Table of Contents

Volume 1 of 3

Page No.

Executive Summary

ix

1.0 Introduction

1-1

1.1 General Considerations

1.2 Purpose and Scope of the Study

1.3 Project Overview

1-2

1.3.1 Project History

1-3

1.3.2 Study Area Selection Criteria

1-4

1.4 Public Notification

1-6

1.5 General Description of Field Program Activities

2.0 Description of Study Area

2-1

2.1 Location and Physical Setting

2.2 Population

2.3 Land Use – Washington County

2.4 Position of Study Area in Relation to Factors Affecting Stream, Wetland, and Riparian Area Quality

2-2

2.4.1 Croplands and Pasturelands

2-3

2.4.2 Populated Areas Including Construction

2.4.3 Longwall Mining Operations

2.4.4 Adjacent Roadways

2-4

3.0 Longwall Mining Techniques and Historical Operations

3-1

3.1 General Description

3.2 Study Area

3-2

4.0 Characterization of Regional and Local Geology, Hydrogeology, and Hydrology

4-1

4.1 Physiography

4.2 Regional Geology

4.2.1 Pennsylvania System

4-2

4.2.1.1 Conemaugh Group

4.2.1.2 Monongahela Group

4.2.2 Permian System – Dunkard Group

4-3

4.2.2.1 Waynesburg Formation

4.2.2.2 Washington Formation

4-4

4.2.2.3 Greene Formation

4-5

4.2.3 Quaternary System

4-6

4.2.4 Coal Resources

4.3 Structural Geology

4-7

4.3.1 Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province

4.3.2 Prototypical Area of the Pittsburgh Low Plateau Section

4.3.3 Joint Systems

4-8

4.3.4 Lineaments

4.3.5 Very Low Frequency Survey

4-9

4.4 Soils

4-10

4.4.1 Washington County Soil Survey

4.4.2 Colluvial Deposits

4-12

4.5 Hydrogeology

4-12

4.5.1 General

4.5.2 Aquifer Characteristics

4-13

4.5.3 Washington County Hydrogeology

4-14

4.6 Hydrology

4.6.1 Drainage Basin Characteristics

4.6.2 Upper Ohio – Wheeling Watershed

4.7 Climatology

4-15

5.0 Evaluation of Premining Characteristics

5-1

5.1 Sources of Information

5.2 Premining Geomorphology

5.3 Premining Hydrology and Surface Water Quality

5-2

5.4 Premining Riparian Vegetation, Wetlands, In-Stream Macroinvertebrates, and Fish

1993 Detailed Topographic Map – Mined Area

6.0 Evaluation of Postmining Geomorphologic and Hydrologic Characteristics

6-1

6.1 Broad Assessment of Post-Mining Geomorphologic and Hydrologic Conditions

6-2

6.1.1 Identification of Structural Groundwater and Surface Water Control Features

6.1.2 Classification of Valley Slope Materials

6.1.3 Determination of Valley Morphology and Type

6-3

6.1.4 Delineation of Robinson Fork Watershed

6.1.5 Classification of Channel Morphology

6.1.5.1 Mined Segment

6.1.5.1.1 Channel Pattern

6.1.5.1.2 Channel Shape

6.1.5.2 Unmined Segment

6-4

6.1.5.2.1 Channel Pattern

6.1.5.2.2 Channel Shape

6.1.6 General Characteristics of Channel and Valley Morphology

6.1.6.1 Mined Segment

6-5

6.1.6.1.1 Valley Slope

6.1.6.1.2 Channel Slope

6.1.6.1.3 Meander Geometry

6.1.6.2 Unmined Segment

6.1.6.2.1 Valley Slope

6.1.6.2.2 Channel Slope

6.1.6.2.3 Meander Geometry

6.2 Level I Stream Classification

6-6

6.3 Detailed Evaluation of Post-Mining Geomorphologic and Hydrologic Conditions

6-7

6.3.1 Postmining Geomorphology

6-8

6.3.1.1 Identification and Mapping of Bedform Features

6.3.1.1.1 Mined Segment

6-9

6.3.1.1.2 Unmined Segment

6.3.1.2 Delineation of Flood-Prone Areas

6-10

6.3.1.3 Description of Bank Materials and Dimensions

6.3.1.3.1 Mined Segment

6.3.1.3.2 Unmined Segment

6-11

6.3.1.4 Stream Bank Stability

