Mettiki Trout Farm
Between January 1994 and May 2007, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources - Freshwater Fisheries Division (DNR) and Mettiki Coal, LLC. of Oakland, Maryland entered into a cooperative agreement to construct a trout-rearing facility within the coal company's 10 million gallons per day acid-mine-drainage treatment system. This facility supplemented DNR trout stocking in the newly revitalized North Branch of the Potomac River, which had been deemed "unsalvageable" as a trout habitat.
Introduction
As the vast timber and coal resources of western Maryland were utilized for the expansion and growth of the nation in the 1900s, many of the area streams and rivers were impacted. Many streams that once held vast numbers of native trout became devoid of aquatic life due to siltation and acidity loading. As the nation became more cognizant of its effects on the environment and as laws were enacted to reverse the levels of deterioration, a restoration of aquatic habitat was, and continues to be, noticed in the remote areas of western Maryland.
Companies within the mining industry -- Mettiki Coal, LLC, included -- have been instrumental in the dramatic turnaround in the aquatic sustainability of impacted streams and rivers.
Acid mine drainage can be generally categorized as occurring when iron sulfides -- collectively termed pyrites -- oxidize in the water when there is an absence of calcareous buffering materials. This oxidation produces high concentrations of sulfate and ferrous iron. The ferrous iron is further oxidized in nature to form chemical compunds, or "yellow boy", which impart the typical red or yellow discoloration to stream beds that is characteristic of acid drainage. The most widely used treatment techniques to mitigate acid production include neutralization by alkaline addition and oxidization to precipitate the iron and other metals.
Neutralized water was deposited into local streams and made the water suitable for natural trout life cycles.
Rearing Facility
Floating dock sections (2'x2'x2' polyethylene cubes) are connected with locking plugs to form a stable dock for net support and access. Boat cleats are inserted within a 15 x 20 foot opening and support a 9 ft. deep nylon net. This net contains the trout throughout the growing season. The net mesh size is varied to accommodate different sizes of trout. Fingerlings are placed in the nets at approximately 60 per pound size ranges (3 inch in length). Nets are cleaned periodically by pulling sections up upon the floats and hosing with water sprays.
Conclusion
Combined efforts from Federal, State, and Local concerns, Mettiki Coal, LLC's alkaline inputs had such a beneficial effect on the North Branch water quality that in May of 1996, trout were stocked for the first time into the Potomac, covering an area from the Wilson Bridge in Maryland to the Jennings Randolph Dam -- the previously "unsalvageable" area. Operations at Mettiki have moved away from the Maryland site and into West Virginia, but Mettiki remains involved with the Maryland DNR to devise solutions to continue the operation of the trout-rearing facilities.