30 CFR 740.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... jurisdiction. (e) This subchapter shall not apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations within a... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.11...

Effects of surface mining on fish and wildlife in Appalachia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boccardy, Joseph A.; Spaulding, William M.

1968-01-01

This report on the effects of strip and surface mining on the fish and wildlife resources in eight Appalachian States is based in part on observation made during a tour of strip and surface mined area by the authors, as members of a team of specialist from six Federal agencies. Surface mining has caused extensive damage to fish and wildlife habitats and populations. A total of 832,605 acres of land have been disturbed; 81 percent of these are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. More than 5,000 miles of Appalachian streams and 13,800 acres of impoundments have been seriously contaminated by acid mine water, some of it from surface mining. Additional water acreage has been adversely affected by tremendous quantities of silt and sediment. Reclamation of mined lands is needed. Three of the eight states visited in 1965-66 had no law requiring restoration of strip-mined lands, and other States needed stronger laws and more enforcement (Virginia and Tennessee have since passed laws governing strip mining). Reclamation as currently practiced in the Appalachian region does not adequately restore mined lands to minimal standards necessary to protect and improve fish and wildlife resources.

30 CFR 740.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.1 Scope and purpose. This part provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.1 Scope and purpose. This part provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.1 Scope and purpose. This part provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.1 Scope and purpose. This part provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.1 - Scope and purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.1 Scope and purpose. This part provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation...

The Forestry Reclamation Approach: guide to successful reforestation of mined lands

Treesearch

Mary Beth Adams

2017-01-01

Appalachian forests are among the most productive and diverse in the world. The land underlying them is also rich in coal, and surface mines operated on more than 2.4 million acres in the region from 1977, when the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed, through 2015. Many efforts to reclaim mined lands most often resulted in the establishment of...

Temporal and spatial changes of land use and landscape in a coal mining area in Xilingol grassland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Chunzhu; Zhang, Baolin; Li, Jiannan; Zhao, Junling

2017-01-01

Coal mining, particularly surface mining, inevitably disturbs land. According to Landsat images acquired over Xilingol grassland in 2005, 2009 and 2015, land uses were divided into seven classes, i. e., open stope, stripping area, waste-dump area, mine industrial area, farmland, urban area and the original landscape (grassland), using supervised classification and human-computer interactive interpretation. The overall classification accuracies were 97.72 %, 98.43 % and 96.73 %, respectively; the Kappa coefficients were 0.95, 0.97 and 0.95, respectively. Analysis on LUCC (Land Use and Cover Change) showed that surface coal mining disturbed grassland ecosystem: grassland decreased by 8661.15 hm2 in 2005-2015. The area and proportion of mining operation areas (open stope, stripping area, waste-dump area, mine industrial field) increased, but those of grassland decreased continuously. Transfer matrix of land use changes showed that waste-dump had the largest impacts in mining disturbance, and that effective reclamation of waste-dump areas would mitigate eco-environment destruction, as would be of great significance to protect fragile grassland eco-system. Six landscape index showed that landscape fragmentation increased, and the influences of human activity on landscape was mainly reflected in the expansion of mining area and urban area. Remote sensing monitoring of coal surface mining in grassland would accurately demonstrate the dynamics and trend of LUCC, providing scientific supports for ecological reconstruction in surface mining area.

30 CFR 750.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.1 Scope. This subchapter provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian lands and constitutes the Federal program for Indian lands. ...

30 CFR 750.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.1 Scope. This subchapter provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian lands and constitutes the Federal program for Indian lands. ...

30 CFR 750.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.1 Scope. This subchapter provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian lands and constitutes the Federal program for Indian lands. ...

30 CFR 750.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.1 Scope. This subchapter provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian lands and constitutes the Federal program for Indian lands. ...

30 CFR 750.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.1 Scope. This subchapter provides for the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Indian lands and constitutes the Federal program for Indian lands. ...

30 CFR 904.20 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 904.20 Section 904.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.... Box 8913, Little Rock, AR 72219-8913. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Tulsa...

30 CFR 904.20 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 904.20 Section 904.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.... Box 8913, Little Rock, AR 72219-8913. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Tulsa...

30 CFR 904.20 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 904.20 Section 904.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.... Box 8913, Little Rock, AR 72219-8913. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Tulsa...

30 CFR 904.20 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 904.20 Section 904.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.... Box 8913, Little Rock, AR 72219-8913. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Tulsa...

30 CFR 904.20 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 904.20 Section 904.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT.... Box 8913, Little Rock, AR 72219-8913. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Tulsa...

30 CFR 906.20 - Approval of Colorado abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Colorado abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 906.20 Section 906.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE COLORADO...

43 CFR 20.402 - Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2012-10-01 2011-10-01 true Interests in underground or surface coal... Certain Employees of the Department § 20.402 Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations... coal mining operations means ownership or part ownership by an employee of lands, stocks, bonds...

43 CFR 20.402 - Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Interests in underground or surface coal... Certain Employees of the Department § 20.402 Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations... coal mining operations means ownership or part ownership by an employee of lands, stocks, bonds...

43 CFR 20.402 - Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Interests in underground or surface coal... Certain Employees of the Department § 20.402 Interests in underground or surface coal mining operations... coal mining operations means ownership or part ownership by an employee of lands, stocks, bonds...

30 CFR 740.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.4 Responsibilities. (a) The Secretary is responsible for: (1) Approval, disapproval or conditional approval of mining...

Surface Mining and Reclamation Effects on Flood Response of Watersheds in the Central Appalachian Plateau Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrari, J. R.; Lookingbill, T. R.; McCormick, B.; Townsend, P. A.; Eshleman, K. N.

2009-01-01

Surface mining of coal and subsequent reclamation represent the dominant land use change in the central Appalachian Plateau (CAP) region of the United States. Hydrologic impacts of surface mining have been studied at the plot scale, but effects at broader scales have not been explored adequately. Broad-scale classification of reclaimed sites is difficult because standing vegetation makes them nearly indistinguishable from alternate land uses. We used a land cover data set that accurately maps surface mines for a 187-km2 watershed within the CAP. These land cover data, as well as plot-level data from within the watershed, are used with HSPF (Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran) to estimate changes in flood response as a function of increased mining. Results show that the rate at which flood magnitude increases due to increased mining is linear, with greater rates observed for less frequent return intervals. These findings indicate that mine reclamation leaves the landscape in a condition more similar to urban areas rather than does simple deforestation, and call into question the effectiveness of reclamation in terms of returning mined areas to the hydrological state that existed before mining.

Hydrologic characteristics of surface-mined land reclaimed by sludge irrigation, Fulton County, Illinois

USGS Publications Warehouse

Patterson, G.L.; Fuentes, R.F.; Toler, L.G.

1982-01-01

Analyses of water samples collected at four stream-monitoring stations, in an area surface mined for coal and being reclaimed by sludge irrigation, show the principal metals are sodium, calcium, and magnesium and principal non-metals are chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate. Comparing yearly mean chemical concentrations shows no changing trends since reclamation began, nor are there differences between stations upstream and downstream from the site. Yearly suspended-sediment loads and discharge relations upstream and downstream from the site also show no differences. Discharge hydrographs of two streams draining the site show a delayed response to precipitation due to the storage capacity of several upstream strip-mine lakes. The water-table surface generally follows the irregular topography. Monthly water-level fluctuations were dependent on the surface material (mined or unmined) and proximity to surface discharge. The largest fluctuations were in unmined land away from discharge while the smallest were in mined land near discharge. The water table is closer to the surface in unmined land. Analyses of water samples from 70 wells within or adjacent to the reclamation site showed no differences in water quality which could be attributed to sludge or supernatant application. Samples from wells in mined land, however, had higher concentrations of dissolved sulfate, calcium, magnesium, chloride, iron, zinc, and manganese than samples from wells in unmined land. (USGS)

Integrated mined-area reclamation and land-use planning. Volume 3C. A case study of surface mining and reclamation planning: Georgia Kaolin Company Clay Mines, Washington County, Georgia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guernsey, J L; Brown, L A; Perry, A O

1978-02-01

This case study examines the reclamation practices of the Georgia Kaolin's American Industrial Clay Company Division, a kaolin producer centered in Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson Counties, Georgia. The State of Georgia accounts for more than one-fourth of the world's kaolin production and about three-fourths of U.S. kaolin output. The mining of kaolin in Georgia illustrates the effects of mining and reclaiming lands disturbed by area surface mining. The disturbed areas are reclaimed under the rules and regulations of the Georgia Surface Mining Act of 1968. The natural conditions influencing the reclamation methodologies and techniques are markedly unique from those ofmore » other mining operations. The environmental disturbances and procedures used in reclaiming the kaolin mined lands are reviewed and implications for planners are noted.« less

POST-MINING DEVELOPMENT USING RESOURCES FROM FLOODED UNDERGROUND MINE WORKINGS

EPA Science Inventory

Post-mining issues of land and surface utilization now serve to accentuate how important it is to incorporate sustainable development aspects into hard rock mining. In an effort to revitalize lands degraded by historic mining, 10 acres of mine tailings near the Belmont Mine have...

30 CFR 746.18 - Mining plan modification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... reclamation plan that would result in a change in the postmining land use where the surface is federally-owned. ... the Act; (2) Any change which would adversely affect the level of protection afforded any land... LANDS PROGRAM REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINING PLANS § 746.18 Mining plan modification. (a) Mining plan...

Effects of coal mine subsidence in the Sheridan, Wyoming, area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dunrud, C. Richard; Osterwald, Frank W.

1980-01-01

Analyses of the surface effects of past underground coal mining in the Sheridan, Wyoming, area suggest that underground mining of strippable coal deposits may damage the environment more over long periods of time than would modern surface mining, provided proper restoration procedures are followed after surface mining. Subsidence depressions and pits are a continuing hazard to the environment and to man's activities in the Sheridan, Wyo., area above abandoned underground mines in weak overburden less than about 60 m thick and where the overburden is less than about 10-15 times the thickness of coal mined. In addition, fires commonly start by spontaneous ignition when water and air enter the abandoned mine workings via subsidence cracks and pits. The fires can then spread to unmined coal as they create more cavities, more subsidence, and more cracks and pits through which air can circulate. In modern surface mining operations the total land surface underlain by minable coal is removed to expose the coal. The coal is removed, the overburden and topsoil are replaced, and the land is regraded and revegetated. The land, although disturbed, can be more easily restored and put back into use than can land underlain by abandoned underground mine workings in areas where the overburden is less than about 60 m thick or less than about 10-15 times the thickness of coal mined. The resource recovery of modern surface mining commonly is much greater than that of underground mining procedures. Although present-day underground mining technology is advanced as compared to that of 25-80 years ago, subsidence resulting from underground mining of thick coal beds beneath overburden less than about 60 m thick can still cause greater damage to surface drainage, ground water, and vegetation than can properly designed surface mining operations. This report discusses (11 the geology and surface and underground effects of former large-scale underground coal mining in a 50-km 2 area 5-20 km north of Sheridan, Wyo., (2) a ground and aerial reconnaissance study of a 5-km^2 coal mining area 8-10 km west of Sheridan, and (31 some environmental consequences and problems caused by coal mining.

30 CFR 938.25 - Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 938.25 Section 938.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE PENNSYLVANIA § 938.25 Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments...

30 CFR 906.25 - Approval of Colorado abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Colorado abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 906.25 Section 906.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE COLORADO § 906.25 Approval of Colorado abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

Reforestation of surface mines on lands of VICC Land Company

Treesearch

Thomas F. Evans

1980-01-01

This Virginia coal company's surface mined lands show an adequate stocking of tree seedlings in terms of number per acre, but the distribution of seedlings has been affected by past reclamation practices. Natural reseeding has been an important contributor to the present seedling stock.

Preliminary evaluation of magnitude and frequency of floods in selected small drainage basins in Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kolva, J.R.

1985-01-01

A previous study of flood magitudes and frequencies in Ohio concluded that existing regionalized flood equations may not be adequate for estimating peak flows in small basins that are heavily forested, surface mined, or located in northwestern Ohio. In order to provide a large data base for improving estimation of flood peaks in these basins, 30 crest-stage gages were installed in 1977, in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Transportation, to provide a 10-year record of flood data The study area consists of two distinct parts: Northwestern Ohio, which contains 8 sites, and southern and eastern Ohio, which contains 22 sites in small forested or surface-mined drainage basins. Basin characteristics were determined for all 30 sites for 1978 conditions. Annual peaks were recorded or estimated for all 30 sites for water years 1978-82; an additional year of peak discharges was available at four sites. The 2-year (Q2) and 5-year (Q5) flood peaks were determined from these annual peaks.Q2 and Q5 values also were calculated using published regionalized regression equations for Ohio. The ratios of the observed to predicted 2-year (R2) and 5-year (R5) values were then calculated. This study found that observed flood peaks aree lower than estimated peaks by a significant amount in surface-mined basins. The average ratios of observed to predicted R2 values are 0.51 for basins with more than 40 percent surface-minded land, and 0.68 for sites with any surface-mined land. The average R5 value is 0.55 for sites with more than 40 percent surface-minded land, and 0.61 for sites with any surface-mined land. Estimated flood peaks from forested basins agree with the observed values fairly well. R2 values average 0.87 for sites with 20 percent or more forested land, but no surface-mined land, and R5 values average 0.96. If all sites with more than 20 percent forested land and some surface-mined land are considered, R2 the values average 0.86, and the R5 values average 0.82.

30 CFR 740.17 - Inspection, enforcement and civil penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION... regulatory authority with respect to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands, while... section shall not apply to coal exploration on Federal lands subject to the requirements of 43 CFR parts...

30 CFR 740.17 - Inspection, enforcement and civil penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION... regulatory authority with respect to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands, while... section shall not apply to coal exploration on Federal lands subject to the requirements of 43 CFR parts...

30 CFR 740.17 - Inspection, enforcement and civil penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION... regulatory authority with respect to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands, while... section shall not apply to coal exploration on Federal lands subject to the requirements of 43 CFR parts...

30 CFR 740.17 - Inspection, enforcement and civil penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION... regulatory authority with respect to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands, while... section shall not apply to coal exploration on Federal lands subject to the requirements of 43 CFR parts...

30 CFR 740.17 - Inspection, enforcement and civil penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION... regulatory authority with respect to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands, while... section shall not apply to coal exploration on Federal lands subject to the requirements of 43 CFR parts...

30 CFR 931.25 - Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 931.25 Section 931.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE NEW MEXICO § 931.25 Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 931.25 - Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 931.25 Section 931.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE NEW MEXICO § 931.25 Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 931.25 - Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 931.25 Section 931.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE NEW MEXICO § 931.25 Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 931.25 - Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 931.25 Section 931.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE NEW MEXICO § 931.25 Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 931.25 - Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. 931.25 Section 931.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE NEW MEXICO § 931.25 Approval of New Mexico abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) presence and proliferation on former surface coal mines in Eastern USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oliphant, Adam J.; Wynne, R.H.; Zipper, Carl E.; Ford, W. Mark; Donovan, P. F.; Li, Jing

2017-01-01

Invasive plants threaten native plant communities. Surface coal mines in the Appalachian Mountains are among the most disturbed landscapes in North America, but information about land cover characteristics of Appalachian mined lands is lacking. The invasive shrub autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) occurs on these sites and interferes with ecosystem recovery by outcompeting native trees, thus inhibiting re-establishment of the native woody-plant community. We analyzed Landsat 8 satellite imagery to describe autumn olive’s distribution on post-mined lands in southwestern Virginia within the Appalachian coalfield. Eight images from April 2013 through January 2015 served as input data. Calibration and validation data obtained from high-resolution aerial imagery were used to develop a land cover classification model that identified areas where autumn olive was a primary component of land cover. Results indicate that autumn olive cover was sufficiently dense to enable detection on approximately 12.6 % of post-mined lands within the study area. The classified map had user’s and producer’s accuracies of 85.3 and 78.6 %, respectively, for the autumn olive coverage class. Overall accuracy was assessed in reference to an independent validation dataset at 96.8 %. Autumn olive was detected more frequently on mines disturbed prior to 2003, the last year of known plantings, than on lands disturbed by more recent mining. These results indicate that autumn olive growing on reclaimed coal mines in Virginia and elsewhere in eastern USA can be mapped using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager imagery; and that autumn olive occurrence is a significant landscape vegetation feature on former surface coal mines in the southwestern Virginia segment of the Appalachian coalfield.

