Office Of Surface Mining Research Articles

Assessment of blast induced vibrations based on regulatory criteria (a case study of limestone mines, Nigeria)

This study assesses the effect of blast-induced vibration on the environment. Measurements of six blasts were carried out with number of blast hole per blast ranging from 30 to 56. The distance between the locations of the vibrograph and the centre of the blast ranged from 0.8 km to 3 km. The vibrograph measured the peak particle velocities and air blast over pressure levels. Blast induced vibrations can cause human annoyance and damage to nearby structures. Hence, measurements of ground vibrations and air blast levels and use of published damage criteria are necessary to judge the design of the blasting operations, if it complies with the safe regulated levels. Blast induced vibrations at the Quarries were monitored from selected locations. All measurement obeys the USBMRI8485 and Office of Surface Mining (OSM) regulation criteria. Maximum PPV is 0.75 inch/s (168.75 mm/s) for the measured locations. The structures at the monitored locations were safe.

Exploring the use of short paper fiber as a soil amendment in coal refuse

Water infiltration of coal refuse piles leads to an increase of acidity in groundwater and nearby streams and rivers. This study tested the effect of adding short paper fiber as a soil amendment to establish and maintain vegetative cover in coarse coal refuse. Two blends of short paper fiber and coarse coal refuse were tested for use as a topsoil mixture as well as a control sample containing only coal refuse. The ratios tested were 80% refuse with 20% short paper fiber (80/20 blend), 60% refuse with 40% paper fiber (60/40 blend), and 100% refuse with 0% paper fiber (control). All samples were tested using the same seeding mixture in identical growing conditions. The experiment lasted 16 weeks, mid-July – October 2016. Vegetation growth was measured weekly based on ground cover and stem height. Biomass measurements were collected in the final week of the study. Ground cover reached a maximum for samples containing paper fiber at 77.1% in the 80/20 blend. The maximum ground cover for any sample without paper fiber was 0.5%. Samples with short paper fiber had greater ground cover and biomass than the refuse samples. Results show that both blend ratios performed similarly with respect to the use as a growth medium. Therefore, the addition of short paper fiber shows potential to support vegetation establishment in coarse coal refuse. The work described in this presentation was supported in part by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number S15AC20020 from the Office of Surface Mining.

Assessment of potential impacts to surface and subsurface water bodies due to longwall mining

Ground movements due to longwall mining operations have the potential to damage the hydrological balance within as well as outside the mine permit area in the form of increased surface ponding and changes to hydrogeological properties. Recently, the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) in the USA, has completed a public comment period on a newly proposed rule for the protection of streams and groundwater from adverse impacts of surface and underground mining operations (80 FR 44435). With increased community and regulatory focus on mining operations and their potential to adversely affect streams and groundwater, now there is a greater need for better prediction of the possible effects mining has on both surface and subsurface bodies of water. With mining induced stress and strain within the overburden correlated to changes in the hydrogeological properties of rock and soil, this paper investigates the evaluation of the hydrogeological system within the vicinity of an underground mining operation based on strain values calculated through a surface deformation prediction model. Through accurate modeling of the pre- and post-mining hydrogeological system, industry personnel can better depict mining induced effects on surface and subsurface bodies of water aiding in the optimization of underground extraction sequences while maintaining the integrity of water resources.

Environmental Contaminants in Coal Slurry Intended for Underground Injection in the State of West Virginia

AbstractWaste from coal cleaning processes includes coarse size fractions (i.e., coarse refuse) and small particles (i.e., fine refuse). The aqueous suspension of fine refuse, referred to as coal slurry, frequently contains potentially toxic substances, including hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and coal cleaning chemicals. Disposal of coal slurry using underground injection has raised environmental concerns because it may lead to contamination of groundwater and water supplies. In the present study, liquid and solid fractions of coal slurries collected from five underground injection sites and one coal preparation site in West Virginia (WV) were analyzed for a suite of 177 organic and inorganic constituents. The original data presented in this article were all collected by the WV Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Mining and Reclamation, and the U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining, with input from the WV Department of Health and Human Resources. Several metals of health and en...

