Plan for injection of coal combustion byproducts into the Omega Mine for the reduction of acid mine drainage
Injection of coal combustion byproducts into the Omega Mine for the reduction of acid mine drainage