Mineral Program

History of Past Mining on the Wayne

Much of the land in southeastern Ohio that is now the Wayne National Forest (Wayne NF) had a long history of coal mining before becoming part of the Forest. Abundant natural resources in Ohio, including coal, clay for bricks, iron ore, and timber, helped power the American industrial revolution starting in the early 1800’s, making Ohio and surrounding states the industrial heartland of the United States by the end of the 19th century.

More than 4,600 underground coal mines can be identified from old mine maps in Ohio, and it’s estimated that an additional 2,000-4,000 underground mines existed but were never mapped. More than 2 billion tons of coal have been produced from underground coal mines in Ohio since 1800. At a minimum, some 600,000 acres (more than 900 square miles) of Ohio are underlain by old coal mines.

Impacts of Past Mining

As a result of past mining and acidic drainage seeping from old mine shafts, there are widespread impacts from coal mining on the plants and animals that live in streams, and on the people who live near them. These impacts include loss of surface water (stream capture) into mines at subsidences, seeps of acid mine drainage containing detrimental levels of acidity and metals, and physical safety hazards. Gob piles (coal waste rock and low-grade coal) are easily eroded, and contribute both acidity and excessive sediment to further degrade streams. Streams impacted by acid mine drainage from coal mines in southeastern Ohio commonly are discolored and have few fish and other normal aquatic species; many miles of creeks are essentially devoid of normal aquatic life.

The scale of the abandoned mine land problems on the Wayne NF and surrounding lands is enormous, and it will take many years and millions of dollars to successfully mitigate the problems. More than 72,000 acres on the Forest have been mined, including underground mining on more than 55,000 acres (86 square miles) of the lands of the Athens Ranger District alone. There are more than 5,500 abandoned mine features including mine portals, mine water seeps, subsidences, mine highwalls, ponds, and gob piles on the Forest. An abandoned mine inventory project has categorized many of these features.

The most heavily mined watershed on the Wayne NF, and the watershed with the most mining-related impacts, is Monday Creek. Due primarily to impacts from abandoned mines,  in the 117 square mile Monday Creek watershed none of the stream meets State of Ohio warm water habitat standards.

Making a Difference - Project Related to AML Restoration

The Wayne NF watershed team and its partners are working to address the impacts of abandoned mines in Monday Creek and other watersheds in southeastern Ohio. This work currently emphasizes addressing coal mine roof collapses or subsidences that capture surface water, as well as improving water quality by adding alkalinity to streams to offset the acidity due to acid mine drainage.  In total, the Forest and partners have completed several projects in the past years, and have planned or ongoing projects in many areas.

 The Wayne and Rural Action signed a Challenge Cost Share Agreement in 2003 to correct several water quality problems in the Big Four Hollow watershed. The agreement brings together Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Minerals Resource Management; The Monday Creek Restoration Project; and the Wayne National Forest, with each contributing money for the needed work. The team will deal with problems that include acid mine drainage seeps produced in abandoned coalmines, a stream channel blocked by strip mining, and erosion triggered by mining activities. They have proposed treating the acid water coming from the seeps with limestone and reconstructing the blocked channel.

Future projects will include even more areas in the effort to restore the natural beauty and diversity of southern Ohio’s streams.

In many areas, mining has disrupted natural stream channels, causing flooding and erosion. The Bear Run Stream channel project restored a natural stream and won national acclaim for the success in restoring a riparian area.