Symposium on surface coal mining and reclamation in the Northern Great Plains. Research on shrub establishment in reclamation of surface-mined lands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eddleman, L.E.

1980-01-01

Shrubs are an important component of plant communities in southeastern Montana. Re-establishment of the majority of native shrubs by seed on surface coal mine lands has not been generally successful. Field plantings at the Rosebud Mine of 25 shrub and half-shrub species were initiated in 1978 using seed from native populations. Three species Atriplex canescens, Atriplex nuttallii and Ceratoids lanata establish numerous seedlings in both wet and dry years. No emergence was obtained from 12 species.

30 CFR 761.11 - Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Areas where surface coal mining operations are....11 Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited. You may not conduct surface coal mining operations on the following lands unless you either have valid existing rights, as...

30 CFR 761.11 - Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Areas where surface coal mining operations are....11 Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited. You may not conduct surface coal mining operations on the following lands unless you either have valid existing rights, as...

30 CFR 761.11 - Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Areas where surface coal mining operations are....11 Areas where surface coal mining operations are prohibited or limited. You may not conduct surface coal mining operations on the following lands unless you either have valid existing rights, as...

76 FR 12852 - Louisiana Regulatory Program/Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-09

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 918... Reclamation Plan AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. ACTION: Final rule; approval of amendment. SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are...

75 FR 60373 - Louisiana Regulatory Program/Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-30

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 918... Reclamation Plan AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule... of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment...

76 FR 76104 - Arkansas Regulatory Program and Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-06

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 904... Reclamation Plan AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period on proposed amendment. SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and...

77 FR 55430 - Arkansas Regulatory Program and Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-10

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 30 CFR Part 904... Reclamation Plan AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule; public comment period on proposed amendment. SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and...

30 CFR 750.13 - Small operator assistance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Small operator assistance. 750.13 Section 750.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS...

Reconstructing disturbance history for an intensively mined region by time-series analysis of Landsat imagery.

PubMed

Li, Jing; Zipper, Carl E; Donovan, Patricia F; Wynne, Randolph H; Oliphant, Adam J

2015-09-01

Surface mining disturbances have attracted attention globally due to extensive influence on topography, land use, ecosystems, and human populations in mineral-rich regions. We analyzed a time series of Landsat satellite imagery to produce a 28-year disturbance history for surface coal mining in a segment of eastern USA's central Appalachian coalfield, southwestern Virginia. The method was developed and applied as a three-step sequence: vegetation index selection, persistent vegetation identification, and mined-land delineation by year of disturbance. The overall classification accuracy and kappa coefficient were 0.9350 and 0.9252, respectively. Most surface coal mines were identified correctly by location and by time of initial disturbance. More than 8 % of southwestern Virginia's >4000-km(2) coalfield area was disturbed by surface coal mining over the 28-year period. Approximately 19.5 % of the Appalachian coalfield surface within the most intensively mined county (Wise County) has been disturbed by mining. Mining disturbances expanded steadily and progressively over the study period. Information generated can be applied to gain further insight concerning mining influences on ecosystems and other essential environmental features.

30 CFR 886.27 - What special procedures apply to Indian lands not subject to an approved Tribal reclamation program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND... mitigate emergency situations or extreme danger situations arising from past mining practices and begin... Indian tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs office having jurisdiction over the Indian lands. (d) If a...

43 CFR 4.1383 - Hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Hearing. 4.1383 Section 4.1383 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Office of Surface Mining...

30 CFR 900.15 - Federal lands program cooperative agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... 900.15 Section 900.15 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE INTRODUCTION § 900.15 Federal lands program cooperative agreements. The full text of any State and Federal...

30 CFR 740.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... national forest, as specified in § 761.11(b) of this chapter. (b) OSM is responsible for: (1) Providing a... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.4...

30 CFR 740.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... national forest, as specified in § 761.11(b) of this chapter. (b) OSM is responsible for: (1) Providing a... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.4...

30 CFR 740.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... national forest, as specified in § 761.11(b) of this chapter. (b) OSM is responsible for: (1) Providing a... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.4...

30 CFR 740.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... national forest, as specified in § 761.11(b) of this chapter. (b) OSM is responsible for: (1) Providing a... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.4...

30 CFR 740.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.11... State or Federal regulatory program in subchapter T of this chapter apply to: (1) Coal exploration operations on Federal lands not subject to 43 CFR part 3400, and (2) Surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.11... State or Federal regulatory program in subchapter T of this chapter apply to: (1) Coal exploration operations on Federal lands not subject to 43 CFR part 3400, and (2) Surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.11... State or Federal regulatory program in subchapter T of this chapter apply to: (1) Coal exploration operations on Federal lands not subject to 43 CFR part 3400, and (2) Surface coal mining and reclamation...

30 CFR 740.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.11... State or Federal regulatory program in subchapter T of this chapter apply to: (1) Coal exploration operations on Federal lands not subject to 43 CFR part 3400, and (2) Surface coal mining and reclamation...

43 CFR 4.1383 - Hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hearing. 4.1383 Section 4.1383 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Office of Surface Mining...

The influence of the fault zone width on land surface vibrations after the high-energy tremor in the "Rydułtowy-Anna" hard coal mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilecka, Elżbieta; Szwarkowski, Dariusz

2018-04-01

In the article, a numerical analysis of the impact of the width of the fault zone on land surface tremors on the area of the "Rydułtowy - Anna" hard coal mine was performed. The analysis covered the dynamic impact of the actual seismic wave after the high-energy tremor of 7 June 2013. Vibrations on the land surface are a measure of the mining damage risk. It is particularly the horizontal components of land vibrations that are dangerous to buildings which is reflected in the Mining Scales of Intensity (GSI) of vibrations. The run of a seismic wave in the rock mass from the hypocenter to the area's surface depends on the lithology of the area and the presence of fault zones. The rock mass network cut by faults of various widths influences the amplitude of tremor reaching the area's surface. The analysis of the impact of the width of the fault zone was done for three alternatives.

Deep Impact: Effects of Mountaintop Mining on Surface Topography, Bedrock Structure, and Downstream Waters.

PubMed

Ross, Matthew R V; McGlynn, Brian L; Bernhardt, Emily S

2016-02-16

Land use impacts are commonly quantified and compared using 2D maps, limiting the scale of their reported impacts to surface area estimates. Yet, nearly all land use involves disturbances below the land surface. Incorporating this third dimension into our estimates of land use impact is especially important when examining the impacts of mining. Mountaintop mining is the most common form of coal mining in the Central Appalachian ecoregion. Previous estimates suggest that active, reclaimed, or abandoned mountaintop mines cover ∼7% of Central Appalachia. While this is double the areal extent of development in the ecoregion (estimated to occupy <3% of the land area), the impacts are far more extensive than areal estimates alone can convey as the impacts of mines extend 10s to 100s of meters below the current land surface. Here, we provide the first estimates for the total volumetric and topographic disturbance associated with mining in an 11 500 km(2) region of southern West Virginia. We find that the cutting of ridges and filling of valleys has lowered the median slope of mined landscapes in the region by nearly 10 degrees while increasing their average elevation by 3 m as a result of expansive valley filling. We estimate that in southern West Virginia, more than 6.4km(3) of bedrock has been broken apart and deposited into 1544 headwater valley fills. We used NPDES monitoring datatsets available for 91 of these valley fills to explore whether fill characteristics could explain variation in the pH or selenium concentrations reported for streams draining these fills. We found that the volume of overburden in individual valley fills correlates with stream pH and selenium concentration, and suggest that a three-dimensional assessment of mountaintop mining impacts is necessary to predict both the severity and the longevity of the resulting environmental impacts.

Chapter 7: Selecting tree species for reforestation of Appalachian mined lands

Treesearch

V. Davis; J.A. Burger; R. Rathfon; C.E. Zipper

2017-01-01

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a method for reclaiming coal-mined land to forested postmining land uses under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) (Chapter 2, this volume). Step 4 of the FRA is to plant native trees for commercial timber value, wildlife habitat, soil stability, watershed protection, and other environmental...

Recent developments in the reclamation of surface mined lands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sharma, K.D.; Gough, L.P.; Kumar, S.; Sharma, B.K.; Saxena, S.K.

1997-01-01

A broad review of mine land reclamation problems and challenges in arid lands is presented with special emphasis on work recently completed in India. The economics of mining in the Indian Desert is second only to agriculture in importance. Lands disturbed by mining, however, have only recently been the focus of reclamation attempts. Studies were made and results compiled of problems associated with germplasm selection, soil, plant and overburden characterization and manipulation, plant establishment methods utilized, soil amendment needs, use and conservation of available water and the evaluation of ecosystem sustainability. Emphasis is made of the need for multi-disciplinary approaches to mine land reclamation research and for the long-term monitoring of reclamation success.

30 CFR 715.11 - General obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INITIAL... surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on lands where any element of the operations is... are established by part 716 of this chapter for— (1) Surface coal mining operations on steep slopes...

Changes in the Extent of Surface Mining and Reclamation in the Central Appalachians Detected Using a 1976-2006 Landsat Time Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Philip A.; Helmers, David P.; Kingdon, Clayton C.; McNeil, Brenden E.; de Beurs, Kirsten M.; Eshleman, Keith N.

2009-01-01

Surface mining and reclamation is the dominant driver of land cover land use change (LCLUC) in the Central Appalachian Mountain region of the Eastern U.S. Accurate quantification of the extent of mining activities is important for assessing how this LCLUC affects ecosystem services such as aesthetics, biodiversity, and mitigation of flooding.We used Landsat imagery from 1976, 1987, 1999 and 2006 to map the extent of surface mines and mine reclamation for eight large watersheds in the Central Appalachian region of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. We employed standard image processing techniques in conjunction with a temporal decision tree and GIS maps of mine permits and wetlands to map active and reclaimed mines and track changes through time. For the entire study area, active surface mine extent was highest in 1976, prior to implementation of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act in 1977, with 1.76% of the study area in active mines, declining to 0.44% in 2006. The most extensively mined watershed, Georges Creek in Maryland, was 5.45% active mines in 1976, declining to 1.83% in 2006. For the entire study area, the area of reclaimed mines increased from 1.35% to 4.99% from 1976 to 2006, and from 4.71% to 15.42% in Georges Creek. Land cover conversion to mines and then reclaimed mines after 1976 was almost exclusively from forest. Accuracy levels for mined and reclaimed cover was above 85% for all time periods, and was generally above 80% for mapping active and reclaimed mines separately, especially for the later time periods in which good accuracy assessment data were available. Among other implications, the mapped patterns of LCLUC are likely to significantly affect watershed hydrology, as mined and reclaimed areas have lower infiltration capacity and thus more rapid runoff than unmined forest watersheds, leading to greater potential for extreme flooding during heavy rainfall events.

30 CFR 745.13 - Authority reserved by the Secretary.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... with surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within a national forest, as specified in § 761.11... Section 745.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE... surface coal mining under subchapter F of this chapter or terminate such designations; (b) Comply with the...

30 CFR 745.13 - Authority reserved by the Secretary.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... with surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within a national forest, as specified in § 761.11... Section 745.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE... surface coal mining under subchapter F of this chapter or terminate such designations; (b) Comply with the...

30 CFR 745.13 - Authority reserved by the Secretary.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... with surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within a national forest, as specified in § 761.11... Section 745.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE... surface coal mining under subchapter F of this chapter or terminate such designations; (b) Comply with the...

30 CFR 745.13 - Authority reserved by the Secretary.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... with surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within a national forest, as specified in § 761.11... Section 745.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE... surface coal mining under subchapter F of this chapter or terminate such designations; (b) Comply with the...

30 CFR 745.13 - Authority reserved by the Secretary.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... with surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within a national forest, as specified in § 761.11... Section 745.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE... surface coal mining under subchapter F of this chapter or terminate such designations; (b) Comply with the...

77 FR 34402 - Notice of Availability of the Final Land Use Analysis and Final Environmental Impact Statement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-11

... mining would occur directly beneath the lake itself and no surface mining would take place. East Lynn... Rockspring have approved mining and reclamation plans from the West Virginia Department of Environmental... plan purposes if leases were to be issued and mine plans approved. The Office of Surface Mining...

West Virginia wood waste from uncharted sources: log landings and active surface mines

Treesearch

Shawn T. Grushecky; Lawrence E. Osborn

2013-01-01

Traditionally, biomass availability estimates from West Virginia have focused on primary and secondary mill byproducts and logging residues. Other sources of woody biomass are available that have not been surveyed. Through a series of field studies during 2010 and 2011, biomass availability estimates were developed for surface mine sites and log landings in West...

Chapter 10: Establishing native trees on legacy surface mines

Treesearch

J.A. Burger; C.E. Zipper; P.N. Angel; N. Hall; J.G. Skousen; C.D. Barton; S. Eggerud

2017-01-01

More than 1 million acres have been surface mined for coal in the Appalachian region. Today, much of this land is unmanaged, unproductive, and covered with nonnative plants. Establishing productive forests on such lands will aid restoration of ecosystem services provided by forests—services such as watershed protection, water quality enhancement, carbon storage, and...

Using temporarily coherent point interferometric synthetic aperture radar for land subsidence monitoring in a mining region of western China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Hongdong; Xu, Qiang; Hu, Zhongbo; Du, Sen

2017-04-01

Yuyang mine is located in the semiarid western region of China where, due to serious land subsidence caused by underground coal exploitation, the local ecological environment has become more fragile. An advanced interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique, temporarily coherent point InSAR, is applied to measure surface movements caused by different mining conditions. Fifteen high-resolution TerraSAR-X images acquired between October 2, 2012, and March 27, 2013, were processed to generate time-series data for ground deformation. The results show that the maximum accumulated values of subsidence and velocity were 86 mm and 162 mm/year, respectively; these measurements were taken above the fully mechanized longwall caving faces. Based on the dynamic land subsidence caused by the exploitation of one working face, the land subsidence range was deduced to have increased 38 m in the mining direction with 11 days' coal extraction. Although some mining faces were ceased in 2009, they could also have contributed to a small residual deformation of overlying strata. Surface subsidence of the backfill mining region was quite small, the maximum only 21 mm, so backfill exploitation is an effective method for reducing the land subsidence while coal is mined.

43 CFR 23.12 - Appeals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior SURFACE EXPLORATION, MINING AND RECLAMATION OF LANDS § 23... mining supervisor made pursuant to the provisions of this part shall have a right of appeal to the Board... from was rendered by a mining supervisor, and the further right to appeal to the Board of Land Appeals...

Reforestation of mined land in the northeastern and north-central U.S.

Treesearch

Walter H. Davidson; Russell J. Hutnik; Delbert E. Parr

1984-01-01

This paper reviews the state of the art of surface mine reclamation for forestry in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Legislative constraints, socioeconomic issues, factors limiting the success of reforestation efforts, post-mining land-use trends, species options, and establishment techniques are discussed. Sources of assistance to...

30 CFR 902.25 - Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... reclamation plan amendments. 902.25 Section 902.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE ALASKA § 902.25 Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following... approving all, or portions of these amendments, were published in the Federal Register and the State...

