The US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) has developed new software that can help estimate abatement costs for acid mine drainage AMD. A year in development, “AMDTreat” assists decision-makers in assessing and modeling costs for abating water pollution using a variety of passive and chemical treatment approaches.

“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,” Jeff Jarrett, OSM director, said. “We’re committed to a concerted effort now to distribute the software and offer training on its use” to stakeholders, including federal, state and local agencies, environmental and watershed groups and coal companies.

The AMD abatement cost model addresses more than 500 variables in estimating costs for treatment facility construction, excavation, re-vegetation, piping, road construction, land acquisition, system maintenance, labor, water sampling, design, surveying, pumping, sludge removal, chemical consumption, clearing and grubbing, mechanical aeration and ditching.

OSM, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection developed the software as a joint effort. See http://amd.osmre.gov/amdtreat.htm.