Coal Mine Reclamation Research Articles

The Human Health Benefits of Coal Mine Reclamation

Using a long-difference analysis, reclamation projects for “priority 2” contaminated water sources from abandoned coal mines inventoried in the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act were associated with significant subsequent declines in county-level infant mortality rates in periods from 1977 to 1993, and from 1993 to 2001. If this reflected a causal relationship, one could compare reclamation expenditures to a risk-free, inflation-adjusted investment yielding 3% per year - in this case, a 95% confidence interval would suggest reclamation might have already prevented between 0.7 and 7.5 infant deaths per year at a cost of between $300,000 and $4.1 million per life, with the center of distribution close to $700,000 per life. Given that the health impacts of contaminated water could extend to adults as well as infants, this evidence presents a strong case for accelerated reclamation of the remaining “priority 2” clogged streams and contaminated water sources under the 1977 SMCRA.

Restoring Forests and Associated Ecosystem Services on Appalachian Coal Surface Mines

Surface coal mining in Appalachia has caused extensive replacement of forest with non-forested land cover, much of which is unmanaged and unproductive. Although forested ecosystems are valued by society for both marketable products and ecosystem services, forests have not been restored on most Appalachian mined lands because traditional reclamation practices, encouraged by regulatory policies, created conditions poorly suited for reforestation. Reclamation scientists have studied productive forests growing on older mine sites, established forest vegetation experimentally on recent mines, and identified mine reclamation practices that encourage forest vegetation re-establishment. Based on these findings, they developed a Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) that can be employed by coal mining firms to restore forest vegetation. Scientists and mine regulators, working collaboratively, have communicated the FRA to the coal industry and to regulatory enforcement personnel. Today, the FRA is used routinely by many coal mining firms, and thousands of mined hectares have been reclaimed to restore productive mine soils and planted with native forest trees. Reclamation of coal mines using the FRA is expected to restore these lands' capabilities to provide forest-based ecosystem services, such as wood production, atmospheric carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and water quality protection to a greater extent than conventional reclamation practices.

Tree Response to Substrate and Grading Treatments on Quarry Overburden

Rock quarries are often in close proximity to residential areas. Consequently the re-establishment of forest vegetation is desirable. However, reclamation methods for the eastern US have been developed primarily for the coal mining industry, on overburden which differs in chemical and physical properties from quarry overburden. The objective of this study was to test the material placement technique used for reforestation in coal mine reclamation, and to determine whether lime or nitrogen application will enhance early tree growth on this overburden material. Twelve rectangular plots were constructed of overburden materials from a limestone quarry. Six of the plots were lightly graded with a single pass of a bulldozer, and the other six remained ungraded. Liquid lime was applied to one half of each plot, and fertilizer (20:20:20) was applied at a rate that provided 100 Kg/ha or 400 Kg/ha N to randomly selected plots in a manner that created three replicates of all lime, fertilizer, and overburden placement treatment combinations. Monocultural blocks of Castanea dentata (American chestnut), Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine) and Quercus alba (white oak) nursery seedlings were planted on 1 x 1 m spacing in all treatment combinations. All three species showed a positive growth response to the higher fertilizer application rate. This response to fertilizer was pronounced in both chestnut and white oak, but these species showed no growth response to lime application. Shortleaf pine showed reduced growth in root collar diameter and height in response to lime, although the reduction in diameter growth was overcome by the addition of more fertilizer. The growth of both chestnut and pine was negatively affected by single-pass grading and interactions between grading and soil amendment treatments were found. At this stage of the study, it can be concluded that interactions between pH, nutrients, and material placement can have an important influence on the post-planting performance of different tree species.