Curve Numbers for Low-Compaction Steep-Sloped Reclaimed Mine Lands in the Southern Appalachians

In the coal-mining region of the Appalachians, the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is currently promoted by the U.S. Dept. of Interior, Office of Surface Mining (OSM). FRA’s goal in establishing native forest cover on reclamation sites requires the use of loose spoils rather than traditionally compacted spoils during hillslope reconstruction. Loose spoils improve tree planting survival and enhance overall forest growth. Although FRA has been shown to be successful on low-gradient slopes without excessive runoff leading to erosion, rainfall-runoff relationships have not been studied on steep slopes (>20°) where most surface-mine reclamation typically occurs. A curve number (CN) range representing low-compaction steep-sloped conditions was needed for Appalachian FRA sites. Three active surface-mine sites in East Tennessee were monitored during a 1-year period (June 2009–July 2010) for rainfall (5-min intervals) and runoff hydrology (discharge volume, peak discharge) using a unique Pinson-type collection system. CNs were estimated by the traditional NEH-4 (Part 630) method and two asymptotic, frequency-matching techniques. It was found that an initial abstraction (λ) of 0.2 best fits the data. CNs generated by the NEH-4 method among all three mining sites were not significantly different suggesting common shale-based loose spoils on steep slopes have similar runoff behavior. The CN determined by the asymptotic method provided an estimate with a practical range between 58.5 and 60. This CN range is lower than one would expect from surface-mine sites, suggesting infiltration influenced the measured rainfall-runoff relationships. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of slope and infiltration on runoff behavior at surface-mine sites applying FRA.

Cold Hardiness in Wyoming Big Sagebrush Seedlings: Implications for Nursery Production and Outplanting

Advisory No. 2. Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, U.S. Office of Surface Mining. Diskin, M., K.C. Steiner and F.V. Hebard. 2006. Recovery of American chestnut characteristics following hybridization and backcross breeding to restore blight-ravaged Castanea dentata. Forest Ecology and Management 223:439–447. Hebard, F.V. 2001. Backcross breeding program produces blight-resistant American chestnuts. Ecological Restoration 19:252–254. Jacobs, D.F. 2007. Toward development of silvical strategies for forest restoration of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) using blight-resistant hybrids. Biological Conservation 137:497–506. McCarthy, B.C., J.M. Bauman and C.H. Keiffer. 2008. Mine land reclamation strategies for the restoration of American chestnut. Ecological Restoration 26:292–294. Sayler, K. L. 2008. Land Cover Trends: Central Appalachians. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. landcovertrends.usgs.gov/east/eco69Report.html Wickam, J.D., K. Riitters, T. Wade, M. Coan and C. Homer. 2007. The effect of Appalachian mountaintop mining on interior forest. Landscape Ecology 22:179–187.

English

More than 600,000 hectares of mostly forested land in the Appalachian region were surface mined for coal under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Today, these lands are largely unmanaged and covered with persistent herbaceous species, such as fescue and serecia lespedeza, and a mix of invasive and native woody species with little commercial or ecological value. Some landowners and surrounding residents would like to restore native forests on some of these lands for the valuable products and services they provided prior to mining. For these lands to become productive forests, intervention is needed to loosen compacted mine soils, correct chemical or nutrient deficiencies, and replace the current vegetation. Reforestation guidelines to restore native forests on mined lands that are unoccupied, unmanaged, and unproductive were developed. Practices include land clearing, mine soil tillage, fertilization, tree planting, weed control and monitoring. The recommended practices were tested on a 35-ha mine site, originally reclaimed to grassland and bond-released in 1997. After the second growing season mean stocking of 885 ha -1 was achieved. Five of the six primary planted species (black, white, and red oak, tulip poplar, black cherry) had statistically equivalent stocking, but tulip poplar and black cherry had the highest mean height and biomass. Volunteer trees occurred on most measurement plots; most volunteer trees were native but invasive shrubs were also present. The pre-existing vegetation proved to be persistent and competitive, demonstrating the importance of vegetation control and strategic nutrient application to reforestation success. Under leadership provided by the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, a group formed by the Office of Surface Mining and seven state regulatory authorities, these procedures have been adopted and applied by watershed improvement groups, forestry and fish/wildlife agencies, coal companies, environmental groups, and an electrical generating company pursuing carbon credits.

