City renews complaints over mine discharges

Tuscaloosa city officials are, again, voicing complaints over sediment and chemical discharges into Harris Lake from a nearby mining operation.

Last month, City Hall alerted the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Surface Mining Commission that the operators of Deerlick West Mine were improperly discharging water into a stream that flows into the man-made reservoir.

Those complaints led to an enforcement crackdown on Cahaba Resources LLC, the company that operates the surface mine off Lake Harris Road. In turn, the company implemented additional environmental safeguards to prevent repeat offenses.

But the city’s concerns were renewed last week, when newer water samples showed that sediment loads and chemical compositions were, again, higher than permitted levels as outlined in the mine’s federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit.

Specifically, in samples collected on Feb. 6, Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, the total amount of suspended and dissolved solids exceeded permitted levels as did the amount of iron in two of the three samples.

“As you can see, the problem continues in spite of the measures which Cahaba Mining was required to undertake and stated that they had in fact employed to prevent the continued sedimentation of Harris Lake,” said Deputy City Attorney Tom Bobitt to the Alabama Surface Mining Commission. “The results indicate that the problem remains ongoing and any such measures which were taken by Cahaba Mining have been deficient or ineffective to cease allowing sediments into Harris Lake which are in excess of their permit limits.”

Zachary Wilbanks, founder of Wilbanks Engineering & Environmental Solutions LLC and the engineer of record for Cahaba Resources LLC, said the unpermitted levels captured in the city’s samples were caused by historic rainfall events that are likely to go unrepeated.

He also pointed out that the site was previously mined when regulations were much more lax than they currently are, which has contributed to what Wilbanks called a “nasty, nasty area.”

He also said that each February sample was taken during a storm, when rainfall is expected to spike suspended solid totals in streams.

“Rain has obviously been an issue,” Wilbanks said. “It’s been an unprecented rainy month.

“If people are out there grabbing samples during a (major) storm, that’s got to be kept in mind.”

Despite this, Cahaba Resources is adding even more measures – additional hay bales, chemicals to cause sediment to fall out of the stream faster and lyme to lower pH levels, for example – before mining operations begin. So far, the only activity on this part of the Deerlick Mine site has been the construction of a retention pond to capture to catch silt, stormwater runoff and other disturbances associated with the planned mining activity and prevent it from reaching Harris Lake.

The rain, however, is something that the Alabama Surface Mining Commission is considering.

On Feb. 6, when average rainfall totals about 0.2 inches, almost 4.5 inches of rain was recorded in Tuscaloosa.

And on Feb. 11, rainfall totals exceeded 5 inches.

In her response to Bobitt’s renewed complaint, Kathy H. Love, executive director of the Alabama Surface Mining Commission, said that the excessive rainfall has posed a problem to mining operations statewide.

“Given the extraordinary amount of rain, Deerlick in one of many sites (that) are having trouble being able to treat and control the runoff,” Love said. “I don’t think anyone was prepared for rain (more than) 5 times the norm. …

“Not that I’m trying to make excuses, just stating the facts of the situation. We will continue to monitor the mine site, push for stronger control features and further penalize the operator where appropriate.”

But this isn’t enough for Mayor Walt Maddox, who has been raising concerns over this mine since last year as it navigated the completion of its permitting process.

Maddox and other city officials were among the only Tuscaloosa-area residents to speak in opposition of the mine during a public hearing last summer, and the mayor has repeatedly voiced his worries that the mine would negatively affect Harris Lake and the recreational amenities that are planned for the area under the Elevate Tuscaloosa plan.

“Unfortunately, the impression that I have and the impression that our team members have is that those who are in charge of protecting our environment were more worried about having a strip mine in business than protecting a water source in Tuscaloosa,” Maddox said. “Throughout this process, we have been sounding the warning bells on this project. It was logical and predictable that, in any significant rain event, that Harris Lake would be threatened.

“Whose side are they on: the strip miner or the people of Tuscaloosa? Their actions will determine that.”

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.