6.3.1.5 Bank and Channel Aggradation

6-12

6.3.1.5.1 Mined Segment

6.3.1.5.2 Unmined Segment

6-13

6.3.1.6 Bank and Channel Degradation

6.3.1.6.1 Mined Segment

6.3.1.6.2 Unmined Segment

6.3.1.7 Channel Cross-Sectional Morphology

6-14

6.3.1.7.1 Mined Segment

6.3.1.7.2 Unmined Segment

6.3.1.8 Morphology of Longitudinal Channel Profile

6-15

6.3.1.8.1 Mined Segment

6.3.1.8.2 Unmined Segment

6-16

6.3.1.9 Mean Stream Depth and Maximum Stream Depth

6.3.1.9.1 Mined Segment

6-17

6.3.1.9.2 Unmined Segment

6.3.1.10 Channel Sediment Thicknesses

6.3.1.10.1 Mined Segment

6-18

6.3.1.10.2 Unmined Segment

6.3.1.11 Description of Channel Materials

6.3.1.12 Pebble Count

6.3.1.12.1 Mined Segment

6-19

6.3.1.12.2 Unmined Segment

6-20

6.3.1.12.3 Particle Size in Relation to Stream Power

6.3.2 Postmining Hydrology

6-21

6.3.2.1 VLF Screening

6.3.2.2 Quantification of Hydrologic Parameters

6.3.2.2.1 Entrenchment Ratio

6.3.2.2.2 Width/Depth Radio

6.3.2.2.3 Mean Surface Water Velocity and Discharge

6-22

6.3.2.2.4 Channel Proportions

6-24

6.4 Level II Stream Classification

6-25

Table 6-1 – Summary of Sedimentological and Stream Bank Data, Mined Segment

Table 6-2 – Summary of Sedimentological and Stream Bank Data, Unmined Segment

Table 6-3 – Summary of Pebble Count Data, Mined Segment

Table 6-4 – Summary of Pebble Count Data, Unmined Segment

Table 6-5 – Summary of Surface Water Velocity and Discharge

7.0 Current and Background Surface Water Quality

7-1

Table 7-1 – Summary of Surface Water Analytical Data

8.0 Evaluation of Postmining Values and Functions of Stream, Wetlands, and Riparian Areas

8-1

8.1 Study Objectives

8.2 Background

8.3 Channel Classification

Table 8-1 Channel Unit Classification as Developed by Peterson and Rabeni (2001) for Ozarkian Streams

8-3

Table 8-2 Channel Units Descriptive Information as Adapted from McKenney (1997)

8-4

8.4 Study Area Description

8-5

Figure 8-1 – Robinson Fork Watershed, Washington County, Pennsylvania

8-6

Figure 8-2 – Typical Land Use Pattern Found in the Robinson Fork Watershed with Hayland and Pasture on Ridgetops and Forested Areas on Steeper Hillsides and in Ravines

8-7

Figure 8-3 – Stream Bank Damage Associated with Cattle Access in Headwaters of Robinson Fork      8-8

8-8

Figure 8-4 – Typical Valley-Floor View of Robinson Fork.Stream Channel is Located Against Hillside at Left of Photograph Inside Treeline

8-9

8.5 Methods

8.5.1 Physical Habitat Measurement

8-10

Figure 8-5 – Obstruction Pool (Left) and Lateral Pool (Right) in Mined Reach of Robinson Fork.  Note Large Boulder in Center of Channel in Left Photograph Deflecting Flow Forming Scour Area and Undercut Bank

Figure 8-6 – Bedrock Riffle in Mined Reach (Left) and Alluvial Riffle in Unmined Reach (Right) of Robinson Fork

8-11

Figure 8-7 – Glide in Mined (Left) and Unmined (Right) Reaches of Robinson Fork

Figure 8-8 – Race Located in Unmined Reach of Robinson Fork.  Note Severe Bank Failure and Erosion along Upper Portion of Photograph

8-12

8.5.1.1 Statistical Analyses

8-13

8.5.2 Fish Sampling

8.5.2.1 Statistical Analyses

8.5.3 Benthic Macroinvertebrates

8-14

8.5.4 Riparian Vegetation

8-16

8.5.5 Wetlands

8.6 Results

8-19

8.6.1 Channel Unit Classification

Figure 8-9 – Cluster Dendogram of Froude Numbers for CUs in the Unmined Reach.  Euclidian-Complete Cluster Method

