Premining prediction of acid drainage potential for surface coal mines in northern West Virginia. Technical completion report

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6912428

dePretoro, R S; Rauch, H W

Premining prediction of postmining drainage quality is required by law. In the study postmining drainage geochemistry of 75 surface coal mines in Monongalia and Preston Counties was measured and compared to lithologic, rock, and groundwater geochemical and hydrogeologic parameters. Postmining drainage chemistry is significantly dependent on coal overburden lithology. Both total and net neutralization potentials of overburden are directly related to net alkalinity of mine drainage. Total sulfur in overburden bears very little relation to drainage quality and mines with extremely low sulfur overburden can produce acid if they lack neutralizing minerals. Mines with the final highwall structurally updip of the backfill usually produce drainage or poorer quality than the opposite situation. Surface mining of old underground workings does not significantly improve drainage quality, and such surface mines have poorer quality drainage than average. The highest sulfate, alkalinity and acidity concentrations are found in watersheds with highest percentages of their areas mined. Reclaimed and unreclaimed surface mines produce anomalously high drainage alkalinity in small zones in the Upper Freeport coal field of Preston County. The zones have anomalously high percentages of paleoenvironmentally deposited shale as opposed to sandstone in the overburden. Paleoenvironmental mapping and analysis can be used to aid regional and individual premining predictions of postmining drainage chemistry.

• Research Organization: West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (USA). Water Research Inst.
• OSTI ID: 6912428
• Report Number(s): PB-90-191503/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540350 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
CHEMISTRY
COAL DEPOSITS
COAL MINES
CONTROL
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION III
FORECASTING
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
LAND RECLAMATION
LAWS
LITHOLOGY
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINES
MINING
MINING LAWS
NORTH AMERICA
OVERBURDEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANNING
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
POLLUTION CONTROL
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
PROGRESS REPORT
REGULATIONS
RESOURCES
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SURFACE MINING
SURFACE MINING ACTS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
USA
WATER
WATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
WATER QUALITY
WEST VIRGINIA