The evaluation of reclamation effects for the methods of covering soils in a coalmine reclamation area

An experimental area has been established for studying the ecological reconstruction and reclamation in China's Fushun coalmine where coal resource in this mine is almost exhausted now and parts of the surrounding land have undergone subsidence. The experimental area is a large subsided area that has been filled in with gangues (matrix) wastes and then covered with ~80 cm of topsoil. The resulting land was used to grow crops. A grid method was employed to guide sampling of different types of topsoil, covering different depths and reconstruction ages (2, 4, 6 and 8 years). The spatial and temporal variations in nutrient elements and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr and Cd) in the soil were studied. Nutrients (N, P and K) in the topsoil recovered quickly after reclamation, whereas the heavy metal content decreased with time (except Cd). Nutrient levels were the highest in the top 30 cm of the topsoil and decreased with depth, as a result of the usage of fertilizer and manure. In contrast, the heavy metal contents (except Mn) of the topsoil (0 to 30 cm) were higher than those at depths of 30 to 80 cm, suggesting the high heavy metals were not from the gangues. Key words: Heavy metals, soil nutrients, reclamation, coalmine, pollution, subsidence.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal association with Blechnum orientale Linn. in pine forest and anthropogenically disturbed areas of northeast India

The occurrence and inoculum density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with Blechnum orientale Linn. were studied in a subtropical pine forest, a coalmine, an abandoned coalmine and the roadside of Meghalaya, northeast India. The maximum colonization was recorded in the abandoned coalmine and lowest in the coalmine. Nevertheless, spore density was highest in the coalmine and lowest on the roadside. There were significant differences in root colonization and soil physicochemical characteristics (p < 0.05) in all the sites. Glomus, Acaulospora, Gigaspora and Entrophospora were identified comprising of 11 morphotypes. Moreover, Glomus was present in the pine forest and other disturbed sites. Sorenson's coefficient (Cs) revealed dissimilarity in AMF species composition between the pine forest and other sites. However, AMF species composition in anthropogenically disturbed sites (roadside and coalmine) considerably overlap (Cs = 0.72). These findings point out that the fern species enriches such sites with AMF inoculum densities; however, it may be considered as the possible utilization strategy of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the reclamation of coalmines.

A spatial decision support system for the optimal environmental reclamation of open-pit coal mines in Greece

Mine reclamation is an integral part of the mineral development process. The selection of land use after the mine closure is a difficult decision, which is complicated further because of the variety of parameters that must be taken into account trying to provide the local community with a viable development plan. Conventional methods used for reclamation planning are characterised by the lack of data integration and by time-consuming analysis. In this study, we propose a spatial decision-support system (SDSS) that minimises these problems, as data integration and analysis are offered within one computerised environment. A geographical information system and multi-criteria decision-making methods, based on binary integer linear programming models, have been integrated to select the appropriate land use in different parts of a post-mining area taking into account social, technical, economic, environmental and safety criteria. The proposed SDSS was used for the selection of the optimal landscape reclamation strategy of the Amynteon lignite surface mine located at West Macedonia Lignite Centre, Northern Greece. On the basis of developed mine maps, the model variables are assessed and incorporated into the objective optimisation function. Emphasis is placed on the spatial diversification of the model variables. The application demonstrates that the decision-support system allows the mining company to determine in an efficient way the specific land use (agricultural land, forest, recreational area and industrial zone) that is considered the most suitable for every part of the study area.

TRASH OR TREASURE?: Putting Coal Combustion Waste to Work

Even as public debate rages over the question of whether coal should continue to provide the majority of U.S. electric power needs, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts in International Energy Outlook 2009 that, absent new policies to the contrary, the United States—along with China and India—is expected to account for 88% of the projected net increase in coal consumption between 2006 and 2030. Meanwhile, coal combustion waste (CCW)—the noncombustible remains from coal burning—continues to pile up at the rate of about 131 million tons per year in the United States alone, and electric utilities are looking to recycle a larger proportion of this material.

