Filters: Tags: Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (X) > Categories: Project (X)
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Background information.— The Powell and Clinch Rivers provide vital habitat for many forms of wildlife and are inhabited by one of the world’s richest and most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003). The rivers are also multiple-use recreation areas and a valuable water source that supplies water for the residents of Lee County, Virginia. The Lone Mountain coal slurry spill released sediment and hazardous substances affecting water quality and impacting 12 Federally listed mussels and critical habitat for 2 Federally listed fish. Fish and mussel habitat depends on the riparian habitats surrounding the river. In order to recover lost fish and mussel habitat, the Lone Mountain...
Background information.—The Powell River watershed has a long history of coal mining. Prior to August 3, 1977, Virginia laws and regulations required the reclamation of areas affected by coal surface mining, but there were no regulations addressing reclamation of underground mines. Flows or seeps from these abandoned mines have long degraded the waters of the Powell River watershed (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2008). Water that is discharged from these sites can be highly acidic and it commonly contains high concentrations of dissolved iron and aluminum sulfates. This acid mine drainage degrades the water quality of streams and water supplies and is a major contributor to aquatic habitat degradation. Led by...
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