8-20

Figure 8-10 – Cluster Dendogram of Froude Numbers for CUs in the Mined Reach.  Euclidian-Complete Cluster Method

8-21

Figure 8-11 – Plot of Velocity v Depth for CUs for the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-22

8.6.2 Physical Characteristics

8-23

8.6.2.1 Reach Level

Table 8-3 – Total Number of CUs and Average Length (m), Wetted Width (m), Percent Channel Fill, Surface Area (m²), Volume (m³), and Bank Stability Rating for the Mined and Unmined Study Reaches of Robinson Fork

Figure 8-12 – Box Plot of Length (m) and Wetted Width (m) for CUs for the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-24

Figure 8-13 – Box Plot of Depth (m) and Channel Fill Percentage (%) for CUs for the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-25

Figure 8-14 – Box Plot of Bank Full Width (m) and Bank Stability Rating for CUs for the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-26

Figure 8-15 – Box Plot of Surface Area (m²) and Volume (m³) for CUs for the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-27

8.6.2.2 Channel Units

8-28

Figure 8-16 – Box Plots of Length (m) for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-29

Figure 8-17 – Box Plots of Surface Area (m²) for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

Figure 8-18 – Box Plots of Volume (m³) for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-30

Figure 8-19 – Box Plots of Depth (m) for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

Figure 8-20 – Box Plots of Velocity (m/s) for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-31

Figure 8-21 – Box Plots of Percent Channel Fill for Pools, Riffles, and Races in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

Table 8-4 – Average Length (m), Depth (m), Velocity (m/s), Wetted Width (m), Surface Area (m²), and Volume (m³) for Unmined and Mined Reaches by CU Type.  Numbers in Parentheses Represent Percentage of Total Reach for that Parameter (Length, Surface Area, and Volume)

8-32

Table 8-5 – Average Length (m), Depth (m), Velocity (m/s), Froude Number (Fr), Bank Stability Rating, Surface Area (m²), and Volume (m³) for Lateral and Obstruction Pools in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8.6.3 Biological Communities – Fish

8.6.3.1 Species Richness

Table 8-6 – Sample Station Location, Approximate Length (m), Proximity to Study Area, and Fish Species Richness for Robinson Fork, July 2001

8-33

8.6.3.2 Species Composition

Table 8-7 – Total Number of Individuals and Percent Composition of Fish Species Collected at Sample Stations in Robinson Fork, July 2001.  Numbers in Parentheses are Percent of Total for that Species for that Station

8-34

Table 8-8 – Total Biomass (gm) of Individuals and Percent of Total Biomass of Fish Species Collected Within Study Reaches in Robinson Fork, July 2001.  Numbers in Parentheses are Percent of Total Biomass for that Station

8-35

Figure 8-22 – Biomass (g/m³) for CUs in Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork      8-35

Figure 8-23 – Biomass (g/m³) for Pool CUs in Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork      8-36

8-36

Figure 8-24 – Biomass (g/m³) for Riffle CUs in Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork      8-36

Figure 8-25 – Biomass (g/m³) for Race CUs in Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8.6.3.1 Species Richness

8.6.3.1 Species Richness

8.6.3.1 Species Richness

8.6.4 Benthic Macroinvertebrates

8-37

Table 8-9 – List and Number of Benthic Macroinvertebrates (Individuals) Collected from Riffle CUs in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-40

Table 8-10 – List and Number of Benthic Macroinvertebrates (Individuals) Collected from Pool CUs in the Mined and Unmined Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-43

Table 8-11 – Selected Metrics for Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community in the Unmined and Mined Study Reaches (riffle CUs) of Robinson Fork, Washington County, Pennsylvania

8-45

8.6.5 Riparian Vegetation

8-46

Table 8-12 – Land Use, Canopy Cover, and Riparian Vegetation Structural Coverage for the Unmined and Mined Study Reaches of Robinson Fork.  All Values Are Percentages

Table 8-13 – Prevalent Tree Species in Riparian Transect Plots and Their Occurrence in the Mined and Unmined Study Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-47

Table 8-14 – Prevalent Shrub Species in Riparian Transect Plots and Their Occurrence in the Mined and Unmined Study Reaches of Robinson Fork

