"June 1971." Prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency under contract Contract Number: WP-01530 Includes bibliographical references (pages 35-36).

Seasonal monitoring of certain chemical, physical, and biological parameters of streams draining manganese strip mine spoils in three stages of reclamation verifies that the community structure of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates in these streams remains severely depressed until complete reclamation of the spoils has been accomplished. Six years after reclamation, only the faunal community in the stream draining the fully reclaimed area has recovered. Laboratory studies established the median tolerance limits of three native species of fishes to silt in suspension and to manganese ions. These studies suggest that the principal factor depressing the faunal communities in partially reclaimed and unreclaimed streams is the chronically high degree of turbidity and siltation. A comparison of the growth of rainbow trout fingerlings in clear versus turbid water revealed a statistically significant slower growth in the turbid water, further substantiating the assumption that siltation and turbidity are limiting to those faunal communities. The study area was in the upper drainage of the South Fork Holston River in Smyth County, Virginia.