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Press Release
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Press Resources
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February 20, 2003 Contact: Mike Gauldin (OSM)
For immediate release (202) 208-2565
mgauldin@osmre.gov
OSM, States unveil computer application to predict
long-term mine drainage treatment costs
The US Office of Surface Mining today unveiled a computer program
that can help predict what it will cost to treat streams damaged by
mine drainage.
A year in development, "AMDTreat"
is expected to aid officials and other interested parties in what has
so far been a monumental task. The software was developed as a joint
effort by OSM, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(PADEP) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP).
"AMDTreat is a unique computer application that, to our
knowledge, has no known counterpart, "
said Jeff Jarrett, director of OSM. "This
type of forward and reverse cost modeling incorporating long-term
financial analysis and expert help has never before been provided in
one complete package."
" Developing the program
itself is just the beginning,"
he said. "We’re
committed to a concerted effort now to distribute the software and
offer training on its use to groups that would benefit from its use."
That includes Federal, State and local agencies, environmental and
watershed groups, coal companies, and others that will utilize the
program to better estimate the costs of treating water impacted by
mining.
"As we continue to combat the problem of acid mine drainage in
Pennsylvania, we are confident this software will prove to be a
valuable tool in the reclamation of the almost 2,000 miles of streams
that are currently impaired by acid mine drainage," said J. Scott
Roberts, deputy secretary of mineral resources management for PADEP
"We are glad to have played a role in the development of this
software, "
said Roberts. "We
look forward to the success we are sure it will bring not only in
Pennsylvania but in all states dealing with this problem."
The AMDTreat software is available for downloading from a
link to OSM ’s
website (http://amd.osmre.gov) or by requesting a Compact Disk (CD).
The program offers users a method to predict and model water treatment
costs for mine drainage problems. It also allows for the
determination of capitol cost associated with treatment of polluted
mine drainage. AMDTreat provides many different treatment options both
for passive and active treatment systems. Over 500 variables are
available to the user to customize the costing routines for
site-specific conditions.
AMDTreat February 20, 2003 Page 2
Some of the capabilities of AMDTreat are:
Estimates the cost of constructing and operating passive
treatment systems such as vertical flow ponds, anoxic limestone
drains, anaerobic and aerobic wetlands, and manganese removal beds;
Calculates the capital cost of constructing active or chemical
treatment systems for caustic soda, ammonia, pebble quick lime and
soda ash;
Calculates a number of ancillary capital costs such as primary
retention ponds, secondary ponds, roads, land access, ditching and
engineering costs;
Provides annual cost routines for chemical reagent consumption and
cost, sampling, labor, maintenance, pumping and sludge removal;
and
Contains a financial forecasting routine that allows comparison
of long-term costs of treatment systems. Also the program
includes reverse cost modeling that is useful in determining the cost
to replace an existing, successful treatment system.
Requests for copies of AMDTreat can be downloaded from the internet
at
http://amd.osmre.gov
, or
a CD can be requested by contacting Vann Weaver, Office of Surface
Mining, Three Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, (412) 937-2858, (vweaver@osmre.gov),
or Robert McKenzie, Office of Surface Mining, Harrisburg Field Office,
Harrisburg Transportation Center, 415 Market Street, Suite 3C,
Harrisburg, PA 17101, (717) 782-4079 ext 17, (rmckenz@osmre.gov).
-OSM-
Press Resources for
Downloading
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File
Name
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Description
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AMDTreat
Logo.bmp
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AMDTreat logo graphic (full size).
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Main
AMDTreat Screen.bmp
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AMDTreat screen capture showing the
main features of the user interface.
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500
Variables.bmp
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AMDTreat screen capture showing some
of the 500 variables that users can customize to model the
costs of site-specific conditions.
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Financial
Forcasting.bmp
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AMDTreat screen capture showing the
financial forecasting module that allows for the evaluation of
the economics of long-term water treatment.
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Expert
Help Feature.bmp
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AMDTreat screen capture showing the
Getting Started portion of the expert help module.
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Help
for Capital Cost for Chemical Treatment.bmp
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AMDTreat screen capture showing an
example of the help for determining the capital cost for a
chemical treatment system. (hydrated lime)
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Mining
Impacted Stream.bmp
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Photo of a mining impacted stream.
AMDTreat can be used to predict the cost to abate the polluted
water (forward cost modeling).
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AMD
discharge to passive treatment.bmp
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Photo of a mining discharge in a
rock-lined ditch. AMDTreat
can be used to help determine the most cost effective
treatment to remediate the discharge.
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passive
treatment system.bmp
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Photo of a vertical flow passive
treatment system. AMDTreat’s Vertical Flow Pond module can
be used to back calculate the cost to construct this type of
treatment system (reverse-cost modeling).
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| Description
of CD Contents.doc |
A Word document containing
this table. |
| News
Release AMDTreatPA.doc |
A Word document containing
the text of the AMDTreat press release. |
AMDTreat
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