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A Site Specific Impact Study: Valley Fill Construction Impacts On Water Chemistry And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, Terry Morton Tomasek

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Downstream impacts of contour surface mining and valley fill construction were evaluated utilizing both water chemistry and EPA approved Rapid Bioassessment Protocol III. Wiley Branch was sampled in February of 1999 before mining perturbation. Five downstream stations were established with benthic macroinvertebrates and water samples collected seasonally for a period of sixteen months. Water chemistry parameters, pH, total aluminum, iron, and manganese, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, sulfates, alkalinity, acidity and specific conductivity fluctuated but generally remained within acceptable governmental limits. Initially, benthic macroinvertebrate communities were well balanced within the stream. There was a high abundance of EPT individuals …