Dana Mining Aims to Bypass Dunkard

Washington PA Observer Reporter
5 August 2010
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com

MT. MORRIS - Dana Mining Co. officials outlined a plan Wednesday to improve water quality in the lower portion of Dunkard Creek by constructing a pipeline to transport discharge from its Steele Shaft treatment plant directly to the Monongahela River.

The plan, which also involves managing the discharge flow into the river by the use of underground water storage, was presented at a meeting attended by county and local officials.

Dana Mining President James Laurita Jr. said the "conceptual" plan was developed in cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Protection to address the issue of total dissolved solids in Dunkard Creek.

High levels of total dissolved solids have caused problems on the Mon in recent years and was considered a factor in the growth of algae leading to the Dunkard Creek fish kill that occurred upstream from the Steele Shaft plant.

After studying the issue for about a year and a half, "this is our plan to mitigate our impacts on Dunkard Creek," Laurita said, adding the proposal also includes establishing a trust fund for permanent treatment and possibly addressing the problem of other abandoned mine water "seeps" along the creek.

The portion of the creek impacted by Steele Shaft is downstream from where the fish kill took place last September. Laurita noted that since Steele Shaft began operations in 2004, no fish kills have been reported downstream from its discharge.

The Steele Shaft plant was built by AMD Reclamation Inc., a nonprofit formed by Dana, to address a potential mine water break out from the former Shannopin Mine. The highly acidic water in the mine was reaching a level at which it could breach the surface and pollute Dunkard Creek and the Mon.

Dana worked with the state to develop a solution. It, too, had an interest in the problem. The company mines Sewickley seam coal, which is above the Pittsburgh seam coal that was mined by Shannopin. Dana's mines also were being flooded by the rising Shannopin mine pool.

The state provided a $1.9 million grant and $5.2 million loan for the project. The company has so far spent $13 million in operating costs for the plant and has built a second plant with $23 million in private financing, Laurita said.

The Steele Shaft plant treats the mine water for acidity and for heavy metals, including iron and manganese. Laurita noted the company often increases the alkalinity of the treated water to "buffer" the flow of highly acidic water into the creek downstream from abandoned mine discharges.

The discharge from Steele Shaft, however, also contains high levels of total dissolved solids, averaging about 10,000 milligrams per liter.

Removing the total dissolved solids from the plant discharge is currently not feasible, Laurita said. Reverse osmosis, a system typically mentioned, cannot be used, he said, because the water is high is sulfates.

The proposed plan calls for building a seven-mile pipeline from Steele Shaft to the river. The company also would implement a plan to store water underground when there is low flow or high levels of total dissolved solids in the Mon.

DEP deputy secretary J. Scott Roberts, who attended the meeting, said the department supports the plan. The Mon has a much greater capacity for assimilating the plant's discharge water, he said. The discharge entering the river also will be controlled through the use of underground storage, he said.

The plan, in addition, will address the issue of "osmotic pressure" in Dunkard Creek, an issue which is related to the level of total dissolved solids and is important to the creek's aquatic life, Roberts said.

Under the plan, a study will be conducted to determine the impact of the discharge on the Mon and whether further treatment is necessary, Roberts said.

Laurita also said the company hopes to develop a plan to collect water from other acid mine discharges or "seeps" downstream from the plant that now contribute to high levels of metals and acidity in the stream. The company, in addition, is researching a possible treatment system to address sewage problems along the creek, he said.