Effects of coal strip mining on stream water quality: preliminary results. [7 references]

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7309750

Dettmann, E H; Olsen, R D; Vinikour, W S

Results of the preliminary study were not conclusive, but suggest that present water quality impacts induced by operation of the Big Horn Mine may be small compared to other land use effects in the watershed. While concentrations of some chemical parameters in pumped mine discharge were high, concentration increases measured in the Tongue River downstream of the mine were small in comparison to observed increases upstream in agricultural areas. Preliminary fish sampling data also suggest that the biotic community is responding to watershed scale water quality changes, and show no large mining impacts. The aquatic study will identify and quantify the water quality and aquatic ecosystem impacts related to operation of the Big Horn Mine. The aquatic investigation will include geophysical-geochemical and modeling subprojects to optimize identification and subsequent prediction of pollutant production, transport, and ultimate fate within the aquatic ecosystem and expanded sampling of the food web to include primary producers, macroinvertebrates, and fish. The study results will be compared and integrated with previous and ongoing research efforts on the Montana reach of the Tongue River to investigate the extent and significance of mining impacts in the entire Tongue River watershed. Results of the multidisciplinary investigation will allow definitive conclusions to be drawn concerning the direct short-term impacts and long-term chronic effects of current strip mining practices in the Tongue River watershed, as well as prediction of impacts that are likely to result from future expansion of surface mining, including alternative mitigating actions necessary to ensure proper environmental protection.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 7309750
• Report Number(s): CONF-761096-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
012000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
520100 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
COAL MINING
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FISHES
INVERTEBRATES
LAND USE
MINING
MONTANA
NORTH AMERICA
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SAMPLING
SURFACE MINING
SURFACE WATERS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WATER QUALITY
WATERSHEDS