1. US EPA Region IV Surface Coal Mining Field Activities 2009-2012 Adventures in Mountain Top Mining / Valley Fill Chris Decker

2. Overburden Removed Spoils placed in adjacent valley, Diagram of MTM/VF Process

3. Draglines remove coal, create spoil piles Regrading and continued dragline removal Final regrading, revegetation

5. Environmental Impacts Water Chemistry: Increased conductivity, Ca, Na, Se, K, Mg, Mn, and SO 4 – impacts fish & macroinvertebrates Hydrology – downstream greater base flow Compaction of soils – slow regrowth of trees & and woody plants Loss of streams and wetlands Fragmentation of forests Terrestrial animal communities – Increase grassland birds & snakes, decrease in amphibians cumulative environmental costs have not been fully investigated social, economic and heritage issues x

6. Regulations Mining operations are regulated under: Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 402 – discharges to streams EPA, States Section 404 – filling of streams/wetlands EPA & ACOE Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) Operating standards, permits, inspections DOI

7. What Have We Been Asked To Do Assess current conditions in order to guide permit decisions Establish baseline data for continued monitoring Investigate cumulative impacts

8. A Typical Study Site

9. Field Activities Water Quality Assessment water samples and in-situ monitoring conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, temp metals, hardness, sulfate, chloride, alkalinity, solids Bioassessment Macroinvertebrates - Kentucky MBI Fish - IBI and tissue Stream habitat Hydrologic Permanence Evaluation North Carolina method (2005) trace water flow to origins geomorphology, hydrology, biology document ephemeral, intermittent, perennial Flow status has regulatory implications x

11. Field Work 2009-2012 Number of Projects28 Streams187 Ponds70 Total Water Samples331 In-Situ Water Quality Observations414 Hydrologic Permanence Assessments54 Benthic Macro Samples179 Fish Samples (Tissue)33 Fish IBI11

12. Selected In-Stream Data 2009-2012 METALS (µg/L)MINMEDIANMAX Barium123174 Cadmium0.050.210.81 Calcium110034000250000 Iron1003204800 Lead0.10.272.3 Magnesium87020000160000 Manganese5645800 Mercury0.000550.18.2 Nickel1023.5200 Potassium1000255013000 Selenium2.03.28.5 Hardness61601300 CLASSICALS (mg/L)MINMEDIANMAX chloride0.521.2250 sulfate5.31401100 TDS152701800 TSS4.11192 IN-SITUMINMEDIANMAX conductivity (µS/cm)84203292 pH3.687.699.21 turbidity (NTU)04.151492 BENTHICSMINMEDIANMAX RBP habitat score96144190 Total Taxa Rich.656102 EPT Taxa Richness01534

14. Future Plans New Study Cumulative Impacts of Mining in Eastern Kentucky (CIMEK) Long Term Conductivity Monitoring

15. Cumulative Impacts Study (CIMEK) 60 Stations Sample Quarterly Water Samples Macroinvertebrates Fish Continuous Conductivity Monitoring – 25 stations – deployed HOBO loggers Possible 2 nd year extension ($$$)