While coal mining benefits the county economically, unreclaimed mine land degrades water quality and threatens public health and safety. Polluted orange-stained water flows into our waters. The most common forms of pollutants associated with coal mine drainage are: acidity, iron, aluminum, manganese, and sulfates.
When coal is mined the iron that is present, either as marcasite or pyrite, is exposed to the atmosphere and oxidizes to form iron sulfates and sulfuric acid. The higher the acid levels are, the higher the concentration of metals, like aluminum and iron, will be. This is because the metals become more soluble and dissolve into solution the higher the acid levels are. These chemical reactions that create acid mine drainage can occur for centuries after mining is completed. Almost all current acid mine drainage problems stem from abandoned mines from the early twentieth century before stricter environmental regulations were in place.
Somerset Conservation District has taken a leadership role in the development of demonstration projects to show the effectiveness of new passive treatment technologies like successive alkalinity-producing systems (SAPS) developed by Damariscotta in use at the Oven Run project sites.
The District:
- Continues to support the efforts of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, and the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation to promote reclamation of abandoned mine lands.
- Works closely with the mining industry to identify and support opportunities for reclamation through remining of abandoned sites.