Fertilizing reclamation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on coal mine complex substrate

A series of pot culture experiments are carried out to evaluate the effects of inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus versifome (G.v) B1 and Glomus mosseae (G.m) B2 in different weight ratios (A1, A2, A3) of coal mine complex substrates. The results show that the increasing rates of organic matter, total N, P, and K reach 8.86%, 5.26%, 18.66% and 3.16%. A2 is selected as the suitable covering soil and B2 (G.m) as the preponderant AMF. White clover is suitable in the coal mine reclamation. Through promoting plants roots growth and the transformation of insoluble nutrition element to available state, the inoculation of AMF increases the nutrition absorption of plants and organic content in the substrate, fertilizing the coal mine complex substrate in the coal mine reclamation. The combination of AMF and sludge is able to enhance the fertilizing of coal mine castoff.

English

The current art of reclamation and the science surrounding it generally had its beginnings in the environmental movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's and culminated in the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 and subsequent advancement in knowledge since that time. Within current energy industries in the western United States, much can be learned from almost 30 years of coal mine reclamation practices and research. Reclamation regulations vary significantly between coal mines and all other mining (such as uranium), as well as oil and gas (O&G) operations. However, knowledge obtained from one industry may promote land stabilization in a time effective manner within another industry's disturbance and bonding requirements. Land disturbances due to O&G are different in that the majority of the disturbance is linear rather than large blocks. The proximity to native areas in O&G development is generally a positive factor, in that significant edge effect (reinvasion of plant species) may come into play during reclamation. The depth and volume of material movement in a coal mining operation are much greater than in traditional O&G or coalbed natural gas (CBNG) operations when an equal sized area is compared. However, total surface disturbance in O&G or CBNG has the potential to be much greater than in a single coal mining operation. There is not a one-size-fits-all reclamation solution across all industries due to the type of disturbance, varying regulations and site-specific circumstances. Within a given O&G development, the contact between various landscape features makes a one-size-fits-all approach particularly problematic. Each development area for O&G should be evaluated individually to determine what techniques might be appropriate. However, well pads, facilities, and pipelines with similar topography, soil, and precipitation patterns should be treated in the same way, wherever possible, to reduce the complexity of reclamation operations.

Preemptive Federalism or Regulatory Dismantlement? The Bush Administration's Implementation of the Federal Coal Mining Reclamation Program

This article examines the implementation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) under the administration of President George W. Bush. It addresses a problem that is both conceptual and practical: how does a chief executive deal with policies that are at odds with each other? While the original purpose of SMCRA was to reclaim lands adversely affected by coal mining operations, I suggest that implementation efforts since 2001 have placed greater emphasis upon coal production than upon the maintenance of reclamation standards. This has been achieved by combining the factors often found within policy implementation approaches with the discretionary use of executive authority. The net result is that the president's preferred policy position, i.e., the development of domestic energy resources, has been enhanced despite some cost to countervailing policy goals, i.e., the conservation of water quality and wildlife in Appalachia.

The influence of aspect on the early growth dynamics of hydroseeded species in coal reclamation areas

Abstract.Question: Does aspect affect hydroseeding success and the development of vegetation during early vegetation establishment on the steep slopes of coal wastes during the reclamation process?Location: Open‐pit coal mine near Villanueva de la Peña, northern Spain.Methods: In the first year after hydroseeding, we monitored the dynamics of hydroseeded species in three permanent plots of 20 m2 on north‐ and south‐facing slopes every two months. Soil properties and weather conditions were also monitored.Results: Aspect was related to total plant cover during early revegetation, and south‐facing slopes had the lowest cover. Aspect also influenced the early dynamics of hydroseeded grasses and legumes establishing on these slopes. Grass cover was greater on the north slope throughout the study, but differences in plant cover between north and south slopes appeared later for the legumes. Aspect also affected the relative contribution of both of grasses and legumes to the total plant cover, with grasses dominant on both northern and southern slopes, except during the summer on the southern slope. The species with the greatest difference in cover between the north‐ and south‐facing slopes were Festuca spp., Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens.Conclusion: In coal mine reclamation areas of Mediterranean climates, differences in the development of hydroseeded species depended on the slope of the coal mine reclamation areas, and this information is of importance to managers in selecting species for use in reclamation.

