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Show only defer stream improvement now long overdue. (5) Educational programs designed to acquaint citizens with pollution conditions and measures re- quired for correction are an essential item in pollu- tion control and must be continued if success is to be attained. More concentrated efforts in this field are needed. (6) Stream pollution abatement has not kept pace with population and industrial growth in the basin. The problems created thereby threaten to become more serious, unless control agencies' pro- grams accelerate. (7) The Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 7 has stimulated pollution abatement activity, al- though it is too soon to estimate the extent. 3. Need for Control of Acid Mine Wastes The Problem The need for control of acid mine wastes in the upper basin, and means of achieving control. The Situation Acid water discharge or drainage from active or abandoned coal mines seriously affects the head- waters of trie Potomac water system for domestic or industrial use and for fish life. It also destroys quickly any iron or steel which is exposed to it, and not specially protected. Acid mine drainage from active and abandoned coal mines along the streams tributary to the north branch of the Potomac discharge into these streams an amount equivalent to 86 tons of sulfuric acid daily. The sealing of abandoned mines, diversion of surface drainage to prevent entrance into the mines, and pumping the mines out continuously have helped to reduce the formation of the acid, but an economical method of prevention has not yet been found. Aggravation of the acid condition in the north branch of the Potomac may follow a forthcoming change in processes at the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co.'s plant at Luke. This plant has been discharging a large quantity of alkaline waste into the north branch. With the proposed change in process wherein this alkaline waste will be bene- ficially used, the river may be more acid after it passes Luke. The distance downstream that this acid condition may reach is not known. 'Id. 598 One method of control has been tried on a large scale for the sealing of the abandoned mines. The sealing program was started in 1933, under various State health departments, Federal relief agencies, and the Public Health Service. The work was placed on a regional basis in 1935, under the Works Progress Administration and the Public Health Service. This activity continued until 1941. As of 1940, the Works Progress Administration had spent approximately 7 million dollars in nine States on this program. In general, this activity was bene- ficial in reducing the mine acid load on surface streams. At the inception of the program, the exact chemistry of acid production in the mines and methods of preventing its formation were not com- pletely understood. A better understanding prob- ably would have resulted in a somewhat different program with greater benefits per dollar spent. Of even greater importance was the fact that no pro- vision was made for maintenance, so that many benefits of the work have been lost through lack of maintenance. The Bureau of Mines has conducted extensive research on acid mine drainage. As some findings suggest that sealing may not be the most effective method, their research is being forwarded along other lines. Effort is being made by the several State water pollution agencies and the Public Health Service to eliminate the acid condition. However, there is at present no concentrated effort on this problem alone and on account of its different effect on stream conditions from that of ordinary pollution, it seems necessary to give it special consideration. There is at present a greater need for State legis- lation which will fix the responsibility for control- ling the acid mine waste throughout the basin. Some State laws provide that companies carrying on stripping operations post a bond to guarantee proper leveling and maintenance after the coal has been removed. However, the requirements are not adequate to assure proper maintenance, and in most cases the operators forfeit their bonds and do no work with respect to maintaining the abandoned properties. Legislation increasing the bond require- ments and designating the parties responsible for acid mine drainage after the mines have been abandoned is needed in all States of the basin. Conclusions (1) A research program should be initiated at an early date to determine the various causes of acid |