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Mettiki Coal, LLC. - Trout Rearing Facility
 The coal industry has long been viewed as providing only negative impacts to the environment and not as a possible resource to utilize, where practical, to benefit local communities. In January of 1994, 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 to supplement the DNR stockings in the newly revitalized North Branch of the Potomac River.
INTRODUCTION
During the past century, as the vast timber and coal resources of western Maryland were utilized for the expansion and growth of the nation, many of the areas' streams and rivers were impacted due to a limited understanding of the effects this extraction could have on the environment. The lack of laws requiring restoration of the land or accountability for water impacts after extraction was a reflection of this lack of understanding and 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 has been noticed in the remote areas of western Maryland.
Although not often recognized for its efforts, companies within the mining industry -- Mettiki Coal, LLC. in particular -- have been instrumental in the turnaround and restoration of historically impacted streams and rivers such as the North Branch of the Potomac River which has its source in extreme western Maryland.
Acid mine drainage can be generally categorized as occurring when iron sulfides -- collectively termed pyrites -- oxidize in the presence of oxygen and water in the absence of calcareous buffering materials to produce high concentrations of sulfate and ferrous iron. The ferrous iron is further oxidized in nature to form ferric oxyhydroxides or "yellow boy" which imparts the typical red or yellow discoloration to stream beds characteristic of acid drainage. (Sengupta 1993) The most widely used treatment techniques to mitigate acid production include neutralization by alkaline addition and oxidization to precipitate the iron and other metals as hydroxide sludge.
Mettiki Coal, LLC. operates a drift mine which enters the outcrop of the 8 1/2 foot Freeport coal seam and dips down starting at a 25% grade towards the Potomac River. Present working sections of the mine are between 2 to 2.5 miles from the mine entrance with an average depth of cover of 600 feet. Over 5 miles of conveyor beltlines transport the raw coal from underground to the surface where the preparation plant cleans the coal of impurities. The coal is then loaded either on rail or trucks for transport to markets.
Rearing Facility
2 ft. x 2 ft. x 2 ft. floating dock sections of polyethylene cubes are connected three or four wide with locking plugs to form a stable dock for net support and access. Boat cleats are inserted within a 15 ft. x 20 ft. opening to support a 9 ft. deep nylon net to contain the trout throughout the growth season. The net mesh size can be varied to accommodate various 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
This cooperative facility has afforded the Maryland Department of Natural Resources , Region 1 Fisheries a much needed cold water resource and has allowed for more trout to be stock into the newly revitalized North Branch of the Potomac River - deemed "unsalvageable" as little as 10 years ago. Combined efforts from Federal, State, and Local concerns coupled with Mettiki Coal, LLC.' alkaline inputs have had such a beneficial effect on the North Branch water quality that in May 1996, trout were stocked for the first time from the Wilson, Maryland bridge over the Potomac down to the Jennings Randolph Dam - an area that even 5 years ago was written off. Keeping in mind that the Mettiki facility imputs the equivalent of 4 tons per day of calcium carbonate alkalinity into the Potomac at Wilson, Maryland, one can see that the coal industry has become an integral part of aquatic restoration efforts within the North Branch drainage basin.
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