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers and Elementary School Students in the Forestry Reclamation Approach Through Earthworm Inoculation

In the spring of 2009, a partnership was formed between the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) and the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT) for the purpose of restoring forests on post-bond release mine sites in Appalachia. ARRI is a broad-based citizen/industry/government program working to promote and encourage the planting of productive trees on Title IV (abandoned coal mine land) and Title V (active coal mine land) sites under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The ACCWT, an innovative partnership between the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and AmeriCorps*VISTA was founded in response to requests from small, community volunteer-based watershed groups throughout coal country to target problems associated with the legacy of pre-regulatory coal mining in Appalachian watersheds. As a result of the partnership between ACCWT and ARRI, 27,000 trees were planted on 36 acres of previously reclaimed mined land by 520 volunteers in five Appalachian coal states in the spring of 2009. In addition, because the value of earthworms in improving soil quality and thus, improving plant survival is well documented, elementary education students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) had the opportunity to develop vermiculture protocols and earthworm lesson plans for use by teachers participating in these reforestation efforts, as part of a service learning project in their life science content class. The protocols were distributed to classroom teachers in areas served by the ARRI/ACCWT reclamation project to assist them in raising earthworms and promoting earthworm-related learning experiences with their students. Earthworms were then released by elementary and middle school students while trees were being planted on old mine sites in an effort to improve soil quality and increase tree survival. A discussion of this vermiculture project, which included the inoculation of earthworms into mine soils of pre- and post-SMCRA mine sites near Haysi, Virginia, and Carcassonne, Kentucky are described in this paper.

English

The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) is a broad- based citizen/industry/government program working to encourage the planting of productive trees on abandoned and active coal mine lands. Forestry research has confirmed that highly productive forestland can be created on reclaimed mine land by using a five step straight-forward methodology called the Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA). Data taken from Office of Surface Mining and state regulatory permit and bond release documents indicate that since the start of ARRI in 2005, a gradual increase in the planting of trees on coal surface mines has occurred. ARRI states reported about 9.4 million trees planted in 2005, 11.1 million trees planted in 2006, and 12.8 million trees planted in 2007. However, despite an aggressive technical outreach by ARRI, serious cultural barriers and other impediments to proper surface mine reforestation remain pervasive in the Appalachian coalfields. In 2007, the ARRI states reported that of the 12.8 million trees planted, only 3.4 million trees were planted using the full 5 steps of the FRA. The number of trees planted on conventionally reclaimed sites which were not FRA compliant was estimated at 9.4 million. One or more of the 5 steps of the FRA where not utilized on over two-thirds of the trees planted on surface mines in Appalachia over the past three years.

English

Providing a common set of technology tools to regulators and reclamation specialists in the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) is helping to streamline the mandates of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The Technical Innovation and Professional Services (TIPS) Team consists of 32 people in four OSM offices. In cooperation with State and Tribal regulatory and reclamation agencies, as well as OSM offices nationwide, TIPS provides the latest off-the-shelf scientific and engineering software and hardware tools to federal, state, and tribal experts. These are the same tools used commonly by the mining industry. With the industry regulators and reclamation specialists at the state, tribal, and federal level using the same tools, exchange of information is facilitated and the regulatory and reclamation processes are expedited. This has become an extraordinarily efficient way to carry out the reclamation and regulatory mandates of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. TIPS began in 1987 as a team of nine persons serving 28 customer locations in 24 states. Today the Team provides scientific and engineering modeling software, hardware, and full training classes to 700 customers in 96 office locations at 24 states, three tribes, and 15 federal offices. This team of innovators holds costs low through shared licensing of the software via the Internet and centralized federal procurement contracts. TIPS also provides full software support and training classes at no cost to its customers. These are specially tailored courses, customized specifically around mining applications of the software. Customers value this training so much that they volunteer as instructors. Over half of all TIPS instructors today come from the customer base. The innovators of TIPS have fostered electronic exchange of data between federal, state, and tribal agencies for 20 years. Their hard work has brought mining reclamation and regulation to increasing levels of efficiency. The most recent two years have brought significant department cooperation and subsequent progress for TIPS, and they continue to pursue new technology and the tools to promote better and more efficient enforcement of the Surface Mining Act. Additional