8-48

8.6.6 Wetlands

8-49

8.7 Discussion

8.7.1 Physical Characteristics

8-51

Figure 8-26 – Lateral Pool Located Near a Gate at the Upper Limit of the Mined Reach.  Note Bar in Center of Photograph Protruding Across Pool

8-53

8.7.2 Fish

8-54

8.7.3 Benthic Macroinvertebrates

8-57

8.7.4 Riparian Vegetation

8.7.5 Wetlands

8-58

Table 8-1A – Comprehensive List of Fish Species Collected in Robinson Fork (Enlow Fork – Wheeling Creek)

Table 8-2A – Comparison of Historical Fish Collections (List of Species – Occurrence [X]) and Current Study (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) on Robinson Fork (Enlow Fork – Wheeling Creek)

Table 8-3A - List of Riparian Vegetation Observed in the Study Reaches (Mined and Unmined) on Robinson Fork (Enlow Fork – Wheeling Creek)

Table 8-4A – List of Prevalent Plant Species in Molinari Wetland on Floodplain of Robinson Fork Within Mined Study Reach

Figure 8-1A – National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Mapping, Mined and Unmined StudyReaches (Dwg 5904205)

Figure 8-1B – PADEP Longwall Mining Study, Wetland Delineation on Floodplain of Mined Reach of Robinson Fork, Molinari Wetland

Figure 8-1C – Photographs of Molinari Wetland

Figure 8-1D – Aerial Photographs of Molinari Wetland

9.0 Conclusions

9-1

9.1 Geomorphologic and Hydrologic Evaluation

9-2

9.2 Assessment of In-Stream Macroinvertebrate and Fish, Wetlands, and Riparian Vegetation

9-8

9.3 Summary

9-12

10.0 Recommendations

10-1

Bibliography

Volume 2 of 3

Sheets

Sheet 1 – Site Location Map, Mined and Unmined Segments, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904203) (Chapter 1.0)

Sheet 2 – Watershed Delineation and Land Use Map, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904416) (Chapter 2.0)

Sheet 3 – General Longwall Panel Map, Enlow Fork Mine (Dwg 5904403) (Chapter 2.0)

Sheet 4 – Area-Specific Longwall Panel Map, Enlow Fork Mine (Dwg 5904415) (Chapter 2.0)

Sheet 5 – Geologic Cross Section, Robinson Fork (Mined Segment) (Dwg 5904418)(Chapter 4.0)

Sheet 6 – Lineament Evaluation, Mined Area, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904411) (Chapter 4.0)

Sheet 7 – Lineament Evaluation, Unmined Area, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904412) (Chapter 4.0)

Sheet 8 – VLF Fracture Survey, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904425) (Chapter 4.0)

Sheet 9 – Soil Maps, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904420) (Chapter 4.0)

Sheet 10 – Channel Plan and Longitudinal Profile, Robinson Fork, Mined Study Segment (Dwg 5904406) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 11 – Channel Plan and Longitudinal Profile, Robinson Fork, Unmined Study Segment (Dwg 5904405) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 12 – Steam Transects, Robinson Fork (Mined Segment) (Dwg 5904407) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 13 – Steam Transects, Robinson Fork (Unmined Segment) (Dwg 5904408) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 14 – Flood Prone Area, Robinson Fork, Mined Segment (Dwg 5904423) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 15 – Flood Prone Area, Robinson Fork, Unmined Segment (Dwg 5904422) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 16 – Sedimentological and Stream Bank Data Transects, Mined and Unmined Study Segments, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904414) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 17 – Aggradational and Degradational Features, Mined and Unmined Study Segments, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904413) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 18 – Particle Size Distributions, Mined and Unmined Sections, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904424) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 19 – Pebble Count Transects, Mined and Unmined Study Segments, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904410) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 20 – Relationship of Stream Discharge to Longwall Mining Panels and Bedrock Fracture Zone, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904426) (Chapter 6.0)

Sheet 21 – Surface Water Sampling Locations, Robinson Fork (Dwg 5904417) (Chapter 7.0)

Volume 3 of 3

Appendices

Appendix A – Photographs

Appendix B – Calculations

Appendix C – Level II Stream Classification Forms

Appendix D – Surface Water Laboratory Analytical Report