RECLAMATION SUCCESS

Ketchup Lake

The 250-acre Pleasant View AML site is located in Hopkins County, Kentucky. This site represents the largest and most expensive project ever undertaken by the Kentucky Abandoned Mined Land Program, and has been recognized by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining as an outstanding example of AML reclamation.

Before the site was reclaimed, the area was locally known as "Ketchup Lake" because it contained some large strip mining pits filled with acidic water. The dissolved iron content was so high that the water in the pits was a deep rusty red color. The site was originally mined in the late 1930's and early 1940's, and was also used as a refuse disposal facility until the mid 1960's. Most of the refuse material was extremely acidic and any rainfall that ran over or through it also became acidic and contained large concentrations of dissolved heavy metals. Prior to reclamation, the 30-acre lake held approximately 300,000,000 gallons of acidic water. Millions of gallons would flow into Greasy Creek, and for many years a significant stretch of the stream was completely devoid of any aquatic life.

Local residents formed a group known as "The Greasy Creek Steering Committee" to bring attention to the area. In 1997 the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet committed nearly $4 million to clean up the site. The reclamation was successfully performed by Rust of Kentucky, Inc. In immediate response to the reclamation, water quality in Greasy Creek improved dramatically, and fish are now returning to the area.
In 1999, hundreds of people gathered at the site for a special ceremony. With the cleanup complete, the property owners, CONSOL Energy, officially conveyed the 250-acre property to the city of Madisonville. City officials are planning soccer fields, fairgrounds, and other recreational facilities for public use. The Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mine Land is constantly looking for projects that will result in a beneficial outcome for the community.

Mineral Information Institute - www.mii.org
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