30 CFR 914.25 - Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 26, 1994 Emergency response reclamation program. July 23, 1997 March 16, 1998 Indiana plan §§ 884.13... reclamation plan amendments. 914.25 Section 914.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE INDIANA § 914.25 Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 914.25 - Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 26, 1994 Emergency response reclamation program. July 23, 1997 March 16, 1998 Indiana plan §§ 884.13... reclamation plan amendments. 914.25 Section 914.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE INDIANA § 914.25 Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

30 CFR 902.25 - Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... reclamation plan amendments. 902.25 Section 902.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE ALASKA § 902.25 Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following... approving all, or portions of these amendments, were published in the Federal Register and the State...

30 CFR 902.25 - Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... reclamation plan amendments. 902.25 Section 902.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE ALASKA § 902.25 Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following... approving all, or portions of these amendments, were published in the Federal Register and the State...

30 CFR 914.25 - Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 26, 1994 Emergency response reclamation program. July 23, 1997 March 16, 1998 Indiana plan §§ 884.13... reclamation plan amendments. 914.25 Section 914.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... STATE INDIANA § 914.25 Approval of Indiana abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The...

Revegetation of surface-mined lands in Pennsylvania

Treesearch

G. Nevin Strock

1980-01-01

The reforestation of surface mines in Pennsylvania became prevalent in the middle 1940's with enactment of state legislation to regulate surface mining of bituminous coal. Though this early legislation did not provide for intensive environment protection standards in comparison to state legislation which followed in the early 1960's and early 1970's and...

30 CFR 900.2 - Objectives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... texts of State and Federal cooperative agreements for regulation of mining on Federal lands. The... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE INTRODUCTION § 900.2 Objectives. The objective of...

Estimating the extent of impervious surfaces and turf grass across large regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Claggett, Peter; Irani, Frederick M.; Thompson, Renee L.

2013-01-01

The ability of researchers to accurately assess the extent of impervious and pervious developed surfaces, e.g., turf grass, using land-cover data derived from Landsat satellite imagery in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is limited due to the resolution of the data and systematic discrepancies between developed land-cover classes, surface mines, forests, and farmlands. Estimates of impervious surface and turf grass area in the Mid-Atlantic, United States that were based on 2006 Landsat-derived land-cover data were substantially lower than estimates based on more authoritative and independent sources. New estimates of impervious surfaces and turf grass area derived using land-cover data combined with ancillary information on roads, housing units, surface mines, and sampled estimates of road width and residential impervious area were up to 57 and 45% higher than estimates based strictly on land-cover data. These new estimates closely approximate estimates derived from authoritative and independent sources in developed counties.

Hydrogeochemical Investigations of Historic Mining Districts, Central Western Slope of Colorado, Including Influence on Surface-Water Quality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nash, J. Thomas

2002-01-01

This report describes reconnaissance hydrogeochemical investigations of 22 mining districts on the Western Slope of Colorado in the Gunnison and Uncompahgre National Forests and adjacent public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Sources and fates of contaminants from historic mines, mine waste, and mill tailings are interpreted from chemical analyses for 190 samples of surface waters; 185 samples of mined rocks, mill tailings, and altered rocks; and passive leach analyses of 116 samples of those mineralized materials. Short reaches of several headwater streams show relatively low level effects of historic mining; the headwaters of the Uncompahgre River are highly contaminated by mines and unmined altered rocks in the Red Mountain district. There is encouraging evidence that natural processes attenuate mine-related contamination in most districts.

76 FR 6825 - Notice of Receipt of a Petition To Designate Lands Unsuitable for Mining and To Prepare a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-08

... petition to designate certain lands within the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and the Emory... unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations in accordance with Section 522 of the Surface... for an EIS on the petition and the scope of the issues which should be analyzed in the combined...

Revegetating surface-mined lands with herbaceous and woody species together

Treesearch

Willis G. Vogel

1980-01-01

Herbaceous cover is required for erosion control on surface-mined lands even where forests are to be established. Where planted with trees, herbaceous species usually cause an increase in tree seedling mortality and retard tree growth, especially in the first few years after planting. Trees seem to be affected most by competition for moisture because their survival is...

30 CFR 902.20 - Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Alaska abandoned mine land reclamation plan. 902.20 Section 902.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT..., Denver, Colorado 80202-5733. [60 FR 33724, June 29, 1995, as amended at 60 FR 54593, Oct. 25, 1995] ...

Research of land resources comprehensive utilization of coal mining in plain area based on GIS: case of Panyi Coal Mine of Huainan Mining Group Corp.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Chunxiao; Wang, Songhui; Sun, Dian; Chen, Dong

2007-06-01

The result of land use in coalfield is important to sustainable development in resourceful city. For surface morphology being changed by subsidence, the mining subsidence becomes the main problem to land use with the negative influence of ecological environment, production and steadily develop in coal mining areas. Taking Panyi Coal Mine of Huainan Mining Group Corp as an example, this paper predicted and simulated the mining subsidence in Matlab environment on the basis of the probability integral method. The change of land use types of early term, medium term and long term was analyzed in accordance with the results of mining subsidence prediction with GIS as a spatial data management and spatial analysis tool. The result of analysis showed that 80% area in Panyi Coal Mine be affected by mining subsidence and 52km2 perennial waterlogged area was gradually formed. The farmland ecosystem was gradually turned into wetland ecosystem in most study area. According to the economic and social development and natural conditions of mining area, calculating the ecological environment, production and people's livelihood, this paper supplied the plan for comprehensive utilization of land resource. In this plan, intervention measures be taken during the coal mining and the mining subsidence formation and development, and this method can solve the problems of Land use at the relative low cost.

Restoring Forests and Associated Ecosystem Services on Appalachian Coal Surface Mines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zipper, Carl E.; Burger, James A.; Skousen, Jeffrey G.; Angel, Patrick N.; Barton, Christopher D.; Davis, Victor; Franklin, Jennifer A.

2011-05-01

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.

Response of transplanted aspen to irrigation and weeding on a Colorado reclaimed surface coal mine

Treesearch

Robert C. Musselman; Wayne D. Shepperd; Frederick W. Smith; Lance A. Asherin; Brian W. Gee

2012-01-01

Successful re-establishment of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) on surface-mined lands in the western United States is problematic because the species generally regenerates vegetatively by sprouting from parent roots in the soil; however, topsoil is removed in the mining process. Previous attempts to plant aspen on reclaimed mine sites have failed because...

Exploitation of multi-temporal Earth Observation imagery for monitoring land cover change in mining sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petropoulos, G.; Partsinevelos, P.; Mitraka, Z.

2012-04-01

Surface mining has been shown to cause intensive environmental degradation in terms of landscape, vegetation and biological communities. Nowadays, the commercial availability of remote sensing imagery at high spatiotemporal scales, has improved dramatically our ability to monitor surface mining activity and evaluate its impact on the environment and society. In this study we investigate the potential use of Landsat TM imagery combined with diverse classification techniques, namely artificial neural networks and support vector machines for delineating mining exploration and assessing its effect on vegetation in various surface mining sites in the Greek island of Milos. Assessment of the mining impact in the study area is validated through the analysis of available QuickBird imagery acquired nearly concurrently to the TM overpasses. Results indicate the capability of the TM sensor combined with the image analysis applied herein as a potential economically viable solution to provide rapidly and at regular time intervals information on mining activity and its impact to the local environment. KEYWORDS: mining environmental impact, remote sensing, image classification, change detection, land reclamation, support vector machines, neural networks

Application of multispectral scanner data to the study of an abandoned surface coal mine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spisz, E. W.

1978-01-01

The utility of aircraft multispectral scanner data for describing the land cover features of an abandoned contour-mined coal mine is considered. The data were obtained with an 11 band multispectral scanner at an altitude of 1.2 kilometers. Supervised, maximum-likelihood statistical classifications of the data were made to establish land-cover classes and also to describe in more detail the barren surface features as they may pertain to the reclamation or restoration of the area. The scanner data for the surface-water areas were studied to establish the variability and range of the spectral signatures. Both day and night thermal images of the area are presented. The results of the study show that a high degree of statistical separation can be obtained from the multispectral scanner data for the various land-cover features.

30 CFR 700.4 - Responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... concurrence of the Federal surface managing agency as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal... the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the initial regulatory program... coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in accordance with 30 CFR part 745. (e) The...

30 CFR 700.4 - Responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... concurrence of the Federal surface managing agency as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal... the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the initial regulatory program... coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in accordance with 30 CFR part 745. (e) The...

30 CFR 700.4 - Responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... concurrence of the Federal surface managing agency as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal... the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the initial regulatory program... coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in accordance with 30 CFR part 745. (e) The...

30 CFR 700.4 - Responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... concurrence of the Federal surface managing agency as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal... the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the initial regulatory program... coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in accordance with 30 CFR part 745. (e) The...

30 CFR 700.4 - Responsibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... concurrence of the Federal surface managing agency as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal... the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the initial regulatory program... coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in accordance with 30 CFR part 745. (e) The...

The use of landscape fabric and supplemental irrigation to enhance survival and growth of woody perennials planted on reclaimed surface mine lands

Treesearch

R .C. Musselman; F. W. Smith; W. D. Shepperd; L. A. Asherin; B. W. Gee

2009-01-01

A study was initiated to determine the effectiveness of landscape fabric and supplemental irrigation in survival and growth of woody perennials planted on reclaimed surface coal mine lands. The study compared growth and survival of nursery grown potted aspen and serviceberry planted with or without landscape fabric, and with or without biweekly supplemental irrigation...

One-year response of American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) to granular fertilizer applications on a reclaimed surface mine in eastern Kentucky

Treesearch

Josh Brinks; John Lhotka; Chris. Barton

2011-01-01

The establishment of intensively managed woody energy crops on reclaimed surface mine lands provides an opportunity to diversify domestic biomass sources, while increasing the productivity and economic value of underutilized land. Our objective is to test the effect of fertilization on the growth and biomass accumulation of American sycamore (Platanus...

30 CFR 769.13 - Contents of petitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Contents of petitions. 769.13 Section 769.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AREAS UNSUITABLE FOR MINING PETITION PROCESS FOR DESIGNATION OF FEDERAL LANDS AS UNSUITABLE FOR ALL OR CERTAIN TYPES OF SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS...

30 CFR 785.14 - Mountaintop removal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... mountaintop removal mining. (b) Mountaintop removal mining means surface mining activities, where the mining operation removes an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or... adjacent land uses; (B) Obtainable according to data regarding expected need and market; (C) Assured of...

Establishment of trees and shrubs on lands disturbed by mining in the West

Treesearch

Ardell J. Bjugstad

1984-01-01

Increased research and development of cultural practices and species has assured success of establishment of trees and shrubs on lands disturbed by surface mining. Trickle irrigation and water harvesting techniques have increased survival of planted stock by 250 percent for some species.

30 CFR 875.14 - Eligible lands and water after certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... 875.14 Section 875.14 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT... such mining or processing, and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status before August 3, 1977. However, for Federal lands, waters, and facilities under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service...

Spatial database of mining-related features in 2001 at selected phosphate mines, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, and Caribou Counties, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moyle, Phillip R.; Kayser, Helen Z.

2006-01-01

This report describes the spatial database, PHOSMINE01, and the processes used to delineate mining-related features (active and inactive/historical) in the core of the southeastern Idaho phosphate resource area. The spatial data have varying degrees of accuracy and attribution detail. Classification of areas by type of mining-related activity at active mines is generally detailed; however, for many of the closed or inactive mines the spatial coverage does not differentiate mining-related surface disturbance features. Nineteen phosphate mine sites are included in the study, three active phosphate mines - Enoch Valley (nearing closure), Rasmussen Ridge, and Smoky Canyon - and 16 inactive (or historical) phosphate mines - Ballard, Champ, Conda, Diamond Gulch, Dry Valley, Gay, Georgetown Canyon, Henry, Home Canyon, Lanes Creek, Maybe Canyon, Mountain Fuel, Trail Canyon, Rattlesnake, Waterloo, and Wooley Valley. Approximately 6,000 hc (15,000 ac), or 60 km2 (23 mi2) of phosphate mining-related surface disturbance are documented in the spatial coverage. Spatial data for the inactive mines is current because no major changes have occurred; however, the spatial data for active mines were derived from digital maps prepared in early 2001 and therefore recent activity is not included. The inactive Gay Mine has the largest total area of disturbance, 1,900 hc (4,700 ac) or about 19 km2 (7.4 mi2). It encompasses over three times the disturbance area of the next largest mine, the Conda Mine with 610 hc (1,500 ac), and it is nearly four times the area of the Smoky Canyon Mine, the largest of the active mines with about 550 hc (1,400 ac). The wide range of phosphate mining-related surface disturbance features (141) from various industry maps were reduced to 15 types or features based on a generic classification system used for this study: mine pit; backfilled mine pit; waste rock dump; adit and waste rock dump; ore stockpile; topsoil stockpile; tailings or tailings pond; sediment catchment; facilities; road; railroad; water reservoir; disturbed land, undifferentiated; and undisturbed land. In summary, the spatial coverage includes polygons totaling about 1,100 hc (2,800 ac) of mine pits, 440 hc (1100 ac) of backfilled mine pits, 1,600 hc (3,800 ac) of waste rock dumps, 31 hc (75 ac) of ore stockpiles, and 44 hc (110 ac) of tailings or tailings ponds. Areas of undifferentiated phosphate mining-related land disturbances, called 'disturbed land, undifferentiated,' total about 2,200 hc (5,500 ac) or nearly 22 km2 (8.6 mi2). No determination has been made as to status of reclamation on any of the lands. Subsequent site-specific studies to delineate distinct mine features will allow additional revisions to this spatial database.

30 CFR 746.14 - Approval, disapproval or conditional approval, of mining plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., of mining plan. 746.14 Section 746.14 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINING PLANS § 746.14 Approval, disapproval or conditional approval, of mining plan. The Secretary shall approve, disapprove or...

30 CFR 876.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM § 876.1 Scope. This part establishes the requirements and procedures for the preparation, submission and approval of State or Indian tribe Acid Mine...

30 CFR 876.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM § 876.1 Scope. This part establishes the requirements and procedures for the preparation, submission and approval of State or Indian tribe Acid Mine...

30 CFR 876.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM § 876.1 Scope. This part establishes the requirements and procedures for the preparation, submission and approval of State or Indian tribe Acid Mine...

30 CFR 876.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM § 876.1 Scope. This part establishes the requirements and procedures for the preparation, submission and approval of State or Indian tribe Acid Mine...

30 CFR 876.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM § 876.1 Scope. This part establishes the requirements and procedures for the preparation, submission and approval of State or Indian tribe Acid Mine...

Application of LANDSAT-2 data to the implementation and enforcement of the Pennsylvania Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, O. R. (Principal Investigator); Nichols, D. A.; Anderson, R.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Evaluation of LANDSAT imagery indicates severe limitations in its utility for surface mine land studies. Image stripping resulting from unequal detector response on satellite degrades the image quality to the extent that images of scales larger than 1:125,000 are of limited value for manual interpretation. Computer processing of LANDSAT data to improve image quality is essential; the removal of scanline stripping and enhancement of mine land reflectance data combined with color composite printing permits useful photographic enlargements to approximately 1:60,000.

43 CFR 3931.60 - Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... workings and in situ surface operations. 3931.60 Section 3931.60 Public Lands: Interior Regulations... § 3931.60 Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations. Maps of... in plan views. Maps must be based on accurate surveys and certified by a professional engineer...

43 CFR 3931.60 - Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... workings and in situ surface operations. 3931.60 Section 3931.60 Public Lands: Interior Regulations... § 3931.60 Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations. Maps of... in plan views. Maps must be based on accurate surveys and certified by a professional engineer...

43 CFR 3931.60 - Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... workings and in situ surface operations. 3931.60 Section 3931.60 Public Lands: Interior Regulations... § 3931.60 Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations. Maps of... in plan views. Maps must be based on accurate surveys and certified by a professional engineer...

