Cow Manure Used to Treat Mine Drainage
Mon Dec 30, 1:48 PM ET Add Science - AP to My Yahoo!
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH - Rarely does anyone advertise to buy 400 tons of cow manure, but that's what Bob Du Breucq did to get enough fertilizer for a water treatment project at a mine in central Pennsylvania.
As vice president of Tanoma Mining Co., which ceased operating in 2000, Du Breucq had the task of putting together a reclamation project to make sure contaminated mine water doesn't pollute nearby waterways.
He settled on building a high-calcium settling pond with limestone and cow manure that will reduce the acidity of water seeping out of the mine — a process that mine reclamation experts say is safe for the environment and inexpensive.
In the past 15 years, a number of passive treatment projects have sprouted in major mining states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia, providing an alternative to chemical treatment plants, said West Virginia University mine reclamation specialist Jeff Skousen. The chemical treatment plants are known as active projects.
"It's a good thing to do because it really aids (news - web sites) soil development and reclamation," he said.
Passive treatment systems — usually made into ponds, channels or wetlands — are also friendly to the wallet. Du Breucq said it cost Tanoma about $200,000 to build its settling pond; a chemical treatment plant would have cost twice as much.
Besides using cow manure, Skousen said other fertilizers such as sawdust, hay and mushroom compost can be just as effective.
Nationwide, more than 4,600 abandoned coal sites are deemed unhealthy and unsafe by the government, said Gene Krueger, an administrator in the federal Office of Surface Mining. The office, however, doesn't track the number or the type of water treatment programs at mines, he said.
Treating acid drainage from abandoned mines is a $5 billion problem for Pennsylvania alone, said Carl Lasher, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. Acids and metals produced by abandoned mines can discharge into streams, killing fish and insects, hurting plant growth and turning water orange.
The state estimates 17,000 miles of streams remain polluted by acid mine drainage.
Lasher said Pennsylvania has responded by operating 20 passive treatment systems, with eight more under construction. West Virginia environmental officials said the state also has worked on a number of passive treatment systems, many alongside conservation groups.
In addition, Lasher said hundreds of Pennsylvania mining companies like Tanoma operate their own treatment systems, which can either be passive or active, at abandoned mine sites.
Du Breucq, who recently completed Tanoma's water treatment project, says he's pleased with the settlement pond.
"It's not a bad way to do it, particularly for the public, the streams and the operators," he said.
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On the Net:
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.dep.state.wv.us/
Mon Dec 30, 1:48 PM ET Add Science - AP to My Yahoo!
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH - Rarely does anyone advertise to buy 400 tons of cow manure, but that's what Bob Du Breucq did to get enough fertilizer for a water treatment project at a mine in central Pennsylvania.
As vice president of Tanoma Mining Co., which ceased operating in 2000, Du Breucq had the task of putting together a reclamation project to make sure contaminated mine water doesn't pollute nearby waterways.
He settled on building a high-calcium settling pond with limestone and cow manure that will reduce the acidity of water seeping out of the mine — a process that mine reclamation experts say is safe for the environment and inexpensive.
In the past 15 years, a number of passive treatment projects have sprouted in major mining states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia, providing an alternative to chemical treatment plants, said West Virginia University mine reclamation specialist Jeff Skousen. The chemical treatment plants are known as active projects.
"It's a good thing to do because it really aids (news - web sites) soil development and reclamation," he said.
Passive treatment systems — usually made into ponds, channels or wetlands — are also friendly to the wallet. Du Breucq said it cost Tanoma about $200,000 to build its settling pond; a chemical treatment plant would have cost twice as much.
Besides using cow manure, Skousen said other fertilizers such as sawdust, hay and mushroom compost can be just as effective.
Nationwide, more than 4,600 abandoned coal sites are deemed unhealthy and unsafe by the government, said Gene Krueger, an administrator in the federal Office of Surface Mining. The office, however, doesn't track the number or the type of water treatment programs at mines, he said.
Treating acid drainage from abandoned mines is a $5 billion problem for Pennsylvania alone, said Carl Lasher, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. Acids and metals produced by abandoned mines can discharge into streams, killing fish and insects, hurting plant growth and turning water orange.
The state estimates 17,000 miles of streams remain polluted by acid mine drainage.
Lasher said Pennsylvania has responded by operating 20 passive treatment systems, with eight more under construction. West Virginia environmental officials said the state also has worked on a number of passive treatment systems, many alongside conservation groups.
In addition, Lasher said hundreds of Pennsylvania mining companies like Tanoma operate their own treatment systems, which can either be passive or active, at abandoned mine sites.
Du Breucq, who recently completed Tanoma's water treatment project, says he's pleased with the settlement pond.
"It's not a bad way to do it, particularly for the public, the streams and the operators," he said.
___
On the Net:
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.dep.state.wv.us/
