Office of Special Reclamation

About

The Office of Special Reclamation is part of the Division of Land Restoration. Special Reclamations is mandated by the State of West Virginia to protect public health, safety and property by reclaiming and treating water on all bond forfeited coal mining permits since August 1977 in an expeditious and cost effective manner. Funding is from forfeited bond collections, civil penalties and the Special Reclamation Tax on mined coal.

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Contact Us

Matthew Butler, Deputy Director
1159 Nick Rahall Greenway
Fayetteville, WV 25840
Phone (304) 574-4465 x00243
Email Matthew.L.Butler@wv.gov

Staff Contacts and Regional Offices

What We Do

The Special Reclamation Fund Advisory Council's (SRFAC) primary purpose is ensuring the effective, efficient, and financially stable operation of the Special Reclamation Fund and the Special Reclamation Water Trust Fund. Each appointed member serves a term of six years, and the SRFAC meets quarterly.

According to WV Code § 22-1-17 the Council shall consist of eight members:

  1. The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee

  2. The Treasurer of the State of West Virginia or his or her designee

  3. The Director of the National Mine Land Reclamation Center at West Virginia University

  4. Five members to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate

    1. A member serving as an actuary/economist

    2. A member representing the interests of the coal industry

    3. A member representing the interest of environmental protection organizations

    4. A member representing the interests of coal miners

    5. A member representing the interests of the general public

West Virginia has an alternative bonding system known as the Special Reclamation Fund (SRF). When the amount of bonds that are forfeited are less than the actual cost of reclamation the DEP shall use monies from the SRF to complete reclamation.The SRF is comprised of multiple revenue sources but as can be seen below, a majority of the fund comes from a tax collected for each ton of clean coal mined in the state. The tax, which is collected by the state tax commissioner, is currently set at 27.9 cents per ton.

In 2008 a bill was passed that created the Special Reclamation Water Trust Fund (WTF). This fund was created to ensure a reliable source of capital to reclaim and restore water treatment systems on forfeited sites. To ensure that monies are available to pay for long term water treatment the DEP, in consultation with the Special Reclamation Fund Advisory Council, decided to pay for all reclamation, both land and water, from the SRF until 2019. This would allow the WTF to build enough assets to pay for water treatment into the future.

Funding Breakdown

  • Coal Tonnage Fees: 78.30%
  • Bond Forfeitures: 13.30%
  • Civil Penalties: 4.40%
  • Interest Income: 2.10%
  • Other Revenues: 1.90%

Notes:

  • The current tax structure deposits 15 cents of the 27.9 cents into the WTF
  • The remaining 12.9 remains in the SRF.

The Office of Special Reclamation is required to reclaim mine sites that have had their permits revoked and bonds forfeited. Reclamation is to be conducted in accordance with the approved reclamation plan as submitted by the operator or modifications thereof, including actions to remediate any acid mine drainage (AMD) from the site.

Examples

Land reclamation activities may include the reclamation of:

Dangerous Impoundments
Water pooled at an impoundment site
Coal Processing Plants
Abandoned coal processing plant
Refuse Piles
Refuse pile left behind by industry
Dangerous High Walls
High land walls left behind by mining industry


Gallery: Land Reclamation Sites Before and After

Click each image to enlarge for more detail.