43 CFR 3931.60 - Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... workings and in situ surface operations. 3931.60 Section 3931.60 Public Lands: Interior Regulations....60 Maps of underground and surface mine workings and in situ surface operations. Maps of underground... reference to sea level. When required by the BLM, include vertical projections and cross sections in plan...

25 CFR 216.4 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... mining sites and mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses... quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control agency, or by the...

25 CFR 216.4 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... mining sites and mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses... quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control agency, or by the...

25 CFR 216.4 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... mining sites and mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses... quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control agency, or by the...

25 CFR 216.4 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... mining sites and mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses... quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control agency, or by the...

43 CFR 23.13 - Consultation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior SURFACE EXPLORATION, MINING AND RECLAMATION OF... jurisdiction of an agency other than the Department of the Interior or under the jurisdiction of a bureau of the Department of the Interior other than the Bureau of Land Management, the mining supervisor or the...

30 CFR 785.25 - Lands eligible for remining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... application to conduct a surface coal mining operation on lands eligible for remining must comply with this... environmental and safety problems related to prior mining activity at the site and that could be reasonably... tailored to current site conditions. (2) With regard to potential environmental and safety problems...

Application of ERTS-A imagery to fracture related mine safety hazards in the coal mining industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, C. E.; Wobber, F. J. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The most important result to date is the demonstration of the special value of repetitive ERTS-1 multiband coverage for detecting previously unknown fracture lineaments despite the presence of a deep glacial overburden. The Illinois Basin is largely covered with glacial drift and few rock outcrops are present. A contribution to the geological understanding of Illinois and Indiana has been made. Analysis of ERTS-1 imagery has provided useful information to the State of Indiana concerning the surface mined lands. The contrast between healthy vegetation and bare ground as imaged by Band 7 is sharp and substantial detail can be obtained concerning the extent of disturbed lands, associated water bodies, large haul roads, and extent of mined lands revegetation. Preliminary results of analysis suggest a reasonable correlation between image-detected fractures and mine roof fall accidents for a few areas investigated. ERTS-1 applications to surface mining operations appear probable, but further investigations are required. The likelihood of applying ERTS-1 derived fracture data to improve coal mine safety in the entire Illinois Basin is suggested from studies conducted in Indiana.

Geochemical Analyses of Surface and Shallow Gas Flux and Composition Over a Proposed Carbon Sequestration Site in Eastern Kentucky

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas Parris; Michael Solis; Kathryn Takacs

2009-12-31

Using soil gas chemistry to detect leakage from underground reservoirs (i.e. microseepage) requires that the natural range of soil gas flux and chemistry be fully characterized. To meet this need, soil gas flux (CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}) and the bulk (CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}) and isotopic chemistry ({delta}{sup 13}C-CO2) of shallow soil gases (<1 m, 3.3 ft) were measured at 25 locations distributed among two active oil and gas fields, an active strip mine, and a relatively undisturbed research forest in eastern Kentucky. The measurements apportion the biologic, atmospheric, and geologic influences on soil gas composition under varying degrees ofmore » human surface disturbance. The measurements also highlight potential challenges in using soil gas chemistry as a monitoring tool where the surface cover consists of reclaimed mine land or is underlain by shallow coals. For example, enrichment of ({delta}{sup 13}C-CO2) and high CH{sub 4} concentrations in soils have been historically used as indicators of microseepage, but in the reclaimed mine lands similar soil chemistry characteristics likely result from dissolution of carbonate cement in siliciclastic clasts having {delta}{sup 13}C values close to 0{per_thousand} and degassing of coal fragments. The gases accumulate in the reclaimed mine land soils because intense compaction reduces soil permeability, thereby impeding equilibration with the atmosphere. Consequently, the reclaimed mine lands provide a false microseepage anomaly. Further potential challenges arise from low permeability zones associated with compacted soils in reclaimed mine lands and shallow coals in undisturbed areas that might impede upward gas migration. To investigate the effect of these materials on gas migration and composition, four 10 m (33 ft) deep monitoring wells were drilled in reclaimed mine material and in undisturbed soils with and without coals. The wells, configured with sampling zones at discrete intervals, show the persistence of some of the aforementioned anomalies at depth. Moreover, high CO{sub 2} concentrations associated with coals in the vadose zone suggest a strong affinity for adsorbing CO{sub 2}. Overall, the low permeability of reclaimed mine lands and coals and CO2 adsorption by the latter is likely to reduce the ability of surface geochemistry tools to detect a microseepage signal.« less

Bibliography of surface-mine reclamation research: 1976-1993

Treesearch

Jerry T. Crews

1999-01-01

Contains citations for 177 articles and publications that describe research on or related to reclamation of surface-mined lands conducted from 1976 through 1993 by scientists with the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station and cooperating organizations. A subject index is included.

Surface and subsurface microgravity data in the vicinity of Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, South Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kennedy, Jeffrey R.; Koth, Karl R.; Carruth, Rob

2015-01-01

Absolute gravity data were collected at 32 stations in the vicinity of the Sanford Underground Research Facility from 2007 through 2014 for the purpose of monitoring groundwater storage change during dewatering of the former Homestake gold mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the largest and deepest underground mine in North America. Eight underground stations are at depths from 300 feet below land surface to 4,850 feet below land surface. Surface stations were located using Global Positioning System observations, and subsurface stations were located on the basis of maps constructed from survey measurements made while the mine was in operation. Gravity varies widely at many stations; however, no consistent temporal trends are present across all stations during the 7-year period of data collection.

Using NASA Earth Observing Satellites and Statistical Model Analysis to Monitor Vegetation and Habitat Rehabilitation in Southwest Virginia's Reclaimed Mine Lands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tate, Z.; Dusenge, D.; Elliot, T. S.; Hafashimana, P.; Medley, S.; Porter, R. P.; Rajappan, R.; Rodriguez, P.; Spangler, J.; Swaminathan, R. S.; VanGundy, R. D.

2014-12-01

The majority of the population in southwest Virginia depends economically on coal mining. In 2011, coal mining generated $2,000,000 in tax revenue to Wise County alone. However, surface mining completely removes land cover and leaves the land exposed to erosion. The destruction of the forest cover directly impacts local species, as some are displaced and others perish in the mining process. Even though surface mining has a negative impact on the environment, land reclamation efforts are in place to either restore mined areas to their natural vegetated state or to transform these areas for economic purposes. This project aimed to monitor the progress of land reclamation and the effect on the return of local species. By incorporating NASA Earth observations, such as Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), re-vegetation process in reclamation sites was estimated through a Time series analysis using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). A continuous source of cloud free images was accomplished by utilizing the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STAR-FM). This model developed synthetic Landsat imagery by integrating the high-frequency temporal information from Terra/Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and high-resolution spatial information from Landsat sensors In addition, the Maximum Entropy Modeling (MaxENT), an eco-niche model was used to estimate the adaptation of animal species to the newly formed habitats. By combining factors such as land type, precipitation from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and slope from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), the MaxENT model produced a statistical analysis on the probability of species habitat. Altogether, the project compiled the ecological information which can be used to identify suitable habitats for local species in reclaimed mined areas.

30 CFR 700.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the procedures that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on Federal lands...) Subchapter E of this chapter contains regulations that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation... Code of Federal Regulations. (g) Subchapter G governs applications for and decisions on permits for...

30 CFR 700.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the procedures that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on Federal lands...) Subchapter E of this chapter contains regulations that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation... Code of Federal Regulations. (g) Subchapter G governs applications for and decisions on permits for...

30 CFR 700.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the procedures that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on Federal lands...) Subchapter E of this chapter contains regulations that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation... Code of Federal Regulations. (g) Subchapter G governs applications for and decisions on permits for...

30 CFR 700.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the procedures that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on Federal lands...) Subchapter E of this chapter contains regulations that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation... Code of Federal Regulations. (g) Subchapter G governs applications for and decisions on permits for...

30 CFR 700.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the procedures that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation operations conducted on Federal lands...) Subchapter E of this chapter contains regulations that apply to surface coal mining and reclamation... Code of Federal Regulations. (g) Subchapter G governs applications for and decisions on permits for...

Geospatial assessment of invasive plants on reclaimed mines in Alabama

Treesearch

D. Lemke; C.J. Schweitzer; W. Tadesse; Y. Wang; J.A. Brown

2013-01-01

Throughout the world, the invasion of nonnative plants is an increasing threat to native biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability. Invasion is especially prevalent in areas affected by land transformation and disturbance. Surface mines are a major land transformation, and thus may promote the establishment and persistence of invasive plant communities. Using the Shale...

Forestation of surface mines for wildlife

Treesearch

Thomas G. Zarger

1980-01-01

This report reviews TVA program efforts to promote the use of wildlife shrubs in mined-land reclamation including work on plant materials development, demonstrations to acquaint landowners with a variety of food and cover plants, and action programs to incorporate wildlife plants into postmining land use. It deals briefly with wildlife considerations under Public Law...

Combining a Spatial Model and Demand Forecasts to Map Future Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia

PubMed Central

Strager, Michael P.; Strager, Jacquelyn M.; Evans, Jeffrey S.; Dunscomb, Judy K.; Kreps, Brad J.; Maxwell, Aaron E.

2015-01-01

Predicting the locations of future surface coal mining in Appalachia is challenging for a number of reasons. Economic and regulatory factors impact the coal mining industry and forecasts of future coal production do not specifically predict changes in location of future coal production. With the potential environmental impacts from surface coal mining, prediction of the location of future activity would be valuable to decision makers. The goal of this study was to provide a method for predicting future surface coal mining extents under changing economic and regulatory forecasts through the year 2035. This was accomplished by integrating a spatial model with production demand forecasts to predict (1 km2) gridded cell size land cover change. Combining these two inputs was possible with a ratio which linked coal extraction quantities to a unit area extent. The result was a spatial distribution of probabilities allocated over forecasted demand for the Appalachian region including northern, central, southern, and eastern Illinois coal regions. The results can be used to better plan for land use alterations and potential cumulative impacts. PMID:26090883

An evaluation of reclamation tree planting in southwest Virginia

Treesearch

Danny R. Brown; Donald L. Branson

1980-01-01

Surface mining began in Southwest Virginia in the mid-1940's, however, few or no records were kept before 1950 and it was not until 1966 that the first Virginia reclamation law was passed. Two years later in 1968, the Division of Mined Land Reclamation was created and tree planting began on a uniform basis in Virginia surface mines.

43 CFR 3420.1-4 - General requirements for land use planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... mining by other than underground mining techniques. (ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, any surface... techniques shall be deemed to have expressed a preference in favor of mining. Where a significant number of... underground mining techniques, that area shall be considered acceptable for further consideration only for...

43 CFR 3420.1-4 - General requirements for land use planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... mining by other than underground mining techniques. (ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, any surface... techniques shall be deemed to have expressed a preference in favor of mining. Where a significant number of... underground mining techniques, that area shall be considered acceptable for further consideration only for...

43 CFR 3420.1-4 - General requirements for land use planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... mining by other than underground mining techniques. (ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, any surface... techniques shall be deemed to have expressed a preference in favor of mining. Where a significant number of... underground mining techniques, that area shall be considered acceptable for further consideration only for...

43 CFR 3420.1-4 - General requirements for land use planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... mining by other than underground mining techniques. (ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, any surface... techniques shall be deemed to have expressed a preference in favor of mining. Where a significant number of... underground mining techniques, that area shall be considered acceptable for further consideration only for...

25 CFR 216.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS SURFACE EXPLORATION, MINING, AND RECLAMATION OF... means the superintendent or other officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs having jurisdiction under delegated authority, over the lands involved. (b) Mining supervisor means the Regional Mining Supervisor, or...

Responses of Terrestrial Herpetofauna to Persistent, Novel Ecosystems Resulting from Mountaintop Removal Mining

Treesearch

Jennifer M. Williams; Donald J. Brown; Petra B. Wood

2017-01-01

Mountaintop removal mining is a large-scale surface mining technique that removes entire floral and faunal communities, along with soil horizons located above coal seams. In West Virginia, the majority of this mining occurs on forested mountaintops. However, after mining ceases the land is typically reclaimed to grasslands and shrublands, resulting in novel ecosystems...

Chapter 5: Loosening compacted soils on mined lands

Treesearch

B. Strahm; R. Sweigard; J. Burger; D. Graves; C. Zipper; C. Barton; J. Skousen; P. Angel

2017-01-01

Successful surface coal mining businesses must move earth materials efficiently, so mining operations today depend on large and heavy equipment (Fig. 5-1). Track dozers and haul trucks used for mining can weigh more than 100 tons each. Wheel loaders and loaded haul trucks often exceed 200 tons. The mining industry has learned that successful reforestation of reclaimed...

43 CFR 4.1351 - Preliminary finding by OSM.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Request for...(c) of the Act, 30 U.s.c. 1260(c) (federal Program; Federal Lands Program; Federal Program for Indian... or has controlled surface coal mining and reclamation operations with a demonstrated pattern of...

Revegetation for aesthetics

Treesearch

Bernard M. Slick

1980-01-01

Surface mining is changing the landscape character of forests in the East. Aesthetic visual aspects of the landscape are considered in the analysis, planning, and design of revegetation strategies. Application of landscape architectural design techniques in the revegetation of surface-mined lands, as well as knowledge of biological characteristics, will enhance the...

30 CFR 717.14 - Backfilling and grading of road cuts, mine entry area cuts, and other surface work areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) Retain all earth, rock and other mineral nonwaste materials on the solid portion of existing or new... closely resemble the surface configuration of the land prior to mining. In no case may highwalls be left...

75 FR 53340 - Request for Determination of Valid Existing Rights Within the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-31

...), prohibits surface coal mining operations on Federal lands within the boundaries of any national forest, with... Determination of Valid Existing Rights Within the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky AGENCY: Office of... mining operations on approximately 175 acres of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service within the Daniel...

43 CFR 3809.593 - What happens to my financial guarantee if I transfer my operations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false What happens to my financial guarantee if I transfer my operations? 3809.593 Section 3809.593 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to...) MINING CLAIMS UNDER THE GENERAL MINING LAWS Surface Management Release of Financial Guarantee § 3809.593...

22 CFR 121.15 - Surface vessels of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... (battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, cruisers, corvettes, littoral combat ships, mine sweepers, mine hunters, mine countermeasure ships, dock landing ships, amphibious assault ships), or Coast... support naval nuclear propulsion plants; (5) Are armed or are specially designed to be used as a platform...

Chapter 4: Low compaction grading to enhance reforestation success on coal surface mines

Treesearch

R. Sweigard; J. Burger; C. Zipper; J. Skousen; C. Barton; P. Angel

2017-01-01

This Forest Reclamation Advisory describes final-grading techniques for reclaiming coal surface mines to forest postmining land uses. Final grading that leaves a loose soil and a rough surface increases survival of planted seedlings and forest productivity. Such practices are often less costly than traditional "smooth grading" while meeting the requirements...

30 CFR 746.13 - Decision document and recommendation on mining plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Decision document and recommendation on mining plan. 746.13 Section 746.13 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINING PLANS § 746.13 Decision...

Mountaintop mining consequences

Treesearch

M.A. Palmer; E.S. Bernhardt; W.H. Schlesinger; K.N. Eshleman; E. Foufoula-Georgiou; M.S. Hendryx; A.D. Lemly; G.E. Likens; O.L. Loucks; M.E. Power; P.S. White; P.R. Wilcock

2010-01-01

There has been a global, 30-year increase in surface mining (1), which is now the dominant driver of land-use change in the central Appalachian ecoregion of the United States (2). One major form of such mining, mountaintop mining with valley fills (MTM/VF) (3), is widespread throughout eastern Kentucky, West Virginia (WV), and southwestern Virginia. Upper elevation...