English

After passage of the Surface Coal Mine Reclamation Act in 1977, studies on mine reclaimed areas in the late 1970's and early 1980's evaluated varying topsoil depths over unsuitable backfill on vegetation productivity and cover. In recent years, several of those earlier studies have been revisited to provide long-term results on vegetation productivity, cover and diversity. A more recent study developed in 1999 was conducted to evaluate variable topsoil depth on soil and vegetation factors at the North Antelope/Rochelle Mine (NARM). Backfill at this location did not exhibit unsuitable plant growth parameters, based on Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) guidelines. The formal study evaluated vegetation parameters such as cover, production and diversity, and soil differences in pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) between three treatment depths, i.e., 15, 30 and 56 cm. Reclaimed and two native vegetation reference areas were sampled three times during the 2000-2002 growing seasons. At the end of the 2002 monitoring, results were mixed. After that time, the reclaimed area only continued to be part of the ongoing vegetation monitoring program at NARM. Five years of continuous monitoring (2000-2004) were statistically analyzed to determine significant trends between topsoil depth treatments, as the seeded areas matured. No significant differences were found between treatments for two measures of cover and three measures of species richness. Although no significant differences were found between treatments for shrub density, positive increasing trends in the more shallow treatments are evident.

Establishment and Growth of Experimental Grass Species Mixtures on Coal Mine Sites Reclaimed with Municipal Biosolids

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 requires that coal mine sites in the United States be reclaimed to establish vegetative cover that is diverse, native, and capable of plant succession. However, there is a question as to whether vegetation established on coal mine sites reclaimed with biosolids is diverse and capable of plant succession. The influx of nutrients with the addition of biosolids leads to long-term dominance by early-successional species, most notably grasses, and consequently, a low establishment of woody and volunteer species. Additionally, many grass species commonly planted in reclamation have aggressive growth habits that lead to their dominance in coal mine plant communities. The establishment and growth of selected grass mixes was evaluated to determine whether alternative grass mixes would be less competitive with woody and volunteer species as compared to commonly used grass mixes. Percent vegetative cover, species richness, and the survival of direct-seeded woody species were assessed for each treatment grass mixture. It was found that Poa compressa and a mixture of P. compressa, Panicum virgatum, and Trifolium repens provided adequate coverage while still allowing the highest species richness and survival of woody species. Use of these species mixtures in coal mine reclamation with biosolids in the eastern United States would likely lead to establishment of a more species-rich plant community with a greater woody species component while still providing erosion control and site protection.

Breeding biology of Henslow's Sparrows on reclaimed coal mine grasslands in Kentucky

Populations of Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) are declining, and loss of habitat is a likely factor. Coal mine reclamation has created grassland habitat in Kentucky and elsewhere, and information is needed concerning the use of these areas by Henslow's Sparrows. We compared the behavior and ecology of populations on reclaimed sites and non-mined sites in west-central Kentucky during the 2000 and 2001 breeding seasons. Territories were smaller on the reclaimed sites than unmined sites, perhaps due to differences in habitat quality. Insect sweeps revealed more prey biomass on reclaimed sites than unmined sites. Twenty-eight of 48 nests (58%) fledged at least one young, and nesting success was similar on reclaimed and unmined sites. Mean clutch size was 3.75, with no difference between reclaimed and unmined sites. Similarly, the mean number of fledglings per nest was similar on reclaimed and unmined sites. Multivariate analysis revealed differences in the characteristics of vegetation on reclaimed areas and unmined areas. Reclaimed areas had more grass cover and greater vegetation density, probably due to differences in management history (i.e., mowing or burning) and species composition. Our results indicate that the nesting success of Henslow's Sparrows on reclaimed surface mines in Kentucky is comparable to that on unmined areas. As such, the thousand of hectares of reclaimed surface mines in Kentucky and elsewhere could play an important role in stabilizing populations of Henslow's Sparrows.

