Glossary of Terms

Acidic (Acid) – a condition in which the concentration of positively charged hydrogen ions is high and the pH is less than 7.0.

Acid/Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) - water that is affected by passage through, or alteration by, coal or abandoned coal mine environments. Acid mine drainage can have acceptable water quality, but often it is contaminated. Contaminated mine drainage lowers water quality and kills aquatic life (fish, insects, etc.). Contaminated acid mine drainage most often has these characteristics: 1) Low pH (high acidity) 2) High metals concentrations 3) Elevated sulfate levels 4) Excessive sediment and siltation. Acid concentrations in streams can kill many life forms and stunt the growth of others. Acidic water also can break down the metallic compounds of iron, sulfur, manganese and aluminum found in nearby rock or earthen waste piles.

Acid Mine Precipitation - substances leached out by acidic mine water are called "precipitates." Metals are commonly leached out and may be revealed by the color of the deposits left behind. White - indicates high levels of dissolved aluminum; Black - as a dark stain on creek rocks indicates manganese; Orange - indicates oxidized iron, which gives contaminated creeks their orange/yellow color.

Active Channel Width - elevation on the bank marking the normal maximum water flow before flooding occurs.

Active Treatment – involves the use of chemicals and energy to remove contaminants from the water.

Aeration – the process of mixing air into a solution so as to allow atmospheric gases to dissolve into the solution through direct contact, stirring, forced injection, or other means.

Aerobic Wetland – a large surface area pond with horizontal surface flow, which may be planted with cattails and other wetland species.

Aggradation- the process by which a stream’s gradient steepens due to increased deposition of sediment.

Alkalinity (basic or alkaline) - a measure of the ability of a solution to absorb positively charged hydrogen ions without a significant change in pH. Also referred to as buffering capacity. Alkaline solutions have a pH greater than 7.0.

Aluminum – a common metal element found in AMD that oxidizes as a whitish powder at high pH levels.

Anaerobic Wetland – a large pond with a lower layer of organic substrate with horizontal surface flow; typically the compost layer is made from spent mushroom compost that contains about 10% calcium carbonate.

Anoxic – a condition existing or process conducted in the absence of oxygen, anaerobic.

Anoxic Limestone Drain (ALD) – a buried bed of limestone constructed to intercept subsurface mine water flows and prevent contact with atmospheric oxygen. Keeping oxygen out of the water prevents oxidation of metals and armoring of the limestone.

Anthracite – hard coal, almost pure carbon. It is used mainly for heating homes.

Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative –a program sponsored by OSM to coordinate and focus AMD clean-up projects in the United States.

Aquatic Habitat - areas suited for fish and other creatures that live in wet conditions.

Average – the value obtained by dividing the sum of a set of quantities by the number of quantities in the set. Also called the arithmetic mean.

Bank Stability- a slope is subject to the influence of gravity and possible pressure of ground water, which tend to cause sliding or caving. It is also subject to surface erosion from running water, wind, and alternate freezing and thawing, or wetting and drying. Weathering causes changes in particle size and composition. Bank slope stability can be attained by benching, by growth of vegetation, and by artificial protections, such as masonry walls, drainage systems to intercept or remove ground water, and fences to
catch rolling pieces.

Beneficial Use Designation - states how the water resource is used by humans and how well it supports the biological community.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) - management or structural practices designed to reduce the quantities of pollutants--such as sediment, fertilizers, animal wastes etc.--that enter nearby streams, lakes, wetlands and groundwater.

Bias – a preference or inclination, especially one that creates an unfair judgment.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - a measure of the amount of oxygen necessary to decompose organic materials in a volume of water. As the amount of organic waste in water increases, more oxygen is used, resulting in a high BOD.

Biological Indices - there are three indices that the Pennsylvania EPA uses to assess the health of the biological community and determine aquatic life use designations.

Bituminous – a middle ranking coal formed by pressure and heat on lignite. This coal usually has a high BTU value and may be referred to as soft coal. It is the most common coal in the United States and is used to generate electricity and to make coke for the steel industry.

BTU – British Thermal Unit. A measure of the energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

Calcium Carbonate – a compound found in nature as chalk or calcite, aragonite or limestone.

Channelization - an engineering technique to straighten, widen, deepen or otherwise modify a natural stream channel.

Clean Water Act (CWA) - adopted in 1972, it evolved from the 1948 Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA) and established the national goal to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's surface waters."

Coal - a burnable carbonaceous rock that contains large amounts of carbon. Coal is a fossil fuel—a substance that contains the remains of plants and animals and that can be burned to release energy.

Coal Mining – extracting coal from its natural deposits in the earth by any method, and the work of preparing coal so extracted for use.

Coke – a hard, dry carbon substance produced by heating coal to a very high temperature in the absence of air.

