Characterization and modeling for remediation of an acid mine drainage system in Centralia, Pennsylvania
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Towson University. Environmental Science and Studies Program
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There are no restrictions on access to this document. An internet release form signed by the author to display this document online is on file with Towson University Special Collections and Archives.
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Abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania produce deleterious mine drainage that impacts several thousand miles of streams in the state. The Mahanoy Creek watershed is one impacted area with both net alkaline and net acidic mine drainage. While the majority of the mine drainage in the watershed is net alkaline, one particularly impacted stream is acidic and drains from the Centralia Mine, which has been on fire since 1962. Sampling for and evaluation of aqueous major ions, metals, and isotopes of water from the acidic Big Mine Run stream and surrounding net alkaline Packer, Girard, and Bast mine drainages was conducted in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. When compared to historic data for these same streams, conditions appear to have remained relatively unchanged. Modeling with PHREEQ-N-AMDTreat using data collected in 2019 was performed to evaluate remediation potential and was able to predict optimal treatment strategies for each of the unique systems.