Mapping extent and change in surface mines within the United States for 2001 to 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soulard, Christopher E.; Acevedo, William; Stehman, Stephen V.; Parker, Owen P.

2016-01-01

A complete, spatially explicit dataset illustrating the 21st century mining footprint for the conterminous United States does not exist. To address this need, we developed a semi-automated procedure to map the country's mining footprint (30-m pixel) and establish a baseline to monitor changes in mine extent over time. The process uses mine seed points derived from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), and USGS National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) and recodes patches of barren land that meet a “distance to seed” requirement and a patch area requirement before mapping a pixel as mining. Seed points derived from EIA coal points, an edited MRDS point file, and 1992 NLCD mine points were used in three separate efforts using different distance and patch area parameters for each. The three products were then merged to create a 2001 map of moderate-to-large mines in the United States, which was subsequently manually edited to reduce omission and commission errors. This process was replicated using NLCD 2006 barren pixels as a base layer to create a 2006 mine map and a 2001–2006 mine change map focusing on areas with surface mine expansion. In 2001, 8,324 km2 of surface mines were mapped. The footprint increased to 9,181 km2 in 2006, representing a 10·3% increase over 5 years. These methods exhibit merit as a timely approach to generate wall-to-wall, spatially explicit maps representing the recent extent of a wide range of surface mining activities across the country. 

Surface coal mine land reclamation using a dry flue gas desulfurization product: Short-term and long-term water responses.

PubMed

Chen, Liming; Stehouwer, Richard; Tong, Xiaogang; Kost, Dave; Bigham, Jerry M; Dick, Warren A

2015-09-01

Abandoned coal-mined lands are a worldwide concern due to their potential negative environmental impacts, including erosion and development of acid mine drainage. A field study investigated the use of a dry flue gas desulfurization product for reclamation of abandoned coal mined land in USA. Treatments included flue gas desulfurization product at a rate of 280 Mg ha(-1) (FGD), FGD at the same rate plus 112 Mg ha(-1) yard waste compost (FGD/C), and conventional reclamation that included 20 cm of re-soil material plus 157 Mg ha(-1) of agricultural limestone (SOIL). A grass-legume sward was planted after treatment applications. Chemical properties of surface runoff and tile water (collected from a depth of 1.2m below the ground surface) were measured over both short-term (1-4 yr) and long-term (14-20 yr) periods following reclamation. The pH of surface runoff water was increased from approximately 3, and then sustained at 7 or higher by all treatments for up to 20 yr, and the pH of tile flow water was also increased and sustained above 5 for 20 yr. Compared with SOIL, concentrations of Ca, S and B in surface runoff and tile flow water were generally increased by the treatments with FGD product in both short- and long-term measurements and concentrations of the trace elements were generally not statistically increased in surface runoff and tile flow water over the 20-yr period. However, concentrations of As, Ba, Cr and Hg were occasionally elevated. These results suggest the use of FGD product for remediating acidic surface coal mined sites can provide effective, long-term reclamation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

43 CFR 3930.13 - Performance standards for surface mines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RANGE MANAGEMENT (4000) MANAGEMENT OF OIL SHALE EXPLORATION AND LEASES Management of Oil Shale Exploration Licenses and Leases § 3930.13 Performance standards for surface mines. (a) Pit widths for each oil shale seam must be engineered and designed to eliminate...

43 CFR 3930.13 - Performance standards for surface mines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) MANAGEMENT OF OIL SHALE EXPLORATION AND LEASES Management of Oil Shale Exploration Licenses and Leases § 3930.13 Performance standards for surface mines. (a) Pit widths for each oil shale seam must be engineered and designed to eliminate...

43 CFR 3930.13 - Performance standards for surface mines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) MANAGEMENT OF OIL SHALE EXPLORATION AND LEASES Management of Oil Shale Exploration Licenses and Leases § 3930.13 Performance standards for surface mines. (a) Pit widths for each oil shale seam must be engineered and designed to eliminate...

43 CFR 3930.13 - Performance standards for surface mines.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) MANAGEMENT OF OIL SHALE EXPLORATION AND LEASES Management of Oil Shale Exploration Licenses and Leases § 3930.13 Performance standards for surface mines. (a) Pit widths for each oil shale seam must be engineered and designed to eliminate...

30 CFR 730.12 - Requirements for regulatory programs in States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... imposition of a Federal program for regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Regulation..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PERMANENT REGULATORY PROGRAMS FOR NON-FEDERAL AND NON-INDIAN LANDS GENERAL... each State in which coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations are or may be...

30 CFR 730.11 - Inconsistent and more stringent State laws and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... be published in the Federal Register. (b) Any State law or regulation which provides for more stringent land use and environmental controls and regulations of coal exploration and surface coal mining... the control and regulation of coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations for...

30 CFR 730.12 - Requirements for regulatory programs in States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... imposition of a Federal program for regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Regulation..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PERMANENT REGULATORY PROGRAMS FOR NON-FEDERAL AND NON-INDIAN LANDS GENERAL... each State in which coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations are or may be...

30 CFR 730.11 - Inconsistent and more stringent State laws and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... be published in the Federal Register. (b) Any State law or regulation which provides for more stringent land use and environmental controls and regulations of coal exploration and surface coal mining... the control and regulation of coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations for...

30 CFR 730.11 - Inconsistent and more stringent State laws and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... be published in the Federal Register. (b) Any State law or regulation which provides for more stringent land use and environmental controls and regulations of coal exploration and surface coal mining... the control and regulation of coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations for...

30 CFR 730.11 - Inconsistent and more stringent State laws and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... be published in the Federal Register. (b) Any State law or regulation which provides for more stringent land use and environmental controls and regulations of coal exploration and surface coal mining... the control and regulation of coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations for...

30 CFR 730.12 - Requirements for regulatory programs in States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... imposition of a Federal program for regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Regulation..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PERMANENT REGULATORY PROGRAMS FOR NON-FEDERAL AND NON-INDIAN LANDS GENERAL... each State in which coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation operations are or may be...

Digital database of mining-related features at selected historic and active phosphate mines, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, and Caribou counties, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Causey, J. Douglas; Moyle, Phillip R.

2001-01-01

This report provides a description of data and processes used to produce a spatial database that delineates mining-related features in areas of historic and active phosphate mining in the core of the southeastern Idaho phosphate resource area. The data have varying degrees of accuracy and attribution detail. Classification of areas by type of mining-related activity at active mines is generally detailed; however, the spatial coverage does not differentiate mining-related surface disturbance features at many of the closed or inactive mines. Nineteen phosphate mine sites are included in the study. A total of 5,728 hc (14,154 ac), or more than 57 km2 (22 mi2), of phosphate mining-related surface disturbance are documented in the spatial coverage of the core of the southeast Idaho phosphate resource area. The study includes 4 active phosphate mines—Dry Valley, Enoch Valley, Rasmussen Ridge, and Smoky Canyon—and 15 historic phosphate mines—Ballard, Champ, Conda, Diamond Gulch, Gay, Georgetown Canyon, Henry, Home Canyon, Lanes Creek, Maybe Canyon, Mountain Fuel, Trail Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, Waterloo, and Wooley Valley. Spatial data on the inactive historic mines is relatively up-to-date; however, spatially described areas for active mines are based on digital maps prepared in early 1999. The inactive Gay mine has the largest total area of disturbance: 1,917 hc (4,736 ac) or about 19 km2 (7.4 mi2). It encompasses over three times the disturbance area of the next largest mine, the Conda mine with 607 hc (1,504 ac), and it is nearly four times the area of the Smoky Canyon mine, the largest of the active mines with 497 hc (1,228 ac). The wide range of phosphate mining-related surface disturbance features (approximately 80) were reduced to 13 types or features used in this study—adit and pit, backfilled mine pit, facilities, mine pit, ore stockpile, railroad, road, sediment catchment, tailings or tailings pond, topsoil stockpile, water reservoir, and disturbed land (undifferentiated). In summary, the spatial coverage includes polygons totaling 1,114 hc (2,753 ac) of mine pits, 272 hc (671 ac) of backfilled mine pits, 1,570 hc (3,880 ac) of waste dumps, 26 hc (64 ac) of ore stockpiles, and 44 hc (110 ac) of tailings or tailings ponds. Areas of undifferentiated phosphate mining-related land disturbances, called “disturbed land,” total 2,176 (5,377 ac) or nearly 21.8 km2 (8.4 mi2). No determination has been made as to status of reclamation on these lands. Subsequent site-specific studies to delineate distinct mine features will allow modification of this preliminary spatial database.

Application of LANDSAT data to monitor land reclamation progress in Belmont County, Ohio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloemer, H. H. L.; Brumfield, J. O.; Campbell, W. J.; Witt, R. G.; Bly, B. G.

1981-01-01

Strip and contour mining techniques are reviewed as well as some studies conducted to determine the applicability of LANDSAT and associated digital image processing techniques to the surficial problems associated with mining operations. A nontraditional unsupervised classification approach to multispectral data is considered which renders increased classification separability in land cover analysis of surface mined areas. The approach also reduces the dimensionality of the data and requires only minimal analytical skills in digital data processing.

Development of a tree classifier for discrimination of surface mine activity from Landsat digital data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, J. L.; Miller, W. F.; Quattrochi, D. A.

1979-01-01

In a cooperative project with the Geological Survey of Alabama, the Mississippi State Remote Sensing Applications Program has developed a single purpose, decision-tree classifier using band-ratioing techniques to discriminate various stages of surface mining activity. The tree classifier has four levels and employs only two channels in classification at each level. An accurate computation of the amount of disturbed land resulting from the mining activity can be made as a product of the classification output. The utilization of Landsat data provides a cost-efficient, rapid, and accurate means of monitoring surface mining activities.

Response to Memorandum by Rowley and Dixon Regarding U.S. Geological Survey Report Titled Characterization of Surface-Water Resources in the Great Basin National Park Area and Their Susceptibility to Ground-Water Withdrawals in Adjacent Valleys, White Pine County, Nevada

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

several faults. Declines of more than 50 feet were observed at wells near Marigold mine and a couple of miles closer to Lone Tree mine. The observed...Ground-water declines at Marigold mine are of particular interest because seldom do hydrologists have streamflow and ground-water data in the...Land Management, 2003, Final supplemental environmental impact statement, Glamis Marigold Mining Company’s millennium expansion project: Bureau of Land

77 FR 64348 - Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment and Notice of Public Hearing for the Blue...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-19

... surface estate, the mining method or methods, and any comparable sales data on similar coal lands. The... offered is limited to coal recoverable by underground mining methods. The Federal coal is in the lands... would be rejected or denied. The Federal coal reserves would be bypassed. Proprietary data marked as...

30 CFR 881.9 - Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Reports. 881.9 Section 881.9 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION SUBSIDENCE AND STRIP MINE REHABILITATION, APPALACHIA § 881.9 Reports. At such times and in such...

30 CFR 881.9 - Reports.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Reports. 881.9 Section 881.9 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION SUBSIDENCE AND STRIP MINE REHABILITATION, APPALACHIA § 881.9 Reports. At such times and in such...

PRB mines mature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buchsbaum, L.

2007-08-15

Already seeing the results of reclamation efforts, America's largest surface mines advance as engineers prepare for the future. 30 years after the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act by Jimmy Carter, western strip mines in the USA, especially in the Powder River Basin, are producing more coal than ever. The article describes the construction and installation of a $38.5 million near-pit crusher and overland belt conveyor system at Foundation Coal West's (FCW) Belle Ayr surface mine in Wyoming, one of the earliest PRB mines. It goes on to describe the development by Rio Tinto of an elkmore » conservatory, the Rochelle Hill Conservation Easement, on reclaimed land at Jacobs Ranch, adjacent to the Rochelle Hills. 4 photos.« less

Littoral Assessment of Mine Burial Signatures (LAMBS) buried land mine/background spectral signature analyses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kenton, A.C.; Geci, D.M.; Ray, K.J.; Thomas, C.M.; Salisbury, J.W.; Mars, J.C.; Crowley, J.K.; Witherspoon, N.H.; Holloway, J.H.; Harmon R.S.Broach J.T.Holloway, Jr. J.H.

2004-01-01

The objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Rapid Overt Reconnaissance (ROR) program and the Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies (ALRT) project's LAMBS effort is to determine if electro-optical spectral discriminants exist that are useful for the detection of land mines in littoral regions. Statistically significant buried mine overburden and background signature data were collected over a wide spectral range (0.35 to 14 ??m) to identify robust spectral features that might serve as discriminants for new airborne sensor concepts. LAMBS has expanded previously collected databases to littoral areas - primarily dry and wet sandy soils - where tidal, surf, and wind conditions can severely modify spectral signatures. At AeroSense 2003, we reported completion of three buried mine collections at an inland bay, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beach sites.1 We now report LAMBS spectral database analyses results using metrics which characterize the detection performance of general types of spectral detection algorithms. These metrics include mean contrast, spectral signal-to-clutter, covariance, information content, and spectral matched filter analyses. Detection performance of the buried land mines was analyzed with regard to burial age, background type, and environmental conditions. These analyses considered features observed due to particle size differences, surface roughness, surface moisture, and compositional differences.

Formation of Hydrochemical River Regime Under Extreme Contamination by Waste Water (the Sak-Elga River in the Chelyabinsk Region)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denisov, S. E.; Ulrikh, D. V.; Zhbankov, G. O.

2017-11-01

Modern technologies designed to use natural resources in different ways are applied to restructure the environment. The use of technologies results in the deformation of environment, its local, regional and global changes occur. In the course of mining the spaces disturbed by the mine opening rock heaps and processing wastes are formed and rapidly appear. These spaces are dead surfaces the negative effect of which extends to the surrounding areas. Thus, the indirect impact on the lands connected with the change of the condition and regime of the surface and groundwater, settling of dust and chemical compounds from emissions to the atmosphere as well as the products of wind and water erosion lead to deterioration in the quality of the lands, surface and groundwater resources in the area affected by mining.

Results of 30-year-old plantations on surface mines in the Central States

Treesearch

W. Clark Ashby; Clay A. Kolar; Nelson F. Rogers

1980-01-01

Twenty-eight tree species have grown successfully on surface-mined lands in the Central States. Variability in species performance can be related to geographic area, type of rooting medium, and associated species. Many planted stands have been vigorously invaded by volunteer trees, as well as by other plants and animals.

30 CFR 730.11 - Inconsistent and more stringent State laws and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... regulations. 730.11 Section 730.11 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT... Register setting forth the text or a summary of any State law or regulation initially determined by him to... stringent land use and environmental controls and regulations of coal exploration and surface coal mining...

Hydrology of coal-lease areas near Durango, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, Tom

1985-01-01

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management leases Federal lands and minerals for coal mining near Durango, Colorado. This report addresses the hydrologic suitability of those lands for coal leasing; the report describes the general hydrology of the Durango area and, more specifically, the hydrology of the Stollsteimer Creek study area 32 miles east of the Durango and the Hay Gulch study area, 12 miles southwest of Durango. The most productive aquifers in the Durango study area are Quaternary alluvium and the tertiary Animas Formation. Water wells completed in alluvium typically yield 5 to 20 gallons/min; wells completed is the Animas Formation yield as much as 50 gallons/min. Water quality in these aquifers is variable, but it generally is suitable for domestic use. The coal-bearing Cretaceous Fruitland and Menefee Formations are mined by surface methods at the Chimney Rock Mine in the Stollsteimer Creek study area and by underground methods at the National King Coal Mine in the Hay Gulch study area. Effects of surface mining in the Stollsteimer Creek area are: (1) Dewatering of an alluvial aquifer; and (2) Local degradation of alluvium water quality by spoil-pile effluent. Effects of underground mining in the Hay Gulch area are: (1) Introduction of water with greater dissolved-solids concentrations into the upper Hay Gulch alluvium from mine runoff; (2) Subsidence fracturing which could dewater streams and the alluvial aquifer. (USGS)

78 FR 15040 - Renewal of Approved Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-08

... authorized by the mining laws, and in obtaining financial guarantees for the reclamation of public lands. The... the General Mining Law (43 CFR subpart 3809). Forms: Form 3809-1, Surface Management Surety Bond; Form... whether operators and mining claimants are meeting their responsibility to prevent unnecessary or undue...