Prioritizing abandoned coal mine reclamation projects within the contiguous United States using geographic information system extrapolation.

Coal mine reclamation projects are very expensive and require coordination of local and federal agencies to identify resources for the most economic way of reclaiming mined land. Location of resources for mine reclamation is a spatial problem. This article presents a methodology that allows the combination of spatial data on resources for the coal mine reclamation and uses GIS analysis to develop a priority list of potential mine reclamation sites within contiguous United States using the method of extrapolation. The extrapolation method in this study was based on the Bark Camp reclamation project. The mine reclamation project at Bark Camp, Pennsylvania, USA, provided an example of the beneficial use of fly ash and dredged material to reclaim 402,600 sq mi of a mine abandoned in the 1980s. Railroads provided transportation of dredged material and fly ash to the site. Therefore, four spatial elements contributed to the reclamation project at Bark Camp: dredged material, abandoned mines, fly ash sources, and railroads. Using spatial distribution of these data in the contiguous United States, it was possible to utilize GIS analysis to prioritize areas where reclamation projects similar to Bark Camp are feasible. GIS analysis identified unique occurrences of all four spatial elements used in the Bark Camp case for each 1 km of the United States territory within 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 km radii from abandoned mines. The results showed the number of abandoned mines for each state and identified their locations. The federal or state governments can use these results in mine reclamation planning.

English

Advances of coal-mine reclamation practice commonly involve scientists who conduct mining and reclamation research, industry reclamation specialists who apply those scientific advances in the field, and regulatory agency personnel who must approve of those changes by interpreting state and federal laws. In the state of Virginia, interactions between the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation and Virginia Tech researchers have enabled adjustments of regulatory procedures to accommodate research findings. Elements of those interactions include (1) development of research designs that consider regulatory issues while addressing scientific principles; (2) effective communication between researchers and regulators prior to and during research, and in response to research findings; and (3) cooperative involvement by university and state-agency personnel in communicating practical implications of research findings to federal agencies and industry. Additional

Runoff generation and routing on artificial slopes in a Mediterranean–continental environment: the Teruel coalfield, Spain

AbstractThe aim of this study was to identify the mechanisms of runoff generation and routing and their controlling factors at the hillslope scale, on artificial slopes derived from surface coal mining reclamation in a Mediterranean–continental area. Rainfall and runoff at interrill and microcatchment scales were recorded for a year on two slopes with different substrata: topsoil cover and overburden cover. Runoff coefficient and runoff routing from interrill areas to microcatchment outlets were higher in the overburden substratum than in topsoil, and greater in the most developed rill network. Rainfall volume is the major parameter responsible for runoff response on overburden, suggesting that this substratum is very impermeable—at least during the main rainfall periods of the year (late spring and autumn) when the soil surface is sealed. In such conditions, most rainfall input is converted into runoff, regardless of its intensity. Results from artificial rainfall experiments, conducted 3 and 7 years after seeding, confirm the low infiltration capacity of overburden when sealed. The hydrological response shows great seasonal variability on the overburden slope in accordance with soil surface changes over the year. Rainfall volume and intensities (I30, I60) explain runoff at the interrill scale on the topsoil slope, where rainfall experiments demonstrated a typical Hortonian infiltration curve. However, no correlation was found at the microcatchment level, probably because of the loss of functionality of the only rill as ecological succession proceeded. The runoff generation mechanism on the topsoil slope is more homogeneous throughout the year. Runoff connectivity, defined as the ratio between runoff rates recorded at the rill network scale and those recorded at the interrill area scale in every rainfall event, was also greater on the rilled overburden slope, and in the most developed rill network. The dense rill networks of the overburden slope guarantee very effective runoff drainage, regardless of rainfall magnitude. Rills drain overland flow from interrill‐sealed areas, reducing the opportunity of reinfiltration in areas not affected by siltation. Runoff generation and routing on topsoil slopes are controlled by grass cover and soil moisture content, whereas on overburden slopes rill network density and soil moisture content are the main controlling factors. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Reclaimed Coal Mine Grasslands and Their Significance for Henslow's Sparrows in the American Midwest

