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in the pond which was located in the final pit of previous surface <br />• mining activities. As explained earlier in this response, this pond has <br />now been eliminated by the reclamation efforts of Peerless Resources, <br />Inc. as part of the cleanup work on the area disturbed by the <br />Arness-McGriffin Coal Company. The Division has on file records of <br />field pH taken in the pond during 1984 and in years previous. <br />11. The Division does not feel that there is an evidence to su ort <br />the goo icant s reasoning in iscussino the eve ooment of the ow <br />tnere is signirica <br />the low H. The a <br />sections o t e <br />actua evidence to <br />ai for su <br />cation to inc <br />water to oe caus <br />a Discussion <br />RESPONSE: <br />The water that was discharged from the old abandoned underground coal <br />mine into the surface pond located in the final pit of the previous <br />surface mining activities was low in pH. Because the old abandoned <br />• underground coal mine workings dipped upward away from the entries, <br />there existed the situation of gravity discharge from the abandoned <br />workings. However, the relative shallow dip of the abandoned workings <br />allowed any subsurface water that percolated into the abandoned workings <br />to mix with the remaining coal and cause an oxidation reaction with the <br />pyritic sulfur in the coal to form sulfuric acid, thereby lowering the <br />pH of the water. The pH of the water found in the old pond was field <br />checked several times and found to be 3.0 or below. <br />As mentioned above, Peerless Resources, Inc. reclaimed the old pond in <br />late 1984 but left a pipe extending out of the abandoned workings for <br />discharge into the sediment pond. The location of this pipe and the <br />discharge point is shown on the revised Mine Facilities Map (Map 12). <br />The March, 1985 quality measurement of the discharge from this pipe <br />indicates that the pH of this water is now approximately 5.0. Although <br />still somewhat on the low side, this pH reading is considerably higher <br />. than the field measurements noted in the old abandoned pond in mid-1984. <br />Peerless Resources, Inc. believes that as the abandoned workings are <br />-24- <br />