Global direct pressures on biodiversity by large-scale metal mining: Spatial distribution and implications for conservation.

PubMed

Murguía, Diego I; Bringezu, Stefan; Schaldach, Rüdiger

2016-09-15

Biodiversity loss is widely recognized as a serious global environmental change process. While large-scale metal mining activities do not belong to the top drivers of such change, these operations exert or may intensify pressures on biodiversity by adversely changing habitats, directly and indirectly, at local and regional scales. So far, analyses of global spatial dynamics of mining and its burden on biodiversity focused on the overlap between mines and protected areas or areas of high value for conservation. However, it is less clear how operating metal mines are globally exerting pressure on zones of different biodiversity richness; a similar gap exists for unmined but known mineral deposits. By using vascular plants' diversity as a proxy to quantify overall biodiversity, this study provides a first examination of the global spatial distribution of mines and deposits for five key metals across different biodiversity zones. The results indicate that mines and deposits are not randomly distributed, but concentrated within intermediate and high diversity zones, especially bauxite and silver. In contrast, iron, gold, and copper mines and deposits are closer to a more proportional distribution while showing a high concentration in the intermediate biodiversity zone. Considering the five metals together, 63% and 61% of available mines and deposits, respectively, are located in intermediate diversity zones, comprising 52% of the global land terrestrial surface. 23% of mines and 20% of ore deposits are located in areas of high plant diversity, covering 17% of the land. 13% of mines and 19% of deposits are in areas of low plant diversity, comprising 31% of the land surface. Thus, there seems to be potential for opening new mines in areas of low biodiversity in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

30 CFR 901.20 - Approval of Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, Barber Business Park, 135 Gemini Circle, Homewood, AL 35209. [64 FR 20166, Apr. 26...

30 CFR 901.20 - Approval of Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, Barber Business Park, 135 Gemini Circle, Homewood, AL 35209. [64 FR 20166, Apr. 26...

30 CFR 901.20 - Approval of Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, Barber Business Park, 135 Gemini Circle, Homewood, AL 35209. [64 FR 20166, Apr. 26...

30 CFR 901.20 - Approval of Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, Barber Business Park, 135 Gemini Circle, Homewood, AL 35209. [64 FR 20166, Apr. 26...

30 CFR 901.20 - Approval of Alabama abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Birmingham Field Office, Barber Business Park, 135 Gemini Circle, Homewood, AL 35209. [64 FR 20166, Apr. 26...

Chapter 9: Planting hardwood tree seedlings on reclaimed mine land in the Appalachian region

Treesearch

V. Davis; J. Franklin; C. Zipper; P. Angel

2017-01-01

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a method of reclaiming surface coal mines to forested postmining land use (Chapter 2, this volume). "Use proper tree planting techniques" is Step 5 of the FRA; when used with the other FRA steps, proper tree planting can help to ensure successful reforestation. Proper care and planting of tree seedlings is essential...

Performance analysis of a multispectral framing camera for detecting mines in the littoral zone and beach zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Louchard, Eric; Farm, Brian; Acker, Andrew

2008-04-01

BAE Systems Sensor Systems Identification & Surveillance (IS) has developed, under contract with the Office of Naval Research, a multispectral airborne sensor system and processing algorithms capable of detecting mine-like objects in the surf zone and land mines in the beach zone. BAE Systems has used this system in a blind test at a test range established by the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Panama City Division (NSWC-PCD) at Eglin Air Force Base. The airborne and ground subsystems used in this test are described, with graphical illustrations of the detection algorithms. We report on the performance of the system configured to operate with a human operator analyzing data on a ground station. A subsurface (underwater bottom proud mine in the surf zone and moored mine in shallow water) mine detection capability is demonstrated in the surf zone. Surface float detection and proud land mine detection capability is also demonstrated. Our analysis shows that this BAE Systems-developed multispectral airborne sensor provides a robust technical foundation for a viable system for mine counter-measures, and would be a valuable asset for use prior to an amphibious assault.

The application of LANDSAT-1 imagery for monitoring strip mines in the new river watershed in northeast Tennessee, part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shahrokhi, F. (Principal Investigator); Sharber, L. A.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT imagery and supplementary aircraft photography of the New River drainage basin were subjected to a multilevel analysis using conventional photointerpretation methods, densitometric techniques, multispectral analysis, and statistical tests to determine the accuracy of LANDSAT-1 imagery for measuring strip mines of common size. The LANDSAT areas were compared with low altitude measurements. The average accuracy over all the mined land sample areas mapped from LANDSAT-1 was 90%. The discrimination of strip mine subcategories is somewhat limited on LANDSAT imagery. A mine site, whether active or inactive, can be inferred by lack of vegetation, by shape, or image texture. Mine ponds are difficult or impossible to detect because of their small size and turbidity. Unless bordered and contrasted with vegetation, haulage roads are impossible to delineate. Preparation plants and refuge areas are not detectable. Density slicing of LANDSAT band 7 proved most useful in the detection of reclamation progress within the mined areas. For most state requirements for year-round monitoring of surface mined land, LANDSAT is of limited value. However, for periodic updating of regional surface maps, LANDSAT may provide sufficient accuracies for some users.

Monitoring strip mining and reclamation with LANDSAT data in Belmont County, Ohio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Witt, R. G.; Schaal, G. M.; Bly, B. G.

1983-01-01

The utility of LANDSAT digital data for mapping and monitoring surface mines in Belmont County, Ohio was investigated. Two data sets from 1976 and 1979 were processed to classify level 1 land covers and three strip mine categories in order to examine change over time and assess reclamation efforts. The two classifications were compared with aerial photographs. Results of the accuracy assessment show that both classifications are approximately 86 per cent correct, and that surface mine change detection (date-to-date comparison) is facilitated by the digital format of LANDSAT data.

Livestock impacts for management of reclaimed land at Navajo Mine: The decision-making process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Estrada, O.J.; Grogan, S.; Gadzia, K.L.

1997-12-31

Livestock grazing is the post-mining use for reclaimed land at Navajo Mine, a large surface coal mine on the Navajo Nation in northwest New Mexico. The Navajo Mine Grazing Management Program (GMP) uses holistic management on approximately 2,083 ha of reclaimed land to plan for final liability release and return of the land to the Navajo Nation, and to minimize the potential for post-release liability. The GMP began in 1991 to establish that livestock grazing on the reclaimed land is sustainable. Assuming that sustainability requires alternatives to conventional land management practices, the GMP created a Management Team consisting of companymore » staff, local, Navajo Nation, and Federal government officials, and technical advisors. Community members contributed to the formation of a holistic goal for the GMP that articulates their values and their desire for sustainable grazing. Major decisions (e.g., artificial insemination, water supply, supplemental feed) are tested against the goal. Biological changes in the land and the grazing animals are monitored daily to provide early feedback to managers, and annually to document the results of grazing. To date, the land has shown resilience to grazing and the animals have generally prospered. Community participation in the GMP and public statements of support by local officials indicate that the GMP`s strategy is likely to succeed.« less

Biochar Mechanisms of Heavy Metal Sorption and Potential Utility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ippolito, J.

2015-12-01

Mining-affected lands are a global issue; in the USA alone there are an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines encompassing hundreds of thousands of hectares. Many of these sites generate acidic mine drainage that causes release of heavy metals, and subsequently degradation in environmental quality. Because of its potential liming characteristics, biochar may play a pivotal role as a soil amendment in future mine land reclamation. However, to date, most studies have focused on the use of biochar to sorb metals from solution. Previous studies suggest that metals are complexed by biochar surface function groups (leading to ion exchange, complexation), coordination with Pi electrons (C=C) of carbon, and precipitation of inorganic mineral phases. Several recent studies have focused on the use of biochar for amending mine land soils, showing that biochar can indeed reduce heavy metal lability, yet the mechanism(s) behind labile metal reduction have yet to be established. In a proof-of-concept study, we added lodgepole pine, tamarisk, and switchgrass biochar (0, 5, 10, 15% by weight; 500 oC) to four different western US mine land soils affected by various heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn). Extraction with 0.01M CaCl2 showed that increasing biochar application rate significantly decreased 'bioaccessible' metals in almost all instances. A concomitant increase in solution pH was observed, suggesting that metals may be rendered bio-inaccessible through precipitation as carbonate or (hydr)oxide phases, or sorbed onto mineral surfaces. However, this was only supposition and required further research. Thus, following the 0.01M CaCl2 extraction, biochar-soil mixtures were air-dried and metals were further extracted using the four-step BCR sequential removal procedure. Results from selective extraction suggest that, as compared to the controls, most metals in the biochar-amended mine land soils were associated with exchange sites, carbonate, and oxide phases. Biochar may play a pivotal role as a soil amendment in the future of mine land reclamation, although elevated pH levels should be maintained to prolong sequestration while lessening the possibility of metal resolubilization.

30 CFR 756.16 - Approval of the Hopi Tribe's abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 86039, Telephone: (520) 734-2441. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque Field Office, 505 Marquette Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Telephone: (505) 248-5070. [61...

30 CFR 756.16 - Approval of the Hopi Tribe's abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 86039, Telephone: (520) 734-2441. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque Field Office, 505 Marquette Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Telephone: (505) 248-5070. [61...

30 CFR 756.16 - Approval of the Hopi Tribe's abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 86039, Telephone: (520) 734-2441. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque Field Office, 505 Marquette Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Telephone: (505) 248-5070. [61...

30 CFR 756.16 - Approval of the Hopi Tribe's abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 86039, Telephone: (520) 734-2441. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque Field Office, 505 Marquette Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Telephone: (505) 248-5070. [61...

30 CFR 756.16 - Approval of the Hopi Tribe's abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 86039, Telephone: (520) 734-2441. (b) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Albuquerque Field Office, 505 Marquette Ave., NW., Suite 1200, Albuquerque, NM 87102, Telephone: (505) 248-5070. [61...

Relating landscape characteristics to non-point source pollution in mine waste-located watersheds using geospatial techniques.

PubMed

Xiao, Huaguo; Ji, Wei

2007-01-01

Landscape characteristics of a watershed are important variables that influence surface water quality. Understanding the relationship between these variables and surface water quality is critical in predicting pollution potential and developing watershed management practices to eliminate or reduce pollution risk. To understand the impacts of landscape characteristics on water quality in mine waste-located watersheds, we conducted a case study in the Tri-State Mining District which is located in the conjunction of three states (Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma). Severe heavy metal pollution exists in that area resulting from historical mining activities. We characterized land use/land cover over the last three decades by classifying historical multi-temporal Landsat imagery. Landscape metrics such as proportion, edge density and contagion were calculated based on the classified imagery. In-stream water quality data over three decades were collected, including lead, zinc, iron, cadmium, aluminum and conductivity which were used as key water quality indicators. Statistical analyses were performed to quantify the relationship between landscape metrics and surface water quality. Results showed that landscape characteristics in mine waste-located watersheds could account for as much as 77% of the variation of water quality indicators. A single landscape metric alone, such as proportion of mine waste area, could be used to predict surface water quality; but its predicting power is limited, usually accounting for less than 60% of the variance of water quality indicators.

Chapter 2: The forestry reclamation approach

Treesearch

Jim Burger; Don Graves; Patrick Angel; Vic Davis; Carl Zipper

2017-01-01

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a method for reclaiming coal-mined land to forest under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The FRA is based on knowledge gained from both scientific research and experience (Fig. 2-1). The FRA can achieve cost-effective regulatory compliance for mine operators while creating productive...

In Brief: Coal mining regulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2009-12-01

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on 18 November measures to strengthen the oversight of state surface coal mining programs and to promulgate federal regulations to protect streams affected by surface coal mining operations. DOI's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is publishing an advance notice of a proposed rule about protecting streams from adverse impacts of surface coal mining operations. A rule issued by the Bush administration in December 2008 allows coal mine operators to place excess excavated materials into streams if they can show it is not reasonably possible to avoid doing so. “We are moving as quickly as possible under the law to gather public input for a new rule, based on sound science, that will govern how companies handle fill removed from mountaintop coal seams,” according to Wilma Lewis, assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management at DOI.

30 CFR 745.12 - Terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... operations on Federal lands; and (2) Where lands containing leased Federal coal are involved, provide OSM, in... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.12 Terms. Each cooperative agreement shall include: (a) Terms...

30 CFR 745.12 - Terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... operations on Federal lands; and (2) Where lands containing leased Federal coal are involved, provide OSM, in... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.12 Terms. Each cooperative agreement shall include: (a) Terms...

30 CFR 745.12 - Terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... operations on Federal lands; and (2) Where lands containing leased Federal coal are involved, provide OSM, in... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.12 Terms. Each cooperative agreement shall include: (a) Terms...

30 CFR 745.12 - Terms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... operations on Federal lands; and (2) Where lands containing leased Federal coal are involved, provide OSM, in... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.12 Terms. Each cooperative agreement shall include: (a) Terms...

First-year survival and growth of three species assemblages planted on reclaimed mine land as affected by three levels of silvicultural intensity

Treesearch

Chad N. Casselman; Thomas R. Fox; James A. Burger

2006-01-01

Surface mined land in the Appalachian coal-producing region have been found to exhibit growing conditions that are unfavorable for the establishment of productive forests including dense ground covers, compacted soil materials, and unfavorable soil chemical properties. To address these concerns, a 3 x 3 x 3 factor random complete block experiment was used to...

Multispectral image fusion for detecting land mines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, G.A.; Sengupta, S.K.; Aimonetti, W.D.

1995-04-01

This report details a system which fuses information contained in registered images from multiple sensors to reduce the effects of clutter and improve the ability to detect surface and buried land mines. The sensor suite currently consists of a camera that acquires images in six bands (400nm, 500nm, 600nm, 700nm, 800nm and 900nm). Past research has shown that it is extremely difficult to distinguish land mines from background clutter in images obtained from a single sensor. It is hypothesized, however, that information fused from a suite of various sensors is likely to provide better detection reliability, because the suite ofmore » sensors detects a variety of physical properties that are more separable in feature space. The materials surrounding the mines can include natural materials (soil, rocks, foliage, water, etc.) and some artifacts.« less

30 CFR 942.20 - Approval of Tennessee reclamation plan for lands and waters affected by past coal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., 530 Gay Street, Suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 State of Tennessee Department of Conservation, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, 305 West Springvale, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 Office of...

30 CFR 942.20 - Approval of Tennessee reclamation plan for lands and waters affected by past coal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., 530 Gay Street, Suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 State of Tennessee Department of Conservation, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, 305 West Springvale, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 Office of...

30 CFR 942.20 - Approval of Tennessee reclamation plan for lands and waters affected by past coal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., 530 Gay Street, Suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 State of Tennessee Department of Conservation, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, 305 West Springvale, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 Office of...

30 CFR 942.20 - Approval of Tennessee reclamation plan for lands and waters affected by past coal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., 530 Gay Street, Suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 State of Tennessee Department of Conservation, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, 305 West Springvale, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 Office of...

30 CFR 942.20 - Approval of Tennessee reclamation plan for lands and waters affected by past coal mining.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., 530 Gay Street, Suite 500, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 State of Tennessee Department of Conservation, Division of Surface Mining and Reclamation, 305 West Springvale, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917 Office of...

PROBLEM FORMULATION REPORT: FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL CHANGE FOR AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Meyer (1995) describes land use as "the way in which, and the purposes for which, human beings employ the land and its resources; for example, farming, mining, or lumbering" and land cover as "the physical state of the land surface: as in cropland, mountains, or forests". The def...

