A pit at the edge of Tamaquia, Pa., is at the center of a
scientific and political debate over thousands of abandoned
strip mines along the Appalachian landscape, turning streams and
rivers into orange-tinted dead zones and scenic areas into
eyesores. The huge hole in the earth, called the Springdale Pit,
is a barren place where industry once extracted thousands of
tons of anthracite coal. A Pottsville company, with help from
state environmental officials, wants to fill the Springdale Pit
with a potent mixture of coal ash, dust from cement and lime
kilns, and river sediments dredged from several East Coast
harbors and shipping lanes. The goal is to prevent acid mine
drainage the contaminated water that flows out of abandoned
mines and pollutes waterways and restore the hillside closer to
its original condition. But neighbors of the Springdale Pit
oppose the plan, fearing the mixture will leach into the
groundwater, contaminate their wells, and make them sick. These
opponents are backed by several environmenta