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Designing a first-of-its-kind mine water treatment plant that releases water that is good enough to drink has enabled the closed Martinka Mine to earn the West Virginia Business Environmental Leadership Award recognizing innovative technology.

The project resulted in development of a unique facility at the operation, which is run by a subsidiary of Peabody Energy, which treats alkaline and acidic mine water simultaneously. It also resolved a vexing chemistry question by stopping the formation of calcium deposits where the water was being discharged.

The new treatment plant, which is located near Fairmont, was designed in parallel tracks using computer-controlled systems for raising the water's pH level and filtering out iron to eliminate the presence of calcium carbonate. Water is treated at a rate of 12,000 gallons a minute. It moves through a series of settling ponds prior to release.

"The new treatment plant demonstrates the role of innovative technology to improve the environment and also results in significant economic and aesthetic benefits," said Fred Conner, Peabody's Director of Conservancy.

Martinka Mine is also working with West Virginia University to transform another coal mine water treatment facility near Colfax into a fishing and recreation destination at Guyses Run. A group of landscape architecture students are competing to design the best proposal for the facility. More than 1,000 trout, bass, catfish and bluegill currently call the site their home.

The West Virginia Business Leadership Awards are sponsored by the Contractors Association of West Virginia, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the West Virginia Economic Development Council, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association and the West Virginia Roundtable.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2001 sales of 194 million tons of coal and $2.7 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel more than 9 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity generation.

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SOURCE: Peabody Energy