Abstract Present methods of surface coal-mine reclamation in the Midwest produce large grasslands, some of which exceed 2,000 ha in extent. Total “mine grassland” production in southwestern Indiana alone is well in excess of 70 square miles (180 km2). Our work in 19 reclaimed coal mines in southwestern Indiana indicates that mine grasslands harbor many Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii). We base that conclusion on point-count and line-transect surveys that yielded between 200–300 singing male Henslow's Sparrows during the 1997 and 1998 breeding seasons. Those survey results imply an uncorrected population density of ∼0.10 males per hectare, and a corrected density of ∼0.16 males per hectare (correcting for undetected males). Extrapolating this corrected density to total habitat coverage suggests an overall population of a few thousand Henslow's Sparrows in the mine grasslands of southwestern Indiana. Small-scale vegetational surveys suggest that much of the within-mine variation in Henslow's Sparrow abundance reflects local vegetative structure, with males preferring sites typically associated with that species of bird: tall, dense grass-dominated vegetation with a substantial litter layer. Management for this kind of vegetative structure could greatly increase the number of Henslow's Sparrows inhabiting reclaimed mines. Midwestern mine grasslands could play a significant role in stabilizing the populations of Henslow's Sparrows and other grassland birds.

RECLAIMED COAL MINE GRASSLANDS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR HENSLOW'S SPARROWS IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST

Present methods of surface coal-mine reclamation in the Midwest produce large grasslands, some of which exceed 2,000 ha in extent. Total “mine grassland” production in southwestern Indiana alone is well in excess of 70 square miles (180 km2). Our work in 19 reclaimed coal mines in southwestern Indiana indicates that mine grasslands harbor many Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii). We base that conclusion on point-count and line-transect surveys that yielded between 200–300 singing male Henslow's Sparrows during the 1997 and 1998 breeding seasons. Those survey results imply an uncorrected population density of ∼0.10 males per hectare, and a corrected density of ∼0.16 males per hectare (correcting for undetected males). Extrapolating this corrected density to total habitat coverage suggests an overall population of a few thousand Henslow's Sparrows in the mine grasslands of southwestern Indiana. Small-scale vegetational surveys suggest that much of the within-mine variation in Henslow's Sparrow abundance reflects local vegetative structure, with males preferring sites typically associated with that species of bird: tall, dense grass-dominated vegetation with a substantial litter layer. Management for this kind of vegetative structure could greatly increase the number of Henslow's Sparrows inhabiting reclaimed mines. Midwestern mine grasslands could play a significant role in stabilizing the populations of Henslow's Sparrows and other grassland birds.

Giga-scale disposal: a real frontier for ceramic research

Industry is faced with the environmental problem of finding a home for materials that are generated as a result of manufacturing processes, so-called by-products or industrial wastes. As long as cheap “landfill” costs are available, these materials, which are generated in the giga-tons/yr quantities, will continue to adversely impact our environment. The goal of these activities focuses on applying knowledge, normally concentrated on “high-tech” materials, to address the utilization of the overwhelming volumes of industrial by-products in the manufacture of “low-tec” solutions to environmental problems. One such successful application of coal derived fly ash for the manufacture of controlled low-strength structural fills for the reclamation of open pit coal mines is discussed in detail. These projects demonstrate that chemical and physical aspects of materials reacted at the “nano-scale” enable the developments of successful “giga-scale” technologies.