Engineering geology, hydrogeology, and reclamation design for the Friar Tuck, Abandoned Mine Lands site in southwest Indiana
Abstract
Friar Tuck, an Abandoned Mine Lands site, is located on the Greene-Sullivan county line one mile north of Dugger, Indiana. Area strip mining was employed to remove Hymera Coal (VI) and Danville Coal (VII). Spoil material from strip mining and refuse material from the coal processing plants and a coal-fired power plant at the site was disposed of indiscriminately across the site. Mud Creek and its tributary, which flow along the northern and western site boundaries, are polluted by acid mine drainage and sediment. The purpose of the project was to conduct a general site characterization prior to the design of reclamation construction and to evaluate the different reclamation techniques. This study was part of a major effort on the project which included personnel from the Indiana DNR, Division of Reclamation; the Indiana Geological Survey; Indiana University; and Purdue University. The approach selected to alleviate pollution from acid water runoff and off-site sedimentation is to stabilize gob pile erosion and establish vegetative cover on the gob piles and the tailings pond. A series of surface runoff control system has been designed to control surface runoff from the Northwest Gob Pile. Results of the PCSTABL5 slope stability program indicated that raising water levels in the Main Tailings Pond would yield an unsafe condition for the embankment. A groundwater flow model was used to estimate the recharge rate from the highwall of Coal VI entering the Hymera spoil area. Groundwater samples from the gob piles show higher values of sulfate, total iron, total dissolved solids, and acidity than groundwater samples in tailings or spoil. The chemistry model, WATEQ4F, was used to analyze the relationship of solubility of sulfate and gypsum in groundwater. The relationship between different chemical constituents in groundwater was analyzed using statistical correlation. Cation exchange between sodium, and calcium and magnesium ions, yielding unusually high concentrations of sodium in some wells, was explained. The study provides an engineering geology framework for reclamation of this complicated site, yielding the necessary details for construction reclamation.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
West, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Geology|Hydrology|Geotechnology
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