Commercial Land Use In the Mill Creek Watershed

An Environmental Summit Project

By: Beth Whytsell, Andrew Carroll, Emily Keller

Basic Information!!!!• What is a watershed?

-A watershed is an area of land that drains to a river.

• Where would you find them?-They are easily identified by ridge tops and the water flowing off of hills.

• Let’s break it down!-We start at the Mill Creek watershed then flowing into the Opequen Creek then on to the Potomac River then it will continue into the Chesapeake Bay eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

All of the Inwood Commercial Land use of the Quarry

Inwood Quarry Facts:

• What is the purpose of the Inwood Quarry?- To provide construction aggregate for the area.

• What is the total area of the Quarry?- 1.32 km2 or (327 acres)

• What type of rock is mined?- Limestone: two types- greenbrier (softer) and dolomite (harder)

Continued:

• How long have you been mining the area?- Since 1900 also within that time they have rebuilt and shifted location within the area.

• The karst topography allows them to mine for the limestone.

• What are the basic environmental regulations that the quarry must follow?- They are required to have a costly permit and they must take weekly water samples and every 3 months are required to show their results to the DEP. They test for pH, total suspended solids, and aluminum.

All of the Inwood Commercial Land use of the Quarry

Inwood Quarry Results:

• The run-off is pumped from the blasting site and stored in three run-off ponds. Once the silt becomes so deep they must drain before it will empty into Mill Creek.

• Water is pumped out 667,065 liters per hour.

• After testing the run-off into Mill Creek we found the following results:

Liquid Asphalt Mixing

Associated Asphalt LLC.

Associated Asphalt Transport LLC.

• They have been in business since 1945.

• They receive their supplies by the Norfolk Southern Railway System.

• They are currently working on improving their environmental awareness.

Martinsburg Brick FactoryContinental Brick Co.

Facts and Purpose Of Continental Brick Company:

• What is the purpose of the company?- To mine shale and make brick

• What is the total area of the operation?- 1.01 km2 (250 acres) and .12 km2 (30 acres) is actually constantly used

• What environmental regulations are placed on your company?- Quarry permit through DEP. They test the top soil, run-off water, and quality of groundwater.

• How often must you show your tests to the DEP?- Two times a month to the state.

Continued:

• Where does your run-off go?

- It travels through run-off ponds and then empty into Evens Run or Opequen Creek.

• How often does your plants operate?

- The kilns are on 24/7 and the plants runs 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

North Mountain Facts:

• It will be mining Shale.

• The permit will cover .40 km2 (100 acres) all permitted by Continental Brick.

• They will remove Shale off of approximately .16 km2 (40 acres).