Has anyone noticed that trees are not being planted any longer?

Treesearch

Walter D. Smith

1980-01-01

Trees provided the coal surface mining industry with a means of restoring the land's productivity at a minimum expense. Trees may still be included in the reclamation plan but tree planting in Ohio was drastically reduced by the 1972 Ohio Surface Mining and Reclamation Law. The basic reasons are categorized as technical, social and economic. The revegetation phase...

Restoration of rare earth mine areas: organic amendments and phytoremediation.

PubMed

Zhou, Lingyan; Li, Zhaolong; Liu, Wen; Liu, Shenghong; Zhang, Limin; Zhong, Liyan; Luo, Ximei; Liang, Hong

2015-11-01

Overexploitation of rare earth mine has caused serious desertification and various environmental issues, and ecological restoration of a mining area is an important concern in China. In this study, experiments involving dry grass landfilling, chicken manure broadcasting, and plant cultivation were carried out to reclaim a rare earth mine area located in Heping County, Guangdong Province, China. The prime focus was to improve soil quality in terms of nutrients, microbial community, enzyme activity, and physicochemical properties so as to reclaim the land. After 2 years of restoration, an increase of organic matter (OM), available potassium (K), available phosphorus (P) levels, and acid phosphatase (ACP) activity and a reduction of the available nitrogen (N) level and urease (URE) activity in soil were achieved compared to the original mined land. The nutrients and enzyme activities in soil with 5 years of restoration were close to or surpass those in the unexploited land as control. The bulk density, total porosity, water holding capacity, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) of soil were improved, and the number of cultivable microorganisms and the bacterial diversity in soil were greatly increased with time during ecological restoration, especially for surface soil. Furthermore, the artificial vegetation stably grew at the restored mining sites. The results indicated that organic amendments and phytoremediation could ecologically restore the rare earth mining sites and the mined land could finally be planted as farmland.

Fifth symposium on surface mining and reclamation. NCA/BCR coal conference and Expo IV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

1977-01-01

The Fifth Symposium on Surface Mining and Reclamation, sponsored by the National Coal Association and Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., was held at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky, October 18-20, 1977. Twenty-six papers from the proceedings have been entered individually into EDB and ERA. Topics covered include spoil bank revegetation, use of aerial photography, reclamation for row crop production, hydrology, computer programs related to this work, subirrigated alluvial valley floors, reclamation on steep slopes, mountain top removal, surface mine road design, successional processes involved in reclamation, land use planning, etc. (LTN)

Significant applications of ERTS-1 data to resource management activities at the state level in Ohio. [strip mining and land use mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sweet, D. C.; Pincura, P. G.; Meier, C. J.; Garrett, G. B.; Herd, L.; Wukelic, G. E.; Stephan, J. G.; Smail, H. E.

1974-01-01

Described are techniques utilized and the progress made in applying ERTS-1 data to (1) detecting, inventorying, and monitoring surface mining activities, particularly in relation to recently passed strip mine legislation in Ohio; (2) updating current land use maps at various scales for multiagency usage, and (3) solving other real-time problems existing throughout the various Ohio governmental agencies. General conclusions regarding current user views as to the opportunities and limitations of operationally using ERTS-1 data at the state level are also noted.

Problems of land reclamation during liquidation of coalmining enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pospehov, G. B.; Pankratova, K. V.; Straupnik, I. A.; Ustiugov, D. L.

2017-10-01

The paper presents data on the influence of coal-mining industry elimination on the deformation of land surface which can cause accidents and destructions of buildings and constructions located nearby the closed pits or mines. The analysis is carried out and the major factors which influence change of the intense deformed condition of the massif of rocks were revealed. The example of the monitoring system which will provide researchers with information for preparation of the project of a pit or a mine closing is presented, and it also will allow one to predict behavior of the massif in the future.

[Soil seed bank research of China mining areas: necessity and challenges].

PubMed

Chang, Qing; Zhang, Da-Wei; Li, Xue; Peng, Jian; Guan, Ai-Nong; Liu, Xiao-Si

2011-05-01

Soil seed bank consists of all living seeds existed in soil and its surface litter, especially in topsoil, and can reflect the characteristics of regional biodiversity. As the base of vegetation restoration and potential greening material, topsoil and its seed bank are the limited and non-renewable resources in mining areas. The study of soil seed bank has become one of the hotspots in the research field of vegetation restoration and land reclamation in China mining areas. Owing to the special characteristics of mining industry, the soil seed bank study of mining areas should not only concern with the seed species, quantities, and their relations with ground surface vegetation, but also make use of the research results on the soil seed bank of other fragile habitats. Besides, a breakthrough should be sought in the thinking ways and research approach. This paper analyzed the particularity of mining area's soil seek bank research, summarized the research progress in the soil seed bank of mining areas and other fragile habitats, and put forward the challenges we are facing with. It was expected that this paper could help to reinforce the soil seed bank research of China mining areas, and provide scientific guidelines for taking great advantage of the significant roles of soil seed bank in land reclamation and vegetation restoration in the future.

Geological survey of Maryland using EREP flight data. [mining, mapping, Chesapeake Bay islands, coastal water features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weaver, K. N. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Underflight photography has been used in the Baltimore County mined land inventory to determine areas of disturbed land where surface mining of sand and ground clay, or stone has taken place. Both active and abandoned pits and quarries were located. Aircraft data has been used to update cultural features of Calvert, Caroline, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, and Wicomico Counties. Islands have been located and catalogued for comparison with older film and map data for erosion data. Strip mined areas are being mapped to obtain total area disturbed to aid in future mining and reclamation problems. Coastal estuarine and Atlantic Coast features are being studied to determine nearshore bedforms, sedimentary, and erosional patterns, and manmade influence on natural systems.

30 CFR 874.16 - Contractor eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Contractor eligibility. 874.16 Section 874.16 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GENERAL RECLAMATION REQUIREMENTS § 874.16 Contractor eligibility. To receive...

30 CFR 875.20 - Contractor eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Contractor eligibility. 875.20 Section 875.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION CERTIFICATION AND NONCOAL RECLAMATION § 875.20 Contractor eligibility. Every...

Coal Regulatory Program - Div. of Mining, Land, and Water

Science.gov Websites

provided; and strike a balance between protection of the environment and other uses of the land and the contour (surface configuration) and how this plan protects the hydrologic balance for the area

Development of soils and communities of plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on West Virginia surface mines.

PubMed

Levy, Michael A; Cumming, Jonathan R

2014-11-01

Surface mining followed by reclamation to pasture is a major driver of land use and cover change in Appalachia. Prior research suggests that many aspects of ecosystem recovery are either slow or incomplete. We examined ecosystem structure-including soil physical and chemical properties, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) infectivity and community composition, and plant diversity and community composition-on a chronosequence of pasture-reclaimed surface mines and a non-mined pasture in northern West Virginia. Surface mining and reclamation dramatically altered ecosystem structure. Some aspects of ecosystem structure, including many measures of soil chemistry and infectivity of AMF, returned rapidly to levels found on the non-mined reference site. Other aspects of ecosystem structure, notably soil physical properties and AMF and plant communities, showed incomplete or no recovery over the short-to-medium term. In addition, invasive plants were prevalent on reclaimed mine sites. The results point to the need for investigation on how reclamation practices could minimize establishment of exotic invasive plant species and reduce the long-term impacts of mining on ecosystem structure and function.

Development of Soils and Communities of Plants and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on West Virginia Surface Mines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, Michael A.; Cumming, Jonathan R.

2014-11-01

Surface mining followed by reclamation to pasture is a major driver of land use and cover change in Appalachia. Prior research suggests that many aspects of ecosystem recovery are either slow or incomplete. We examined ecosystem structure—including soil physical and chemical properties, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) infectivity and community composition, and plant diversity and community composition—on a chronosequence of pasture-reclaimed surface mines and a non-mined pasture in northern West Virginia. Surface mining and reclamation dramatically altered ecosystem structure. Some aspects of ecosystem structure, including many measures of soil chemistry and infectivity of AMF, returned rapidly to levels found on the non-mined reference site. Other aspects of ecosystem structure, notably soil physical properties and AMF and plant communities, showed incomplete or no recovery over the short-to-medium term. In addition, invasive plants were prevalent on reclaimed mine sites. The results point to the need for investigation on how reclamation practices could minimize establishment of exotic invasive plant species and reduce the long-term impacts of mining on ecosystem structure and function.

30 CFR 816.133 - Postmining land use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Postmining land use. 816.133 Section 816.133 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... § 816.133 Postmining land use. (a) General. All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely manner to...

30 CFR 817.133 - Postmining land use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Postmining land use. 817.133 Section 817.133 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... ACTIVITIES § 817.133 Postmining land use. (a) General. All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely...

30 CFR 816.133 - Postmining land use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Postmining land use. 816.133 Section 816.133 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... § 816.133 Postmining land use. (a) General. All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely manner to...

30 CFR 817.133 - Postmining land use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Postmining land use. 817.133 Section 817.133 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... ACTIVITIES § 817.133 Postmining land use. (a) General. All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely...

30 CFR 784.15 - Reclamation plan: Land use information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Reclamation plan: Land use information. 784.15... INTERIOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS PERMITS AND COAL EXPLORATION SYSTEMS UNDER... PLAN § 784.15 Reclamation plan: Land use information. (a) The plan shall contain a statement of the...

30 CFR 780.23 - Reclamation plan: Land use information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Reclamation plan: Land use information. 780.23... INTERIOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS PERMITS AND COAL EXPLORATION SYSTEMS UNDER... PLAN § 780.23 Reclamation plan: Land use information. (a) The plan shall contain a statement of the...

30 CFR 903.700 - Arizona Federal program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... operations in Arizona conducted on non-Federal and non-Indian lands. To the extent required by 30 CFR part 740, this part also applies to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in... that the rules in this chapter establish more stringent environmental or land use controls: (1) The...

30 CFR 903.700 - Arizona Federal program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... operations in Arizona conducted on non-Federal and non-Indian lands. To the extent required by 30 CFR part 740, this part also applies to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in... that the rules in this chapter establish more stringent environmental or land use controls: (1) The...

30 CFR 903.700 - Arizona Federal program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... operations in Arizona conducted on non-Federal and non-Indian lands. To the extent required by 30 CFR part 740, this part also applies to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in... that the rules in this chapter establish more stringent environmental or land use controls: (1) The...

30 CFR 903.700 - Arizona Federal program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... operations in Arizona conducted on non-Federal and non-Indian lands. To the extent required by 30 CFR part 740, this part also applies to surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands in... that the rules in this chapter establish more stringent environmental or land use controls: (1) The...

Applications of Geomatics in Surface Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blachowski, Jan; Górniak-Zimroz, Justyna; Milczarek, Wojciech; Pactwa, Katarzyna

2017-12-01

In terms of method of extracting mineral from deposit, mining can be classified into: surface, underground, and borehole mining. Surface mining is a form of mining, in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed. Types of surface mining include mainly strip and open-cast methods, as well as quarrying. Tasks associated with surface mining of minerals include: resource estimation and deposit documentation, mine planning and deposit access, mine plant development, extraction of minerals from deposits, mineral and waste processing, reclamation and reclamation of former mining grounds. At each stage of mining, geodata describing changes occurring in space during the entire life cycle of surface mining project should be taken into consideration, i.e. collected, analysed, processed, examined, distributed. These data result from direct (e.g. geodetic) and indirect (i.e. remote or relative) measurements and observations including airborne and satellite methods, geotechnical, geological and hydrogeological data, and data from other types of sensors, e.g. located on mining equipment and infrastructure, mine plans and maps. Management of such vast sources and sets of geodata, as well as information resulting from processing, integrated analysis and examining such data can be facilitated with geomatic solutions. Geomatics is a discipline of gathering, processing, interpreting, storing and delivering spatially referenced information. Thus, geomatics integrates methods and technologies used for collecting, management, processing, visualizing and distributing spatial data. In other words, its meaning covers practically every method and tool from spatial data acquisition to distribution. In this work examples of application of geomatic solutions in surface mining on representative case studies in various stages of mine operation have been presented. These applications include: prospecting and documenting mineral deposits, assessment of land accessibility for a potential large-scale surface mining project, modelling mineral deposit (granite) management, concept of a system for management of conveyor belt network technical condition, project of a geoinformation system of former mining terrains and objects, and monitoring and control of impact of surface mining on mine surroundings with satellite radar interferometry.

The environmental costs of mountaintop mining valley fill operations for aquatic ecosystems of the Central Appalachians.

PubMed

Bernhardt, Emily S; Palmer, Margaret A

2011-03-01

Southern Appalachian forests are recognized as a biodiversity hot spot of global significance, particularly for endemic aquatic salamanders and mussels. The dominant driver of land-cover and land-use change in this region is surface mining, with an ever-increasing proportion occurring as mountaintop mining with valley fill operations (MTVF). In MTVF, seams of coal are exposed using explosives, and the resulting noncoal overburden is pushed into adjacent valleys to facilitate coal extraction. To date, MTVF throughout the Appalachians have converted 1.1 million hectares of forest to surface mines and buried more than 2,000 km of stream channel beneath mining overburden. The impacts of these lost forests and buried streams are propagated throughout the river networks of the region as the resulting sediment and chemical pollutants are transmitted downstream. There is, to date, no evidence to suggest that the extensive chemical and hydrologic alterations of streams by MTVF can be offset or reversed by currently required reclamation and mitigation practices. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

25 CFR 211.5 - Authority and responsibility of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Authority and responsibility of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). 211.5 Section 211.5 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS LEASING OF TRIBAL LANDS FOR MINERAL DEVELOPMENT General § 211.5 Authority and responsibility of the Office of...

25 CFR 212.5 - Authority and responsibility of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Authority and responsibility of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). 212.5 Section 212.5 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS LEASING OF ALLOTTED LANDS FOR MINERAL DEVELOPMENT General § 212.5 Authority and responsibility of the Office...

Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in Northern Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alpine, Andrea E.

2010-01-01

On July 21, 2009, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar proposed a two-year withdrawal of about 1 million acres of Federal land near the Grand Canyon from future mineral entry. These lands are contained in three parcels: two parcels on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land to the north of the Grand Canyon (North and East Segregation Areas) and one on the Kaibab National Forest south of the Grand Canyon (South Segregation Area). The purpose of the two-year withdrawal is to examine the potential effects of restricting these areas from new mine development for the next 20 years. This proposed withdrawal initiated a period of study during which the effects of the withdrawal must be evaluated. At the direction of the Secretary, the U.S. Geological Survey began a series of short-term studies designed to develop additional information about the possible effects of uranium mining on the natural resources of the region. Dissolved uranium and other major, minor, and trace elements occur naturally in groundwater as the result of precipitation infiltrating from the surface to water-bearing zones and, presumably, to underlying regional aquifers. Discharges from these aquifers occur as seeps and springs throughout the region and provide valuable habitat and water sources for plants and animals. Uranium mining within the watershed may increase the amount of radioactive materials and heavy metals in the surface water and groundwater flowing into Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River, and deep mining activities may increase mobilization of uranium through the rock strata into the aquifers. In addition, waste rock and ore from mined areas may be transported away from the mines by wind and runoff.

Utilizing hydrologic, statistical, and geochemical tools to assess uranium mobility in surface and near-surface environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naftz, D. L.; Walton-Day, K. E.; Fuller, C.; Dam, W. L.; Briggs, M. A.; Snyder, T.

