West Virginia has not directed sufficient resources to treat acid mine drainage effectively

Acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines continues to cause major problems in the State of West Virginia (in the United States), and groups of local residents are attempting to improve water quality by managing passive treatment systems. The challenges faced by these groups in obtaining effective treatment system performance are illustrated by experiences of one such group: Friends of the Cheat. As a result of pollution from abandoned coal mines, the lower Cheat River watershed is seriously degraded. West Virginia is failing watershed groups because it provides them with capital costs to initiate and manage treatment of acid mine drainage but does not provide funds for operation and maintenance activities needed for effective treatment. To compensate for the absence of funding to address routine maintenance issues, Friends of the Cheat and other groups apply for government grants to fund retrofits projects, which themselves are not supplied with operating funds. The result is a cycle of ineffective treatment and inefficient use of resources. If West Virginia is going to rely on community-based watershed groups to clean up pollution problems from abandoned coal mines, it should provide them with the resources they need to be successful.