Before Reclamation
Before reclamation: Dangerous open mine portal at the Anderson Coal Co mine in Nicholas County.
Dangerous open mine portal at the Anderson Coal Co mine in Nicholas County.
After Reclamation
After reclamation: Bat gate installed at open mine portal allowing for ingress and egress of bats.
Bat gate installed at open mine portal allowing for ingress and egress of bats.
Before Reclamation
Before reclamation: Pooled water from acid mine drainage at the Cheyenne Sales Co. prep plant
Pooled water from acid mine drainage at the Cheyenne Sales Co. prep plant.
After Reclamation
After reclamation: Grass, trees, and a healthy wetland on the site of the former Cheyenne Sales Co. prep plant.
Grass, trees, and a healthy wetland on the site of the former Cheyenne Sales Co. prep plant.
Before Reclamation
Before Reclamation: Dangerous high walls, some sliding, at the site of the former Cheyenne Sales Co Refuse Area.
Dangerous high walls, some sliding, at the site of the former Cheyenne Sales Co Refuse Area.
After Reclamation
After Reclamation: Land walls stabilized and planted with grass. Drainage added to prevent further controlled erosion.
Land walls stabilized and planted with grass. Drainage added to prevent further controlled erosion.
Before Reclamation
Before Reclamation: Upshur County, Carson One Mining Prep Plant showing equipment left behind to rot as well as dangerous land walls and other refuse.
Upshur County, Carson One Mining Prep Plant showing equipment left behind to rot as well as dangerous land walls and other refuse.
After Reclamation
After Reclamation: Former Carson One Mining prep plant site lush with vegitation, old equipment removed, and fully remediated.
Former Carson One Mining prep plant site lush with vegitation, old equipment removed, and fully remediated.
Before Reclamation
Before Reclamation: Antaeus Gary slurry impoundment in McDowell County during a devastating blowout in 2002.
Antaeus Gary slurry impoundment in McDowell County during a devastating blowout in 2002.
Before Reclamation
Tug Fork River at the time of the Antaeus Gary slurry impoundment blowout. Mass amounts of coal slurry is dumping into the river.
Tug Fork River at the time of the Antaeus Gary slurry impoundment blowout.
Before Reclamation
Antaeus Gary slurry impoudment during reclamation. Bulldozers are shown leveling and stablizing the site.
Antaeus Gary slurry impoudment during reclamation
After Reclamation
Antaeus Gary after emergency reclamation. The site is now a stepped slope, re-vegitated, and stablized.
Antaeus Gary after emergency reclamation


The Office of Special Reclamation is responsible for maintaining an inventory of quarry operations that have had their permits revoked and bonds forfeited, and when necessary completing reclamation according to the approved reclamation plan.

The West Virginia Quarry Reclamation Act which establishes rules for quarrying and reclamation became effective August 1, 2001. Per WV Code §22-4-22(g) and 23(a), funding comes from the Bond Polling Fund and/or Quarry Reclamation Fund Respectively.

The Office of Special Reclamation is required to treat polluted mine drainage from mine sites that have had their mining permits revoked and bonds forfeited. Polluted mine drainage may be acidic with pH values less than the lower acceptable limit for water quality standards (< 6 on a standard pH scale) and high metal content, primarily iron, aluminum, and manganese, or alkaline with a higher pH (>6) and high metal content, usually iron.

Acid mine drainage, generally referred to as AMD, requires alkaline addition to raise the pH. Alkalinity is generally in the form of lime products such as limestone or hydrated lime, or other products such as sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, or anhydrous ammonia.

Alkaline mine drainage, on the other hand, does not require any pH adjustments. This type of mine drainage is generally treated passively which requires ample space for treatment. If ample space is not available, alkaline mine drainage may require chemical addition in the form of oxidizers, coagulants, or polymers which enhance the settling of metal particulates resulting in clearer water.

Treating Acid Mine Drainage

The Office of Special Reclamation uses two basic approaches for treating acid mine drainage (AMD):

  • Active Treatment uses a chemical neutralizing agent, such as lime or sodium hydroxide, that is added directly to the AMD at the source.

  • Passive Treatment utilizes a treatment system in which the AMD passes through a neutralizing media, such as limestone, or a structure that enhances metal precipitation such as a wetland or settling pond.

