Monday,
October 9, 2017
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley
Road, Knoxville
J.L Goins Administration Building
OCTOBER
PRESENTATION
Reclamation of the Lower North Potato Creek Watershed -- A Success Story
By
Thomas McComb
Senior Geologist
Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc.
Greater Nashville Area, Tennessee
Abstract
The Lower North Potato Creek
Watershed is a 4,000-acre site located between Ducktown and
Copperhill, Tennessee in the southeastern corner of the state.
Historic copper, iron, and zinc mining, mineral beneficiation,
and the resulting acid-mine drainage left this watershed
devegetated, severely eroded, and unable to support aquatic life.
The Lower North Potato Creek Project is an example of a mining
megasite – a site with multiple mines, tailings ponds, ore
storage areas, and processing facilities. The project has
progressed from the initial investigations, through remediation
to long-term monitoring. The successful reclamation of the
watershed is a result of the cooperation and communication
between all parties involved with the project to the fast track
project success.
An additional factor in the success of the reclamation of the
Lower North Potato Creek Watershed has been the use of the
innovative approach adaptive management techniques combined with
the use of biological performance goals in place of water quality
goals for the reclamation activities.
The adaptive management process included:
• Construction and operation of an interim water treatment plant to reduce metal loading and acid mine drainage from North Potato Creek to the Ocoee River
• Initial inventories to identify source materials
• Ranking source material by potential impact to the streams
• Phased remedial actions
During all phases of the
project, biological monitoring was conducted focusing on
macroinvertebrate communities and in-stream and riparian habitat
quality at selected locations in North Potato Creek and its major
tributaries. The value of the biological monitoring included
measuring the impact of the remedial actions on the biological
communities to determine which areas would recover and which
areas required additional remedial actions.
Today the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in Lower North
Potato Creek and its tributaries are recovering and fish and
amphibians have returned to the streams. Additionally, the metals
and acid loading in North Potato Creek has been reduced to the
point where the stream flows directly to the Ocoee River without
requiring treatment.
Page updated May 26, 2018 |