English

On 01/25/05, a 10,000-gpm blowout of the century-old Nickle Plate Mine (Pittsburgh coalbed) occurred in a public sidewalk about 12 miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The US Office of Surface Mining, first responder, installed diesel pumps and drain lines along public streets to control and convey the discharge to a nearby stream. On 02/22/05, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation issued a 90-day emergency contract to Environmentally Innovative Solutions, LLC to provide a permanent control. With numerous partners (federal, state, local agencies; local residents and businesses), property access, stream and mine pool water quality data, historical mine mapping, and other pertinent site information were acquired. Nine options were developed and evaluated. Paramount in design considerations was public health and safety followed by effectiveness, reliability, community and environmental impact, long-term maintenance requirements, installation cost, and aiding future work including grouting to address mine subsidence issues and treatment of the abandoned mine drainage. Piezometers and test pits were installed in city streets, private driveways, and on undeveloped property and mine pool response tests were conducted. After data evaluation, the mine pool was manipulated to discharge about ½-mile northeast of the blowout on undeveloped land to an AMD-degraded receiving stream. By 05/20/05, a primary gravity drain, a secondary drain, and an early warning system at the blowout had been completed. Subsequent monitoring confirms the facilities are functioning as designed.

English

The Sugar Creek Watershed is located north of Huntsville in northcentral Missouri. Water quality in Sugar Creek has been affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) generated by underground mining and coal refuse disposal before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and has been listed on Missouri’s 303d list as an impaired stream. To support the state of Missouri’s development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) assessment and remediation efforts, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Mid-Continent Region in cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Missouri Water Science Center Kansas City Office has completed a technical evaluation and economic and logistical feasibility study for the AMD affected waterway. Utilizing a water-quality assessment completed in 2005 by the USGS, the OSM study proposes the construction of passive treatment facilities for three major AMD sources identified by the USGS in the watershed. Site-specific remediation costs are determined for each site using OSM’s Technical Innovation and Professional Services software AMDTreat. The proposed treatment systems utilize state-of-the-art passive treatment technology, including anaerobic bioreactors and vertical flow wetlands. Treatment of the discharges from two of the AMD sources add alkaline effluent from public waste-water treatment facilities for neutralizing acidity, dilution of the AMD, and addition of nutrients into the proposed wetland treatment systems. This study will be used to develop costs and a plan for the remediation of the Sugar Creek discharges and can serve as a guide in TMDL assessments in Missouri and other coal mining areas. Additional

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Several new passive treatment systems have been constructed to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) in the Mid-Continent Region. This poster discusses the construction and preliminary results of one new site—LeBosquet 064 2004 Clean Streams Reclamation Project. As a part of ongoing technical assistance with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s (OCC) Abandoned Mine Lands Program, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Mid-Continent Region (MCR) assisted in the design and evaluation of the treatment system. The project site was an artesian seep located 4 miles (5 km) west of the town of Fanshawe, in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Preliminary water quality results indicated that the combination of an anoxic limestone drain system and a surface flow treatment wetland has been effective at mitigating the adverse impact associated with the AMD. Additional

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The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Land Quality Division (LQD), Powder River Coal Company (PRCC) and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Denver embarked on a project to develop a bond release tracking system using both Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. This pilot project tested the use of electronic permit data, GIS software and GPS mobile computing hardware and software for tracking the reclamation and bond release status of lands within the North Antelope Rochelle Mine permit area. The GIS application involved creating an ESRI ArcGIS personal geodatabase that contains 15 feature classes with associated attribute fields. The Personal Geodatabase was designed to support the tracking of areas which have achieved backfill verification and incremental bond release, as well as areas that have satisfied performance standards in support of achieving incremental bond release. The incremental bond release process involves the approval of specific requirements for Phase 1 (topsoil applied), Phase 2 partial release (vegetation established) and Phase 3 (reclamation complete). The GPS application of the project involved using a Trimble GeoExplorer series GeoXT during monthly inspections to monitor selected compliance features necessary to support backfill verification and the incremental bond release process. A project specific data dictionary was developed to include the relevant feature types necessary to monitor and verify incremental bond release requirements. Examples include verification of the extent (acreage) and slopes of backfill areas, surveying the centerline of restored creek channels, verification of topsoil application and depth, delineation of restored wildlife habitat features, and mapping of erosion features.

