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Cumberland Times-News, Cumberland, Maryland, United States of America

Cleaning mine acid from Potomac River cooperative effort

SAM SHAWVER
Times-News Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Diane Fair/Times-News U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, right, signs a resolution for the North Branch Potomac River water Quality and Recreation Improvement Agreement, before speaking at FSU's Pealer Recital Hall during the North Branch of the Potomac River Symposium. House Speaker Casper Taylor Jr. waits to sign the agreement.

FROSTBURG -- Cleaning mine acid from the North Branch of the Potomac River is a big job that's going to require some cooperative effort among local, state and federal government agencies as well as private industry and individuals.

A step is being taken in that direction this week as the North Branch of the Potomac River Symposium convened at Frostburg State University Monday. Representatives of more than 20 organizations are participating in the three-day symposium to focus attention on cleaning up the acid mine drainage problem in the North Branch.

U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes and Maryland Speaker of the House Casper Taylor Jr. were on hand to open the event by signing a document reaffirming support of a 1993 resolution between the governors of Maryland and West Virginia to work for restoration of the Potomac.

Speaking of his vision for "One Maryland," Taylor commended efforts by federal, state and local government and industry to preserve the North Branch. In a recent letter to John Carey, director of the Maryland Bureau of Mines, Taylor said, "I believe that it is essential to the life of the river that all of us continue to work together to preserve and protect the waters of the Potomac Basin to which we owe so much."

Taylor introduced Sarbanes as Monday morning's keynote speaker, noting the senator's "contributions to Mountain Maryland."

"Restoring the North Branch is a massive undertaking," said Sarbanes. "It takes more than one organization. This symposium is a catalyst to bring many agencies together." He noted that more than 20 organizations representing government and industry are participating in the symposium.

"I've had a keen interest in this area for a number of years," Sarbanes said, adding that he had worked with U.S. Sen. Jennings Randolph of West Virginia on development of the Bloomington Dam project, now known as Jennings Randolph Lake. He said the dam is important for reducing mine acid in the North Branch and Potomac.

But while touring the North Branch above the dam Sarbanes said he saw "biological dead zones" along the river where acid mine drainage had destroyed stream ecology. "Nearly 450 miles of streams have been damaged by mine acid," he said.

Sarbanes also said he had seen improvements in the river, including the development of a trout hatchery below the Jennings Randolph Dam. "We saw the opportunity for a world-class trout stream," he recalled. "The North Branch and Jennings Randolph Lake were great untapped resources. We wanted to develop the Maryland side of the lake for better access."

Two years ago Congress approved a bi-state compact between the states of Maryland and West Virginia to provide law enforcement on the lake, Sarbanes noted. He also said one mile of the North Branch from Barnum to Linwood Run was opened to fishing, an area that was previously not accessible to fishermen.

Sarbanes added that $600,000 in Environmental Protection Agency funding was approved for a three-year project to provide limestone "dosers," based on a Swedish concept, to neutralize acid in the stream. "That project has worked to bring trout back into the waters," he said.

Because Maryland is not as large a coal producer as some other states, it receives minimum funding, about $1.5 million, for abandoned mine reclamation. But Sarbanes said federal regulations at one time only allowed 10 percent of that funding to actually be used for reclamation. "We were able to get an amendment passed that allowed $1 million to be used," he said. "But these are not comprehensive solutions and we are working with limited resources."

The senator commended Maryland coal and utility industries for working with the government to cleaning up the massive Kempton Mine complex, a portion of which lies in Garrett County. The abandoned mine is a main source of acid mine drainage into the North Branch.

"Studies at the Kempton Mine have shown 1,000 gallons of water per minute from a good stream flows into the mine complex," said Sarbanes, adding that the water comes out of the complex polluted with mine acid.

Sarbanes said the coal companies and utilities that burn coal, like Cumberland's AES Warrior Run Power Plant, are seeking to make use of coal combustion by-products like fly ash to produce a substance that can be "injected" into abandoned mineshafts. The material fills the shafts so that less surface water seeps in, reducing acid mine runoff.

A grant of $250,000 in federal funding has been approved to help the Maryland Bureau of Mines begin a project to reduce quality water loss by using the "injection" system. "But it will take significant resources to complete," he said.

"There are some very exciting prospects for the river and this area will have a clean North Branch of the Potomac," said Sarbanes. "We're very much committed to this project and hope it will become a model for the rest of the country."

"I am proud that the Potomac was selected as an American Heritage River," said Sarbanes. He noted that the river was one of only 14 streams picked from 150 applications nationwide and thanked those responsible for supporting the designation efforts.

The symposium continues today with a tour of several sites in Garrett County related to coal mining and acid mine drainage, including the Kempton Mine complex and facilities at Jennings Randolph Lake.