Abstract
Environmental laws need sound data to protect species and ecosystems. In 1996, a proliferation of mountaintop removal coal mines in a region home to over 50 federally protected species was approved under the Endangered Species Act. Although this type of mining can degrade terrestrial and aquatic habitats, the available data and tools limited the ability to analyze spatially extensive, aggregate effects of such a program. We used two large, public datasets to quantify the relationship between mountaintop removal coal mining and water quality measures important to the survival of imperiled species at a landscape scale across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We combined an annual map of the extent of surface mines in this region from 1985 to 2015 generated from Landsat satellite imagery with public water quality data collected over the same time period from 4,260 monitoring stations within the same area. The water quality data show that chronic and acute thresholds for levels of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, conductivity, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, pH, selenium, and zinc safe for aquatic life were exceeded thousands of times between 1985 and 2015 in streams that are important to the survival and recovery of species on the Endangered Species List. Linear mixed models showed that levels of manganese, sulfate, sulfur, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and zinc increased by 6.73E+01 to 6.87E+05 μg/L and conductivity by 3.30E+06 μS /cm for one percent increase in the mined proportion of the area draining into a monitoring station. The proportion of a drainage area that was mined also increased the likelihood that chronic thresholds for copper, lead, and zinc required to sustain aquatic life were exceeded. Finally, the proportion of a watershed that was mined was positively related to the likelihood that a waterway would be designated as impaired under the Clean Water Act. Together these results demonstrate that the extent of mountaintop removal mining, which can be derived from public satellite data, is predictive of water quality measures important to imperiled species-effects that must be considered under environmental law. These findings and the public data used in our analyses are pertinent to ongoing re-evaluations of the effects of current mine permitting regulations to the recovery and survival of federally protected species.
Highlights
Natural ecosystems continue to degrade despite substantial global conservation efforts, in large part due to synergistic and large-scale impacts of human activities [1, 2]
The proportion of a watershed that was mined was positively related to the likelihood that a waterway would be designated as impaired under the Clean Water Act. Together these results demonstrate that the extent of mountaintop removal mining, which can be derived from public satellite data, is predictive of water quality measures important to imperiled species—effects that must be considered under environmental law
We combine two classes of large, public datasets to demonstrate that mountaintop mining with valley fill (MTMVF) in Central Appalachia is associated with degraded water quality at landscape scales in ways that affect the survival and recovery of federally protected species
Summary
Natural ecosystems continue to degrade despite substantial global conservation efforts, in large part due to synergistic and large-scale impacts of human activities [1, 2]. Acute impacts of environmentally regulated actions are easy to measure, the myriad indirect and aggregate effects of human activities may require additional data or new techniques to uncover. Surface mining degrades surrounding forest by increasing fragmentation contributing to edge effects [4] and facilitating increased levels of non-native vegetation by compacting soil and altering its chemistry [5, 6]. Without consideration of these indirect, aggregate effects, environmental laws and policies will fail in their mission to protect the natural ecosystems upon which biodiversity and human life depend [7]. Data and approaches that can accommodate potentially complicated dynamics at large scales are needed for decision makers to come to better choices and meet their legal requirements [8, 9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
