OCDO-Funded Projcets

Project reports

Remining in Ohio - Hydrologic Background Sampling Options

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

R.D. Zande & Associates, Inc. was contracted by the Ohio Coal Development Office to conduct a study of the current hydrology requirements for obtaining a coal mining operating permit and an associated modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in previously coal mined areas of Ohio. Specifically the study is to evaluate the 12 month sampling period now required and compare it with proposed 6 to 9 month sampling periods for establishing the base line pollutant load. The impetus behind the studv was the need to encourage remining in the State of Ohio due to the large areas of pre-1977 unreclaimed coal mines.

An unintended consequence of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and the Clean Water Act was to discourage coal producers from attempting to recover under utilized coal reserves from areas mined before 1977 because of the risk of unlimited reclamation costs and NPDES discharge liability. To address this problem, the Rahall Amendment, a 1987 amendment to Section 301 subsection (p) of the federal Clean Water Act, put in place federal regulations which allowed states to issue modified NPDES permits for remining sites. The Rahall Amendment requires determination of the baseline pollutant load discharging from the streams. However, it does not address, and leaves to the determination of each state the requirements for establishing a baseline. In response several Midwest state legislatures, with Pennsylvania taking the lead, passed legislation to utilize the Rahall Amendment in remining programs for each individual state.

This study reviewed neighboring states' requirements for background sampling. The duration and frequency of sampling for a regular coal mining permit and NPDES permit were almost the same for all the states studied, with 6 months of sampling required, at a frequency of once a month. For a remining permit 12 months of background sampling was required in most states, with a sampling frequency varying from weekly to once a month. Of the states, Pennsylvania's remining program is by far the most advanced and most successful in that more than 200 remining permits have been issued. West Virginia has the next highest number, six as of 6/30/97 (Ohio has issued 2 remining permits).

Among the pertinent papers found in the literature search were two studies completed by Michael W.Smith of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Jay W. Hawkins of Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) specifically studying background sampling for remining permits and comparing duration and frequency. A third very useful publication was U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ohio Water Year 1994 which provided information on Ohio's hydrological cycle.

Ohio's policy toward remining is currently evolving. Ohio's initial regulations (Ohio Administrative Code [OAC] 1501:13415) required 12 months of twice a month sampling to obtain a modified NPDES permit. On 11/27/95 the sampling policy was changed from twice a month to once a month. Ohio Department of Natural Resources/Mines and Reclamation Division (ODNR) Policy/Procedure Directive (PPD) 971, effective 2/26/97, reduced sampling locations to upstream and downstream of the permit area. Reclamation liability also was reduced from 5 years to 2 years. ODNR and OSM work groups are currently reviewing other recommended changes in remining regulations.

Discussions with Ohio coal operators found there were a number of reasons they are not remining in Ohio despite the current Ohio remining program. The chief ones were as follows:

(1) In the operators' view, the 12month sampling duration for a modified NPDES permit is too long in comparison to the requirements for a regular mining permit. The length of time increases costs. The competitive pressures of the current Ohio coal market require a shorter permitting time.

(2) The uncertainty in the permitting process. Most operators felt comfortable working with ODNR, but felt there was a great deal of uncertainty associated with the review process by Ohio Environmental Protection Agency/Division of Surface Water (OEPA), which issues the modified NPDES permit.

Of the Ohio coal operators that were interviewed, only one is currently considering or actually applying for a modified effluent permit. The other operators, except possibly one, do not plan to apply for a modified effluent permit until additional changes are made in the requirements.

The facts below were drawn from the survey of the neighboring states, literature research, and interviews with regulatory and coal industry personnel.

(1) The current procedures for remining in Ohio actually discourage rather than encourage the practice. Therefore, current practices delay reclamation which would physically improve the environment.

(2) The current regulatory standard for background sampling for regular coal mining operating and NPDES effluent permits is six months of monthly sampling.

(3) The current regulatory standard for background sampling for coal remining permits is 12 months of samples, sampled once or twice monthly.

(4) Pennsylvania is the only state in the Midwest whose remining program successfully encourages reclamation of pre 1977 mined areas.

(5) Pennsylvania's program is successful because it is standardized and designed to give the operator a quick response and a large degree of control over the process.