Collectors – macroinvertebrates that collect and eat small organic material (<1mm).

Colligative Properties – the property of a solution to have a greater boiling point and a lower freezing point than a pure substance.

Conserve – to use resources carefully, wisely and sparingly, avoiding waste.

Contaminated Coal Mine Drainage – mine runoff or discharge water containing abnormal acid or alkalinity levels, elevated sulfate and metal concentrations, and silt or other suspended solids.

Debate - to engage in argument by discussing opposing points of a topic.

Disassociation – decomposition of a crystal into hydrated ions, eg. NaCl_(s) ® Na⁺_(aq) + Cl^-_(aq).

Discharge – the quantity of water flowing past a particular point on a stream, usually measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).

Dissolved Metals – the total mass of dissolved mineral constituents or chemical compounds in water. They form residue that remains after evaporation and drying.

Dissolved Oxygen - the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in a solution. Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) can cause armoring on limestone by oxidizing iron compounds in AMD to form iron hydroxide. D.O. is usually measured in parts per million (milligrams per liter).

Diversion Wells – a simple passive treatment technology, which diverts water by a pipe to a downstream well, which contains limestone. The force of the water into the well results in turbulence, allowing the water and limestone to mix and react.

Drainage Basin - area that contributes surface water to a particular stream system.

DRASTIC - a standardized system for evaluating ground water pollution potential using hydrologic settings. It was developed by the EPA and involves the mapping of relative ratings of pollution potential.

Effluent - any material that flows outward from something; examples include wastewater from treatment plants and water discharged into streams from abandoned coal mines.

Electricity - electric current used or regarded as a sources of power, caused by the attraction of particles with opposite charges and the repulsion of particles with the same charge.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, this agency of the U.S. government sets and enforces national pollution-control standards.

Excavation - the act or process of removing soil and/or rock materials from one location and transporting them to another. It includes digging, blasting, breaking, loading, and hauling, either at the surface or underground.

Exceptional Warmwater Habitat (EWH) - the most biologically productive environment. These waters support "unusual and exceptional" assemblages of highly diverse species of aquatic organisms, particularly those that are highly intolerant and/or rare, threatened, endangered or special status.

Facultative – somewhat sensitive to pollution and require good water quality.

Ferric Hydroxide - an iron compound that forms when dissolved iron in AMD is oxidized, and appears as a rusty, reddish-orange residue. It is often called yellow-boy.

Flocculate - metal precipitates that build up in streams as sediment.

Floodplain - flat area adjacent to a stream in a river valley.

Flow - quantity of water passing through a specific cross section of a body of water during a specified time.

Fossil Fuels – any naturally occurring fuel of an organic nature, such as coal, crude oil and natural gas.

Gauging Station - location at a stream channel where discharge of water is measured.

Grazer – animal that feeds on algae, fungi, or bacteria that is attached to rocks and other surfaces; see also Scraper.

Ground water - water found beneath the surface of the earth within the zone of saturation.

Habitat – the area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs.

Hydrology - the study of surface and subsurface water.

Hydrophytic - growing wholly or partially in water. Cattails are hydrophytic plants.

Index of Biological Integrity - a measure of fish species diversity and species populations

Insoluble - not soluble; in capable or difficult of being dissolved, as by a liquid.

Invertebrate Community Index - based on measurements of the macroinvertebrate communities living in a stream or river.

Iron – a common metal element contained in mine rocks in the form of iron sulfide that oxidizes as a reddish, rusty colored hydroxide solid.

Iron Oxide - a common compound of iron and oxygen, also known as rust.

Leach – migration of atoms or compounds from mine rocks or other substances through the action of water, acid or other solvent.

Leaching - process of dissolving, washing or draining earth materials by percolation of groundwater or other liquids.

Limestone - a sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate. It can be formed through either organic or inorganic processes. Limestone effervesces freely with any common acid.

Limited Resource Water (LRW) - applies to streams when a scientific assessment concludes they cannot support any degree of aquatic life diversity because of irretrievable factors such as acidic conditions from abandoned mine land or large- scale habitat alteration. These designations must be reviewed every three years.

Limited Warmwater Habitat (LWH) - adopted in 1978 as a temporary variance mechanism for individual stream segments with point-source problems that could not meet the goals of the Clean Water Act. It is now being phased out.

Macroinvertebrate – refers to crustaceans, insects and worms lacking a spinal column that assemble in semi-permanent populations. Study of the presence of various macroinvertebrates provides a good environmental indicator of stream health because many species are known to be either pollution tolerant or intolerant.

Manganese – a metal element found in AMD that oxidizes as a blackish stain.

Metal – elements that are solids (except mercury), have few electrons in the outermost shell, and lose electrons easily to form cations. Metals of concern in AMD include iron, aluminum, manganese, and sometimes lead, mercury, copper, and zinc.

