PRODIGIOUS STREAM RESTORATION, REHABILITATION AND RECLAMATION

NEEDS IN THE APPALACHIAN COAL FIELDS

J. Steven Kite, Jocelyn Smith & Jennifer Walker West Virginia University

Mountain-Top Removal & Valley Fill, Kayford Mountain, 1997

Presentation Complete with Images is Available at http://www.geo.wvu.edu/~kite/2004SENEGSA.htm

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See Image from:Hooke, R. L., 1999, Spatial distribution of human geomorphic activity in the United States; comparison with rivers: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 24, p. 687-692.

Where is Stream “Restoration” Need Greatest?

Human Earth Movement: Million Tons/Year for1° Longitude by 1° Latitude Grid Cells

2000

Production

Employment

West Virginia Coal Mining

Production (Million Tons) & Employment (Thousands)

Modified from Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail

SM

CR

A

Potomac Mine, Elk Run, Grant Co. WV, June 1999

AOC is Far Removed from Original Landscape Form and Function.

Surface Mine Control & Reclamation Act (SMCRA, 1977) Requires Reclamation to Approximate Original Contour (AOC)

Gullies Downslope of Truncated Stream, North-Central WV

Pre-Mining Pre-Mining Drainage Drainage NetworkNetwork

Post-Post-Reclamation Reclamation

DrainageDrainage

1st and 2nd Order Streams

Decapitated from Rest of

Drainage Network.

Pre-Mining vs. Post-Reclamation Drainage for Three Surface Mine Sites in Northern WV

Pre-Mining

(Map Based)

Post-Reclamation

(Field Based) Net Change

Total Channel Lengths

3 Sites 11,623 m 7384 m - 36.4 %

Control 1866 m 1882 m - 0.1%

1st Order: 2nd Order Bifurcation Ratios

3 Sites 3.38 7.89 +133.4 %Control 2.60 3.17 + 22%

Decrease in Drainage Density and Integration

1st Order Stream Bed Mobilization

on Reclaimed Mine Wastes

Minden AML Site,after 115 cm

Rainfall, July 2001

NPS Photo

Oversized Rock-Lined Slope-Orthogonal 2nd Order Channel Incapable of Most Stream Functions

Unlined Sub-HorizontalAnthropogenic 1st Order “Stream”

Designed NOT to Transport Sediment

“Deranged” DrainageStreams Sub-Parallel to Contour Huge (Rock Lined?) Streams Orthogonal to Slope Straight Channels, 90º Intersction Angles

Permit Area #80-80, 2002, North Central WV

Stream “Restoration” Issues Related to Reclaimed Contour Surface Mines

• Ecological Integrity

• Drainage Integration– Bank-Full and Flood Flows?

• Sediment Supply & Transport

• Natural Stream Design Cost-Benefits vs. Currently Used Structures – Over What Time Frame?

Mountain-Top Removal

More Prodigious Stream “Restoration” Needs: Mountain-Top Removal and Valley Fill

Valley Fill

End-Dump Produces Internal Drainage System

Without Chimney Drain Cost

“Durable” Rock Valley Fill

Some Fills Exceed 100 m in Depth (large dump truck for scale)

Amherst, WV

Completed Durable Rock Valley Fill

>1700 Valley Fillsin WV

Up to 195 hectares (480 acres) each

>1600 km of Streams Filled in WV

Scour of Unmined Colluvial Slope in Valley Fill “Groin,” July 2001

Photo: K. Paybins, USGS

UnfinishedValley FIll

Colluvial Slope

Scoured ColluviumValley Fill Groin July 2001

Valley Fill

Colluvium

J.S. Kite Photo

Cyprus Kanawha Mine Valley Fills: Completed & Under ConstructionPhoto by Lawrence Pierce, Charleston Gazette, 1998

“Natural” Valley Fill Design?

• Materials:Materials:– ““Durable” Rock May Not Be Available in Quantity Durable” Rock May Not Be Available in Quantity – Wrong Geology Yields Bad FillWrong Geology Yields Bad Fill– Channels & Toeslopes Must Be Armored to Avoid Channels & Toeslopes Must Be Armored to Avoid

Run-Away IncisionRun-Away Incision

• Slope Stability = Critical to Stream DesignSlope Stability = Critical to Stream Design– Landslides & Debris Flows Exacerbate Floods Landslides & Debris Flows Exacerbate Floods

• Water Flow Must Be Carefully RoutedWater Flow Must Be Carefully Routed– Groins = VulnerableGroins = Vulnerable

Stream “Restoration” Issues Related to Valley Fills

Habitat Loss & Ecological Integrity

Flood & Baseflow Hydrograph Enhancement or Attenuation?

Sediment Supply & Transport

Selection of Appropriate Analogs?Pre-SMCRA Mining in Most Watersheds

USGS Photo