(6) Current Ohio requirements for obtaining a remining permit increase the permitting process from 8 to 12 months for a regular permit, to 14 to 18 months for a remining permit.

(7) Ohio coal operators note that Ohio's requirements for obtaining a modified NPDES permit are too burdensome because of the length of background sampling required, the time and effort required to obtain approval, and the underlying uncertainty of what modified NPDES standards would be approved by OEPA.

(8) State of Ohio and federal regulatory personnel have formed working groups to address operator concerns and are currently modifying federal and state regulations to make remining more attractive.

(9) Attempts to calculate the total surface and groundwater entering a permit area and the total surface and groundwater leaving the permit area (water balance) at remining sites are very difficult because of the complexity of the disturbed areas, and as a result the Key samples in pollutant load calculations are the downstream discharge samples.

(10) Flow rate is the primary factor that determines the variability of pollutant load.

(11) Statistical evaluations of preremining and postremining surface and groundwater sample results indicate that regular sampling intervals, such as once a month, provide the most reliable data for determining pollutant load.

(12) Among the three proposed time durations for background sampling (12, 9, and 6 months), 12 months provides marginally more reliable data for pollutant load calculations.

(13) Although not as reliable as 12 months of sampling, 9 and 6 months provide accurate estimates of pollutant load, based on statistical evaluations of preremining and postremining surface and groundwater sample data.

(14) Nine months of sampling does not provide a significant increase in reliability over six months of sampling.

(15) Ohio's streams typically have a hydrological cycle where low flow occurs in September and October, then gradually increasing to a peak high flow in March, followed by a gradual decrease to the low flow months. The pollutant load estimate must compensate for this cycle.

The following recommendations were drawn from the survey of the neighboring states, literature research, and interviews with regulatory and coal industry personel.

(1) Change the requirement of 12 months of background sampling to determine baseline pollutant load to a time interval of 6 months. Changing the sampling interval from 12 months to 6 months will make remining and regular coal permits comparable in requirements, and will not be a disincentive to obtaining modified effluent permits. This change can be made and still adequately protect the environment. In fact, as it will encourage coal remining in Ohio, it potentially will have the effect of greatly improving the environment because of the associated reclamation of abandoned coal mines.

(2) ODNR should make available to coal operators the historical surface and groundwater information in ODNR files from prior coal mining permits. Much of this data could be used as background information for new permit areas if data could be found in the same watershed. This data could be used to establish the modified NPDES standards for a remining permit.

(3) The method of calculation of baseline pollutant load should incorporate compensations for the period of year the 6 months of background samples are collected. It should also compensate for average yearly precipitation based on historical data, so that baseline pollutant load calculations are not skewed by a very wet or very dry year.

(4) Modify Ohio's sample location requirements, as is the current remining permitting practice in Pennsylvania, to take into account that flow rate and discharge amounts are the primary variables that affect pollutant load as is the current remining permitting practice in Pennsylvania.

(5) Regulators should standardize the procedures for obtaining a remining permit by issuing guidance manuals for coal operators, establishing review deadlines (contingent upon a complete permit application from operator), and coordinating public comment periods between ODNR and OEPA.

(6) Regulators should modify the manner of public comment procedures associated ~,with the antidegradation rules so that the general public is not given the erroneous impression that by issuing modified NPDES permits, the regulatory agencies are allowing Ohio coal mining company operations to discharge higher pollutant loads than those that presently exist.

(7) Ohio Regulators should consider using computerized statistical packages for calculations of modified effluent standards, such as Pennsylvania's REMINE.

(8) Where appropriate, Pennsylvania's successful remining procedures should be examined and incorporated into Ohio remining policy.

(9) The Ohio regulatory agencies should investigate the possibility of having one agency (ODNR would be the logical choice) issue both the remining permit and the modified NPDES permit, in order to streamline the review process.

(10) The agencies should consider developing a general permit for remining as suggested by USEPA in a recent remining working group meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(11) Ohio agencies should consider instituting an Ohio State water quality standard variance policy for remining sites based on BPJ, as implemented in West Virginia, for example.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of this report please complete the attached order sheet and return it to OCDO.