Miscible – when any amount of solute can be dissolved in solvent.

Mitigation - the process of finding solutions to reduce the severity of flood damage.

Modified Index of Well-Being - based upon the index of well-being, which is a calculation of fish mass and density.

Modified Warmwater Habitat (MWH) - applies to streams with extensive and irretrievable physical habitat modifications that fail to attain criteria for WWH, EWH or other beneficial uses.

Molality(m) - # of moles of Solute per kg of solvent.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) - created in 1972 under a WPCA Amendment, it prohibits the discharge of any pollutant without a permit.

Neutral – a condition where the concentration of hydrogen ions equals the concentration of hydroxide ions, resulting in a solution that is neither acidic or basic (alkaline) and has a pH value of 7.0 standard units. Distilled water is a neutral liquid.

Neutralize – to cause a solution to move toward a pH reading of 7.0 standard units through chemical or biological processes.

Nonpoint Source Pollution - water pollution that results from a variety of human land uses, such as agriculture, surface mines, forestry activities, home wastewater systems and construction sites, among others. These pollution sources cannot be controlled at a single location and can only be curbed by implementing land management practices at multiple levels.

Noun - the part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive.

Office of Surface Mining – the federal agency charged with enforcing SMCRA and dealing with health, safety and resource protection issues related to active mining and abandoned mine problems.

Open Limestone Channel – a simple passive treatment method in which a drainage ditch is constructed of limestone and AMD contaminated water is collected by the ditch, or limestone is placed directly into a contaminated stream.

Overburden - layers of soil and rock covering a coal bed. It is removed prior to surface mining and replaced following coal removal.

Oxic – a condition where atmospheric, gaseous oxygen is present.

Oxidation – a reaction in which a substance loses electrons. In the case of AMD metals oxidation, the oxidizing agent is gaseous oxygen. Metal oxides are formed in the process.

Oxygen - an element constituting 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume that occurs as a diatomic gas, O₂, combines with most elements, is essential for plant and animal respiration, and is required for nearly all combustion.

Parasites – animals that get their food by taking advantage of other animals

Passive Treatment – designed to remove contaminants without actively pumping chemicals into the system. Examples: wetlands, open limestone channels, anoxic limestone drain.

Percentage – a fraction or ratio with 100 understood as the denominator.

Permeability – a measure of the rate of water movement through soil or other substance.

pH - a value expressed in standard units on a scale of 0-14 that expresses the concentrations of hydrogen ions. pH readings below 7 are considered acidic, while pH readings above 7 are said to be basic, or alkaline. Many species are tolerant of lower pH values (more acidic waters), but many are not. Healthier streams are indicated by being closer to the neutral point of pH 7.

Plume – point in a stream where mine drainage enters and orange mine drainage is visible separate from the rest of the stream.

Porosity – the ratio of the volume of voids (openings) to the total volume of material. Used to describe the ability of a fluid to move through crushed rocks or other material.

Precipitate – an insoluble, solid product that is formed when ions combine with atoms or molecules in the air or with other atoms or compounds in a solution. Also, the process of dissolved compounds becoming solidified.

Precipitation – the process of separating mineral constituents from a solution.

Predators – mobile animals that kill and eat their prey.

Predicate - one of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb.

Preserve – to keep in perfect or unaltered condition, maintain unchanged.

Primary Contact - suitable for full body contact recreation (e.g. swimming or canoeing). To qualify as a primary contact recreation use, a stream must have at least one pool of 100 square feet greater than a depth of three feet.

Pyrite – the iron-sulfide mineral, often called "fools gold," that is found in earthen and rock layers near coal seams. Pyrite is the usual source of the sulfur that binds with hydrogen and oxygen in rain water to form the sulfuric acid component of AMD.

Reaction – in chemistry, a change or transformation in which a substance decomposes, combines with other substances, or interchanges constituents with other substances.

Reclamation - the process of protecting, restoring, and possibly even improving the land before, during, and after surface mining. As coal is removed from one section of a surface mine, the land at another part is returned, regraded, and replanted.

Recreational Use Categories - Bathing Waters - swimming areas with lifeguards, bathhouses and regular water testing.

Reduction – a reaction in which a substance gains electrons. In AMD treatment, reduction usually involves the stripping away of oxygen atoms from sulfate or metal compounds.

Remediation – cleanup or other methods used to remove or contain a toxic spill or hazardous materials from a superfund site or any other site.

Residence time – the length of time that AMD remains in a treatment pond, wetland, ditch or other structure. Designed residence times depend on the incoming flow rate, the rate of treatment process in the structure, the contaminants in the AMD to be treated, the size of the structure, and the settling rate of solids in the discharge.

