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RECLAMATION SUCCESSDents Run Watershed |
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Watershed before reclamation; heavily affected by
acid mine drainage.
Dents Run is a fine example of how private coal companies are working hand in hand with government agencies to correct past environmental failures, and to maintain a commitment to environmental quality for the future. To make sure pollution doesn’t happen in the future, two strict federal laws, The Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, require stringent water quality protection. Company hydrologists begin their studies in the pre-mining stage, when streams, rivers and aquifers in the mining area are sampled for quality and quantity. Their job continues in careful monitoring of the water throughout the entire mining cycle. As in the case of Dents Run, water quality control is a costly and time-consuming effort. It is also one that yields enormous benefits in preserving and restoring our precious waters. |
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Mineral Information Institute -
www.mii.org |
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The
Dents Run watershed is a 14.6-square-mile area located
in the rolling hills which dot the heart of West Virginia coal country
near Morgantown. Today, Dents Run and its tributaries show no sign of
acid mine drainage that once gave the streams a reddish-orange cast. Nor
is there any hint that the hills once bore the deep scars of surface
mining. More than 400 acres of barren land have been reclaimed,
leaving a rich green cover of vegetation and clear streams reflecting the beauty
of the restored surroundings. Dents Run’s comeback is the result of teamwork
between Consolidation Coal Co. (Consol), the West Virginia Department of
Natural Resources, and the Environmental Protection Agency.