Gallery: Active and Passive AMD Treatment Sites

Omega Mining
Omega Mining, as inherited by the WVDEP OSR upon bond forfeiture. Four pools of AMD are shown, terraced on a hillside
Omega Mining, as inherited by the WVDEP OSR upon bond forfeiture.
Omega Mining
Omega Mining upgraded to meet more stringent NPDES limits. The AMD pools are now being treated and the water is now clear.
Omega Mining upgraded to meet more stringent NPDES limits.
Solitaire Coal Corp
Solitaire Coal Corp site in Webster County during reclamation. A limestone bed has been put in place and retention ponds set up.
Solitaire Coal Corp site in Webster County during reclamation.
Solitaire Coal Corp
Solitaire Coal Corp site in Webster County after reclamation. Now a vegitated wetland.
Solitaire Coal Corp site in Webster County after reclamation.
AMD Sources
A coal refuse pile in the background. Foreground shows orange water, indicative of high iron content.
AMD seeping from a coal refuse pile. The orange color is indicative of iron.
AMD Sources
Background shows evidence of collapsed mine portal. In the foreground is orange ice/water slurry indicative of iron
AMD seeping from a collapsed mine portal. Orange color is indicative of iron.
Sludge Management
A 6-inch diesel pump removing sludge accumulation from the bottom of a settling pond.
Using a six-inch diesel pump and Geo Tubes, accumulated sludge is removed from the bottom of a settling pond.
Active Treatment Site
A conventional active treatment site showing sludge drying cells, AMD collection ditch, lime silo, and settling ponds.
Conventional Active Treatment Site Operated by the OSR
Passive Treatment Site
Wetland plants planted around an AMD site and a limestone bed are shown.
Examples of passive treatments utilizing wetland plants and limestone beds.


Permitted In-Stream Approach

West Virginia has nearly 2,500 miles of stream that are impaired by acid mine drainage (AMD). The source of impairment is primarily from abandoned mine lands (AML), which are lands that were mined and left in an unreclaimed condition prior to the enactment of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The DEP's Office of Abandoned Mine Lands & Reclamation is responsible for the restoration of these lands and waters. Although the protection of public health, safety, and property is a higher priority than water restoration is as established under SMCRA, the WV AML program began looking for more effective means of treating AMD and achieving an established goal of full stream restoration to a quality that supports fisheries. The WV AML program elected to move in a new direction and utilize in-stream active treatment. Instead of treating one source with passive treatment, WV AML would treat an entire watershed using in-stream dosers placed on tributaries impacted by AMD.

The Office of Special Reclamation (OSR) is required to treat water at each bond forfeited site with mine drainage related problems. OSR is also required to apply for and obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits (NPDES) at all bond forfeiture sites requiring water treatment. This requirement, at times, results in OSR discharging compliant water into dead streams.

Building upon the success of the WV AML program and their efforts to treat in-stream, thereby restoring an entire watershed, the DEP pursued an innovative “In-Stream Permit” approach that would allow OSR to treat AMD in a similar fashion to improve water quality while meeting regulatory obligations. This innovative approach would require a variance to water quality standards. The WV Legislature approved variances for two watersheds during the 2016 legislative session, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the variance for one of two watersheds included in the variance application. Full approval by the EPA is anticipated. As this is a new approach, the EPA will assist DEP in drafting the in-stream permit. The variance applications and supporting documentation can be viewed in the attachments below.

Learn More


Gallery: Restoration Projects

Sandy Creek Watershed
Map of Sandy Creek Watershed Restoration project. Goal is to restore approxmiately 9.5 miles of Little Sandy Creek and 7 miles of Sandy Creek
Goal is to restore approxmiately 9.5 miles of Little Sandy Creek and 7 miles of Sandy Creek
Sandy Creek Watershed
Map of Sandy Creek Watershed Restoration project showing in-stream doser locations
A doser is a silo that holds a chemical reagent; hydrated lime, or lime slurry, that is dispensed into the stream at a regulated rate.
Muddy Creek Watershed
Map of Muddy Creek watershed. Goal is to restore the lower 3.4 miles of Muddy Creek thereby reestablishing biological connectivity throughout approximately 15.6 miles of stream
Goal is to restore the lower 3.4 miles of Muddy Creek thereby reestablishing biological connectivity throughout approximately 15.6 miles of stream
Muddy Creek Watershed
Map of Muddy Creek watershed showing in-stream doser locations, water pipelines and a combined treatment facility.
Restored the lower 3.4 miles of Muddy Creek and reestablished biological connectivity throughout approximately 15.6 miles of stream.