Riparian area - the area in and directly adjacent to a stream.

Scraper – animal that feeds on algae, fungi, or bacteria that is attached to rocks and other surfaces; see also Grazer.

Secondary Contact - suitable for partial body contact recreation (e.g. wading). There are two criteria used to evaluate recreational use attainment: fecal coliform bacteria and E. coli. A stream segment must meet at least one of these criteria to be in attainment of its use designation.

Sedimentation – the process whereby particles (suspended solids) settle out of solution. Sedimentation produces a sludge or other layers of solids at the bottom of a sedimentation, or settling pond.

Sensitive – very sensitive to pollution and require very good quality water.

Settling pond or basin – a large tank or pond designed to hold water or AMD for a long enough time to allow most of the suspended solids to settle out.

Shredders – macroinvertebrate that eats large organic material (>1mm) like leaves, pine needles, or other plant parts.

Sinkhole – a circular depression occurring in an area of land formed on limestone, gypsum or other rocks by dissolution. It drains beneath the surface of the earth, its size is measured in meters or tens of meters and it is commonly funnel shaped.

Sludge – the layer of solids that settle from a solution, including suspended silt and soil particles and precipitates formed by chemical processes.

Solubility – the amount of material that can dissolve in a given amount of water or other solvent at a given temperature to produce a stable solution. Highly soluble substances dissolve quickly. Soluble products will not settle out of a solution unless they are precipitated.

Solute – substance that is becomes homogeneously mixed in another substance.

Solution – any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) that is evenly dispersed or distributed throughout another substance (solid, liquid, or gas); homogenous mixture.

Solvent – medium in which another substance is dissolved.

Source Water Assessment and Protection Program (SWAP) - the 1996 amendments of the Safe Water Drinking Act require all states to complete a source water assessment for every public water system by 2003. The SWAP program identifies drinking water protection areas and provides information on how to reduce the potential for contaminating the waters within those areas.

State Resource Waters - waters within park systems, scenic rivers, wetlands and other ecologically significant areas. The amount of pollutant loadings allowed in these waters is very limited.

Stream – a natural body of continuously running water flowing on or under the Earth.

Subsidence - the settling of waste piles or other areas at mine sites that causes the surface of the land to sink.

Substrate – the rich, organic layer of compost or other material found at the bottom of wetlands.

Subject - the noun, noun phrase, or pronoun in a sentence or clause that denotes the doer of the action or what is described by the predicate.

Successive alkalinity producing systems (SAPS) – specialized AMD treatment ponds that make use of chemical and biological process to treat the acid, metals and sulfates of AMD.

Sulfates – compounds containing sulfur and oxygen as SO₄. Elevated sulfate levels are common in contaminated mine drainage. Sulfates can bond with hydrogen ions to form sulfuric acid, or bind to calcium atoms to form gypsum solid.

Surface Mining – a mine in which coal lies near the surface and can be extracted by removing the covering layers of rock and soil.

Surface Mining Control Act of 1977 (SMCRA) – the federal law that requires mining operations to prevent water pollution, reclaim mine lands and protect other resources.

Surface Water - waters on the surface of the earth.

Survey – a detailed inspection involving the gathering of sample data considered being representative of the whole.

Suspended Load - sediment in a stream or river channel carried off by the bottom fluid.

Tolerant – not very sensitive and do not usually require a lot of dissolved oxygen

Topographical map - a map that shows land elevations by use of lines that connect points of equal elevation (contour lines), water bodies, streams, buildings mine sites, roads and other land features.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) - a TMDL specifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards and allocates pollutant loadings among point and nonpoint pollutant sources. Under section 303(d) of the 1972 Clean Water Act, states, territories and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These impaired waters do not meet water quality standards that states, territories and authorized tribes have set for them, even after point sources of pollution have installed the minimum required levels of pollution control technology. The law requires that these jurisdictions establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop TMDLs for these waters.

Verb - the part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages.

Warmwater Habitat (WWH) - designates the "typical" warmwater assemblage of aquatic organisms for Pennsylvania rivers and streams. It is the principal restoration target for the majority of water resource management efforts in Pennsylvania.

Water Supply Use Categories — Meets drinking water standards with conventional treatment. Agricultural — Suitable for irrigation and livestock watering without treatment. Industrial — Suitable for industrial and commercial use with or without treatment.

Watershed - an area of land from which water drains toward a single channel (stream).

Watershed Assessment - a tool utilized by watershed groups and communities. By taking a detailed look at watersheds, we can define conditions degrading watersheds and formulate a restoration plan based on priorities. Interests, water quality information, and remediation options determine those priorities.

Wetlands – land permanently or periodically inundated with water sufficient to establish hydrophytic vegetation and anaerobic soil conditions.