Placement of Coal Combustion By-Products at Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act(SMCRA) Mines: A Short History of OSM Technical Efforts and Responses to Environmental Concerns

The use and disposal of Coal Combustion By-Products (CCBs) (i.e. fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization material, and fluidized bed combustion material) at coalmines has become an area of intense interest, research, activity, and controversy during the last decade. Beginning in May of 1994, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has taken an active role in encouraging and promoting technological advances, research, and technology transfer related to the use and disposal of those material residues remaining after the combustion of coal to produce electric power. Currently, approximately 2 percent of the CCBs that are produced in the U.S. are placed back at about 2 percent of the mines sites where they originated. Research indicates that the placement of these materials on the mine site usually results in a beneficial impact to human health and the environment when it is used to mitigate other existing potential mining hazards. Beneficial uses include: (1) a seal to contain acid forming materials and prevent the formation of acid mine drainage; (2) an agricultural supplement to create productive artificial soils on abandoned mine lands where native soils are not available; (3) a flowable fill that seals and stabilizes abandoned underground mines to prevent subsidence and the production of acid mine drainage; (4) a construction material for dams or other earth like materials where such materials are needed as a compact and durable base; and (5) a non-toxic, earthlike fill material for final pits and within the spoil area. Concerning CCB placement at coal mines, some environmental groups believe, based on historic problems experienced at some power plants, that the use of these materials at coal mines places an unacceptable risk on public health and environmental quality. This paper will attempt to provide a response to criticism that SMCRA programs are not adequate to protect public health and the environment when CCBs are placed at a SMCRA permitted mine.

English

In 1995, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the National Mine Land Reclamation Center (NMLRC) joined with the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, the National Mining Association, academia, and other Federal agencies to form the Acid Drainage Technology Initiative (ADTI). The ADTI partnership seeks to identify, evaluate and develop best science based practices to prevent new acid mine drainage sources and eliminate existing sources. The ADTI partnership developed a management structure to oversee the program and developed action plans to address key technical areas. The ADTI organization consists of a coal mining sector, a metal mining sector and a secretariat, overseen by an Operations Committee. The coal mining sector of ADTI is divided into a prediction working group and an avoidance and remediation working group to implement and coordinate the research strategy. This paper summarizes the results of the coal mining sector efforts since the completion of the avoidance and remediation, and prediction handbooks in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and the status of current activities. The activities have included field verification of acid drainage predictions using acid-base accounting, monitoring and follow up evaluation of acid mine drainage passive and in-situ treatment systems, developing standardized kinetic testing protocols, flooded underground mine pools, and issues related to elevated selenium in streams associated with surface mines.

English

Real time mobile mapping is now a reality for natural resource professionals such as Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Specialists, Mine Inspectors, and Permit Reviewers. During the early 1990's, lightweight global positioning system (GPS) receivers first opened the door for field professionals to accurately locate geographic features and environmental problems without traditional surveying crews and equipment. Further developments in GPS technology during the late 1990's enabled improvements in accuracy of GPS data with the introduction of real-time GPS correction equipment such as portable beacon receivers and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) enabled GPS units. However, standard GPS receivers and even the higher-end GPS mapping equipment lacked the power and capabilities to seamlessly move from the office to the field and back without multiple data conversion and correction exercises. Recent innovations in Tablet computers, card type GPS receivers, integrated GPS technologies along with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CAD) software make it possible to use existing aerial photography, satellite imagery, and electronic permitting data to easily and accurately locate natural resource problem features, produce ready-to-use GIS data and maps, conduct in field CAD design, and seamlessly extract the data back in the office. The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) continues efforts in applying mobile computing devices and software to permitting and AML field work. This technology allows Inspectors to take maps and permit data to the field for inspection and verification of mining and permitting activities. The application of AML design and re-design in the field is also being applied along with traditional methods to eventually integrate mobile computing as a tool in AML and Regulatory work. This technology will result in a more efficient means of implementing the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

