Predicting total dissolved solids release from central Appalachian coal mine spoils.
Appalachian USA surface coal mines face public and regulatory pressure to reduce total dissolved solids (TDS) in discharge waters, primarily due to effects on sensitive macroinvertebrates. Specific conductance (SC) is an accurate surrogate for TDS and relatively low levels of SC (300-500 μS cm(-1)) have been proposed as regulatory benchmarks for instream water quality. Discharge levels of TDS from regional coal mines are frequently >1000 μS cm(-1). The primary objectives of this study were to (a) determine the effect of rock type and weathering status on SC leaching potentials for a wide range of regional mine spoils; (b) to relate leachate SC from laboratory columns to actual measured discharge SC from field sites; and (c) determine effective rapid lab analyses for SC prediction of overburden materials. We correlated laboratory unsaturated column leaching results for 39 overburden materials with a range of static lab parameters such as total-S, saturated paste SC, and neutralization potential. We also compared column data with available field leaching and valley fill discharge SC data. Leachate SC is strongly related to rock type and pre-disturbance weathering. Fine-textured and non-weathered strata generally produced higher SC and pose greater TDS risk. High-S black shales produced the highest leachate SC. Lab columns generated similar range and overall SC decay response to field observations within 5-10 leaching cycles, while actual reduction in SC in the field occurs over years to decades. Initial peak SC can be reliably predicted (R(2) > 0.850; p < 0.001) by simple lab saturated paste or 1:2 spoil:water SC procedures, but predictions of longer-term SC levels are less reliable and deserve further study. Overall TDS release risk can be accurately predicted by a combination of rock type + S content, weathering extent, and simple rapid SC lab measurements.
Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, 0404, 185 Ag Quad Lane, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24061, VA, USA. Electronic address: wdaniels@vt.edu.
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Daniels
Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, 0404, 185 Ag Quad Lane, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24061, VA, USA.
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Zipper
Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, 0404, 185 Ag Quad Lane, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24061, VA, USA.
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Orndorff
Division of Plant & Soil Sciences, 1106 Agricultural Sciences Building, PO Box 6108, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6108, USA.
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Skousen
Department of Forestry, 214 Thomas Poe Cooper Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0073, USA.
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Barton
Division of Plant & Soil Sciences, 1106 Agricultural Sciences Building, PO Box 6108, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6108, USA.
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McDonald
Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, 0404, 185 Ag Quad Lane, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, 24061, VA, USA.
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Beck
D001061:Appalachian Region; D003032:Coal Mining; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D060753:Water Quality
D014873:Water Pollutants; D014867:Water
Mountaintop mining; Reclamation; Soluble salts; Valley fills