ABSTRACT
In 1975, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) opened its 225-ha 950 coal mine near Flat Rock, in Jackson County, Alabama. Surface mining continued until 1979, when reclamation was initiated. Impoundment 3, a sediment basin, received acid mine drainage and was treated with sodium hydroxide to meet effluent permit limitations. TVA constructed its first wetland to treat acid drainage emanating from a coal preparation plant slurry disposal area in June 1985. All mining permits had expired and reclamation bonds released, and the Alabama Surface Mining Commission concluded that wetland construction was not associated with mining and no mining permit or postmining land use modification would be necessary. Approval from landowners to construct the wetland was obtained, and long-term access and control of the Impoundment 3 site is in negotiation. The chapter also lists macroinvertebrates present downstream in Kash creek before and after wetland construction and those taxa present within the wetland six months after construction.