Office of Surface Mining, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center, Alton, IL

Passive treatment technology has been primarily developed in Appalachia for treatment of discharges that lie above drainage. Because of differences in geochemistry, hydrogeology and mining methods in the Illinois and Interior Coal Basins, the application of passive treatment technology for the treatment of Acid Mine drainage (AMD) requires additional design considerations. In the Illinois Basin, most of the surface and underground mines lie below drainage. At a typical discharge, the acidic and metal-laden ground water seeps directly into streams and agricultural ditches as diffuse base flow. In this hydrologic setting AMD impacts are reduced (the deep and dark prevention method applies). Many AMD problems in the Midwest are associated with coal refuse disposal areas. These facilities are usually placed above the surface and, as such, above drainage. Common practice for prevention of AMD, where the coarse refuse is net acidic, is to use compaction followed by the construction a soil cap to restrict infiltration. This paper presents several problems that have restricted application of passive treatment at a number of mid-continent sites and suggest measures needed to remedy these limitations. The problems discussed include: 1) the collection of AMD from diffuse sources and the generation of sufficient hydraulic head for application of a vertical flow pond (VFP), 2) treatment of AMD with high acidity and metal loading, and 3) high aluminum content. Several sites will be discussed, including the Old Bevier, Cedar Creek, and Otter Creek AML projects in Missouri and the artesian Rock Island No.7 mine pool discharge in Oklahoma.

Acid Drainage Technology Initiative: Continuing Progress in Coal Related Topics

In 1995, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the National Mine Land Reclamation Center (NMLRC) joined with the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, the National Mining Association, academia, and other Federal agencies to form the Acid Drainage Technology Initiative (ADTI). The ADTI partnership seeks to identify, evaluate and develop "best science" based practices to prevent new acid mine drainage sources and eliminate existing sources. The ADTI partnership developed a management structure to oversee the program and developed action plans to address key technical areas. The ADTI organization consists of a coal mining sector, a metal mining sector and a secretariat, overseen by an Operations Committee. The coal mining sector of ADTI is divided into a prediction working group and an avoidance and remediation working group to implement and coordinate the research strategy. This paper summarizes the results of the coal mining sector efforts since the completion of the avoidance and remediation, and prediction handbooks in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and the status of current activities. The activities have included field verification of acid drainage predictions using acid-base accounting, monitoring and follow up evaluation of acid mine drainage passive and in-situ treatment systems, developing standardized kinetic testing protocols, flooded underground mine pools, and issues related to elevated selenium in streams associated with surface mines.

Assessing Reclamation Features and Estimating Reclamation Costs on Abandoned, Inactive, and Permitted Mines Using Real-Time GPS and Tablet Computers

Real time mobile mapping is now a reality for natural resource professionals such as Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Specialists, Mine Inspectors, and Permit Reviewers. During the early 1990's, lightweight global positioning system (GPS) receivers first opened the door for field professionals to accurately locate geographic features and environmental problems without traditional surveying crews and equipment. Further developments in GPS technology during the late 1990's enabled improvements in accuracy of GPS data with the introduction of real-time GPS correction equipment such as portable beacon receivers and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) enabled GPS units. However, standard GPS receivers and even the higher-end GPS mapping equipment lacked the power and capabilities to seamlessly move from the office to the field and back without multiple data conversion and correction exercises. Recent innovations in Tablet computers, card type GPS receivers, integrated GPS technologies along with Geographic Information System (GIS) and Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CAD) software make it possible to use existing aerial photography, satellite imagery, and electronic permitting data to easily and accurately locate natural resource problem features, produce ready-to-use GIS data and maps, conduct in field CAD design, and seamlessly extract the data back in the office. The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) continues efforts in applying mobile computing devices and software to permitting and AML field work. This technology allows Inspectors to take maps and permit data to the field for inspection and verification of mining and permitting activities. The application of AML design and re-design in the field is also being applied along with traditional methods to eventually integrate mobile computing as a tool in AML and Regulatory work. This technology will result in a more efficient means of implementing the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).