Abstract:
Granby, Missouri is located in the Newton County Mine Tailings Superfund site
(Site) within the larger Tri-State Mining District of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Ongoing remediation efforts of large mine waste areas centered in and around the city of
Granby in Newton County, Missouri have left large swaths of un-vegetated native soil
areas. Remediation efforts began in 2015 and addressed over 100 acres of mine waste and
contaminated soils. As part of the remedy, the five remediated areas were first cleared of
all vegetation to facilitate access to the mine waste and underlying contaminated soils.
Many of these areas were heavily vegetated with large trees and tremendous
undergrowth. The removal of the mine waste, vegetation, and contaminated soils were
hypothesized to contribute to a change in storm water runoff and surrounding surface
water resources. This project will examine the effects of the remediation actions at one
remediation area, selected as a study area. The United States Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was evaluated as a
potential tool for modeling environmental impacts in response to excavation. Models
were conducted using a range of input parameters, with a goal of identifying the most
important parameters for future monitoring. The SWMM model compiled in this research
is based on field- and geospatially derived values for study area width, surface area,
pervious and impervious land surface, and slope. Where specific model input parameters
have not been measured at a site, published values at similar sites were used. Model
outcomes provided information on sediment volume, erosion potential, and contaminant
concentrations in runoff, which would allow for recommendations regarding future site
remediation action. A sensitivity analysis determined the most critical variables required
for reliable modeling was the Washoff Coefficient. The outcome demonstrates the
importance of site-specific measurements of these parameters, and the need to conduct
periodic monitoring of surface water runoff volume and mass contaminant loading from
remediated areas in the study area.
