Feasibility of Elk Creek acid mine drainage abatement project

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1976

OSTI ID:6123072

Loy, Jr, L D; Gunnett, J W

The Elk Creek watershed in West Virginia was the site of a feasibility study to examine three acid mine drainage abatement techniques, including alkaline regarding, slurry trenching, and mine roof collapse. Physiographic, geologic, mining, and climatologic descriptions are provided for five individual locations used to test the techniques. Alkaline regarding involves neutralization of deep mine discharges with alkaline overburden. In slurry trenching a narrow trench is excavated in unconsolidated material with the vertical sides maintained by a very viscous water clay slurry. Mine roof collapse serves to retard water flow in the mines and neutralizes acidic mine waters in areas with alkaline overburden. The study indicated that all three techniques were viable in the Elk Creek watershed and that at four of the five study sites pollutant loadings with an average acid loading of 1290 kg/day were sufficient to warrant pollution abatement.

• Research Organization: Skelly and Loy, Harrisburg, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6123072
• Report Number(s): PB-259329
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510100 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
520100* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABANDONED SITES
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
CENTRAL REGION
DISPERSIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
MASS TRANSFER
MINING
MIXTURES
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PH VALUE
POLLUTION
SLURRIES
SURFACE MINING
SUSPENSIONS
UNDERGROUND MINING
USA
VISCOSITY
WATER
WATER INFLUX
WATER POLLUTION
WATERSHEDS
WEST VIRGINIA