2015-12-01

Legacy uranium (U) mining and processing activities have resulted in soil and water contamination on Federal, state, and tribal lands in the western United States. Sites include legacy mill sites associated with U extraction now managed by the Department of Energy and thousands of waste dumps associated with U exploration, mining, and processing. Recently (2012), over 400,000 hectares of federally managed land in northern Arizona was withdrawn from consideration of mining for a 20-year period to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from potentially adverse effects of U mineral exploration and development. Ore from active and recently active U mines in the Colorado Plateau, the Henry Mountains Complex, and the Arizona Strip is transported to the only currently (2015) active conventional mill site in the western United States, located in Utah. Previous and ongoing U.S. Geological Survey assessments to examine U mobility at a variety of legacy and active sites associated with ore exploration, extraction, and processing will be presented as field-scale examples. Topics associated with site investigations will include: (1) offsite migration of radionuclides associated with the operation of the White Mesa U mill; (2) long-term contaminant transport from legacy U waste dumps on Bureau of Land Management regulated land in Utah; (3) application of incremental soil sampling techniques to determine pre- and post-mining radionuclide levels associated with planned and operating U mines in northern Arizona; (4) application of fiber optic digital temperature sensing equipment to identify areas where shallow groundwater containing elevated U levels may be discharging to a river adjacent to a reclaimed mill site in central Wyoming; and (5) field-scale manipulation of groundwater chemistry to limit U migration from a legacy upgrader site in southeastern Utah.

Restoring Sustainable Forests on Appalachian Mined Lands for Wood Products, Renewable Energy, Carbon Sequestration, and Other Ecosystem Services

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

James A. Burger; J. Galbraith; T. Fox

2005-12-01

The overall purpose of this project is to evaluate the biological and economic feasibility of restoring high-quality forests on mined land, and to measure carbon sequestration and wood production benefits that would be achieved from forest restoration procedures. We are currently estimating the acreage of lands in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania mined under SMCRA and reclaimed to non-forested post-mining land uses that are not currently under active management, and therefore can be considered as available for carbon sequestration. To determine actual sequestration under different forest management scenarios, a field study was installed as a 3 x 3more » factorial in a random complete block design with three replications at each of three locations, one each in Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia. The treatments included three forest types (white pine, hybrid poplar, mixed hardwood) and three silvicultural regimes (competition control, competition control plus tillage, competition control plus tillage plus fertilization). Each individual treatment plot is 0.5 acres. Each block of nine plots is 4.5 acres, and the complete installation at each site is 13.5 acres. Regression models of chemical and physical soil properties were created in order to estimate the SOC content down the soil profile. Soil organic carbon concentration and volumetric percent of the fines decreased exponentially down the soil profile. The results indicated that one-third of the total SOC content on mined lands was found in the surface 0-13 cm soil layer, and more than two-thirds of it was located in the 0-53 cm soil profile. A relative estimate of soil density may be best in broad-scale mine soil mapping since actual D{sub b} values are often inaccurate and difficult to obtain in rocky mine soils. Carbon sequestration potential is also a function of silvicultural practices used for reforestation success. Weed control plus tillage may be the optimum treatment for hardwoods and white pine, as any increased growth resulting from fertilization may not offset the decreased survival that accompanied fertilization. Relative to carbon value, our analysis this quarter shows that although short-rotation hardwood management on reclaimed surface mined lands may have higher LEVs than traditional long-rotation hardwood management, it is only profitable in a limited set of circumstances.« less

30 CFR 870.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... LAND RECLAMATION ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND-FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except... him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed...

30 CFR 870.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... LAND RECLAMATION ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND-FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except... him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed...

30 CFR 870.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... LAND RECLAMATION ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND-FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except... him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed...

30 CFR 870.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... LAND RECLAMATION ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND-FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except... him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed...

30 CFR 870.11 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... LAND RECLAMATION ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND-FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING § 870.11 Applicability. The regulations in this part apply to all surface and underground coal mining operations except... him; (b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State, or local government-financed...

30 CFR 877.10 - Information collection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information collection. 877.10 Section 877.10 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION RIGHTS OF ENTRY § 877.10 Information collection. The information collection...

Reclamation of surface mined lands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1979-09-01

A detailed report has recently been published in which the whole subject of mine reclamation has been extensively reviewed and discussed. Part One deals with the technology of reclamation, in which the methods and procedures used have been illustrated by examples taken from the practice of different countries as required by law or by accepted usage. In general, the illustrations used are the most stringent that apply to the procedure under discussion. This serves to show the situation in its most severe light, but it also gives warning of the direction in which the law will move in other countriesmore » that are not so environmentally conscious as the pacesetters. Part Two of the report deals with the law and practice in the major mining nations of the West that have legislation on the subject. This is a field in which much movement is taking place; new laws and regulations are being enacted, and old ones amended and revised. The laws outlined in the report are designed to give the general sense of the law and define the most important regulations. Any mining company contemplating surface mining in a country with which it is unfamiliar will naturally obtain the currently valid legislation. Reclamation of Surface Mined Lands by W.L.G. Muir (price US $225 or equivalent) can be obtained from World Coal, Book Department, 500 Howard Street, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.« less

Spectral methods to detect surface mines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, Edwin M.; Schatten Silvious, Miranda

2008-04-01

Over the past five years, advances have been made in the spectral detection of surface mines under minefield detection programs at the U. S. Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD). The problem of detecting surface land mines ranges from the relatively simple, the detection of large anti-vehicle mines on bare soil, to the very difficult, the detection of anti-personnel mines in thick vegetation. While spatial and spectral approaches can be applied to the detection of surface mines, spatial-only detection requires many pixels-on-target such that the mine is actually imaged and shape-based features can be exploited. This method is unreliable in vegetated areas because only part of the mine may be exposed, while spectral detection is possible without the mine being resolved. At NVESD, hyperspectral and multi-spectral sensors throughout the reflection and thermal spectral regimes have been applied to the mine detection problem. Data has been collected on mines in forest and desert regions and algorithms have been developed both to detect the mines as anomalies and to detect the mines based on their spectral signature. In addition to the detection of individual mines, algorithms have been developed to exploit the similarities of mines in a minefield to improve their detection probability. In this paper, the types of spectral data collected over the past five years will be summarized along with the advances in algorithm development.

A techno-economic model for optimum regeneration of surface mined land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhopadhyay, Manas K.; Sinha, Indra N.

2006-07-01

The recent global scenario in the mineral sector may be characterized by rising competitiveness, increasing production costs and a slump in market price. This has pushed the mineral sector in general and that in the developing countries in particular to a situation where the industry has a limited capacity to sustain unproductive costs. This, more often than not, results in a situation where the industry fails to ensure environmental safeguards during and after mineral extraction. The situation is conspicuous in the Indian coal mining industry where more than 73% production comes from surface operations. India has an ambitious power augmentation projection for the coming 10 years. A phenomenal increase in coal production is proposed from the power grade coalfields in India. One of the most likely fall-outs of land degradation due to mining in these areas would be significant reduction of agricultural and other important land-uses. Currently, backfilling costs are perceived as prohibitive and abandonment of land is the easy way out. This study attempts to provide mine planners with a mathematical model that distributes generated overburden at defined disposal options while ensuring maximization of backfilled land area at minimum direct and economic costs. Optimization has been accomplished by linear programming (LP) for optimum distribution of each year’s generated overburden. Previous year’s disposal quantity outputs are processed as one set of the inputs to the LP model for generation of current year’s disposal output. From various geo-mining inputs, site constants of the LP constraints are calculated. Arrived value of economic vectors, which guide the programming statement, decides the optimal overburden distribution in defined options. The case example (with model test run) indicates that overburden distribution is significantly sensitive to coal seam gradient. The model has universal applicability to cyclic system (shovel dumper combination) of opencast mining of stratified deposits.

Description of the physical environment an coal-mining history of West-Central Indiana, with emphasis on six small watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Martin, Jeffrey D.; Crawford, Charles G.; Duwelius, Richard F.; Renn, Danny E.

1990-01-01

Pond Creek and the unnamed tributary to Big Branch are streams that drain mined and unreclaimed watersheds. Approximately one-half of the Pond Creek watershed is unmined, agricultural land. Soils are very well-drained shaly silty loams that have formed or' steeply sloping spoil banks. Both watersheds contain numerous impoundments of water and have enclosed areas that do not contribute surface runoff to streamflow. The ridges of mine spoil are covered with pine trees, but much of the soil surface is devoid of vegetation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

The Staunton 1 Reclamation Demonstration Project involves an evaluation of the reclamation process for a deep coal mine refuse system. A typical abandoned midwestern deep coal mine refuse site was selected, final land use was determined, baseline data were collected, engineering plans were developed and implemented, and a post-construction evaluation was begun. The project is a cooperative effort by two state agencies--the Abandoned Mined Land Reclamation Council of Illinois the Illinois Institute for Environmental Quality--and the U.S. Department of Energy through the Land Reclamation Program at Argonne National Laboratory. Current investigations are monitoring groundwater, surface water quality, aquatic ecosystems, revegetation,more » soil characteristics, erosion and runoff, soil microbial and soil fauna populations, wildlife, and economic effects of the reclamation effort. The research is a multidisciplinary approach to the concept of ecosystem response to reclamation.« less

Stand characteristics and productivity potential of Indiana surface mines reclaimed under SMCRA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Groninger, J.W.; Fillmore, S.D.; Rathfon, R.A.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) addresses a wide range of environmental concerns. However, its impacts on forest stand development and productive potential have only recently been investigated. We surveyed the vegetation and forest productivity on 22 surface mine sites throughout the coal-bearing region of Indiana that were reclaimed to forest cover under the provisions of SMCRA 7-14 years prior to sampling. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) were the most widely occurring tree species. Tall fescue and goldenrod were the most widely occurring nonarborescent species. Median site index (base age 50 formore » black oak) was 30 ft. Although satisfying forest cover stocking requirements for bond release, these reclaimed surface mines almost always displayed a level of productivity far below those of native forests typical of this region. Reclamation techniques differing from those used on these study sites are needed to restore forest productivity to surface-mined lands while still complying with SMCRA.« less

Land Application of Wastes: An Educational Program. Non-Crop and Forest Systems - Module 13, Objectives, and Script.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarkson, W. W.; And Others

This module discusses the characteristics of alternate sites and management schemes and attempts to evaluate the efficiency of each alternative in terms of waste treatment. Three types of non-crop land application are discussed: (1) forest lands; (2) park and recreational application; and (3) land reclamation in surface or strip mined areas. (BB)

10 CFR 60.121 - Requirements for ownership and control of interests in land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... either acquired lands under the jurisdiction and control of DOE, or lands permanently withdrawn and..., such as: (i) Rights arising under the general mining laws; (ii) easements for right-of-way; and (iii... postclosure controlled area. DOE shall exercise any jurisdiction and control over surface and subsurface...

75 FR 48525 - Pennsylvania Regulatory Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-10

...OSM is announcing its partial approval of a program amendment submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of addressing the need for financial guarantees to cover the costs of treatment of post-mining pollutional discharges and land reclamation for those surface coal mining sites that were originally bonded under the Commonwealth's now defunct alternative bonding system (ABS). OSM is requiring that Pennsylvania ensure that its program provides suitable, enforceable funding mechanisms sufficient to guarantee coverage of land reclamation at all original ABS sites.

Utilizing Skylab data in on-going resources management programs in the state of Ohio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baldridge, P. E. (Principal Investigator); Goesling, P. H.; Martin, T. A.; Wukelic, G. E.; Stephan, J. G.; Smail, H. E.; Ebbert, T. F.

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The use of Skylab imagery for total area woodland surveys was found to be more accurate and cheaper than conventional surveys using aerial photo-plot techniques. Machine-aided (primarily density slicing) analyses of Skylab 190A and 190B color and infrared color photography demonstrated the feasibility of using such data for differentiating major timber classes including pines, hardwoods, mixed, cut, and brushland providing such analyses are made at scales of 1:24,000 and larger. Manual and machine-assisted image analysis indicated that spectral and spatial capabilities of Skylab EREP photography are adequate to distinguish most parameters of current, coal surface mining concern associated with: (1) active mining, (2) orphan lands, (3) reclaimed lands, and (4) active reclamation. Excellent results were achieved when comparing Skylab and aerial photographic interpretations of detailed surface mining features. Skylab photographs when combined with other data bases (e.g., census, agricultural land productivity, and transportation networks), provide a comprehensive, meaningful, and integrated view of major elements involved in the urbanization/encroachment process.

Description of the physical environment and coal-mining history of west-central Indiana, with emphasis on six small watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Martin, Jeffrey D.; Crawford, Charles G.; Duwelius, R.F.; Renn, D.E.

1987-01-01

Information on the geology, geomorphology, soils, climate, hydrology, water use, land use, population, and coal mining history of Clay, Owen, Sullivan, and Vigo Counties in Indiana is summarized. Site-specific information is given on the morphology , geology, soils, land use, coal mining history, and hydrologic instrumentation of the six watersheds which are each less than 3 sq mi in area. The Wabash, White, and Eel Rivers are the major drainages in west-central Indiana. Average annual precipitation is about 39.5 in/yr and average annual runoff is about 13 in/yr. The most productive aquifers are confined or unconfined outwash aquifers located along the major rivers. Bedrock aquifers are regionally insignificant but are the sole source of groundwater for areas that lack outwash, alluvium, or sand and gravel lenses in till. Indiana has more than 17 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves; about 11% can be mined by surface methods. Almost half of Indiana 's surface reserves are in Clay, Owen, Sullivan, and Vigo Counties. More than 50,000 acres in west-central Indiana have been disturbed by surface coal mining from 1941 through 1980. Big Slough and Hooker Creek are streams that drain unmined, agricultural watersheds. Row-crop corn and soybeans are the principal crops. Soils are moderately well drained silt loams, and the watersheds well developed dendritic drainage systems. Unnamed tributaries drain mined and reclaimed watersheds. Ridges of mine spoil have been graded to a gently rolling topography. Soils are well drained and consist of 6 to 12 inches of silt-loam topsoil that was stockpiled and then replaced over shale and sandstone fragments of the graded mine spoil. Grasses and legumes form the vegetative cover in each watershed. Pond Creek and an unnamed tributary to Big Branch are streams that drain mined and unreclaimed watersheds. Soils are very well drained shaly silty loams that have formed on steeply sloping banks. Both watersheds contain numerous impoundments of water and have enclosed areas that do not contribute surface runoff to streamflow. The ridges of mine spoil are covered with pine trees, but much of the soil surface is devoid of vegetation. (Lantz-PTT)

43 CFR 23.5 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses, proximity to... lowering of water quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control... to the State water pollution control agency and to the Department of the Interior that such lowering...

43 CFR 23.5 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses, proximity to... lowering of water quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control... to the State water pollution control agency and to the Department of the Interior that such lowering...

43 CFR 23.5 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses, proximity to... lowering of water quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control... to the State water pollution control agency and to the Department of the Interior that such lowering...

43 CFR 23.5 - Technical examination of prospective surface exploration and mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... mining operations vary widely with respect to topography, climate, surrounding land uses, proximity to... lowering of water quality below standards established by the appropriate State water pollution control... to the State water pollution control agency and to the Department of the Interior that such lowering...

What Happens after the Lease Is Signed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Douglas

1980-01-01

The Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) and 25 coal-owning tribes recently completed a study of issues associated with control and reclamation of surface mining. Article presents their seven recommendations for legislation enabling tribes to have greater control over the regulation and reclamation of strip mining on their lands. (Author/DS)

Restoring tropical forests on bauxite mined lands: lessons from the Brazilian Amazon

Treesearch

John A. Parrotta; Oliver H. Knowles

2001-01-01

Restoring self-sustaining tropical forest ecosystems on surface mined sites is a formidable challenge that requires the integration of proven reclamation techniques and reforestation strategies appropriate to specific site conditions, including landscape biodiversity patterns. Restorationists working in most tropical settings are usually hampered by lack of basic...

Role of mycorrhizae in forestation of surface mines

Treesearch

Donald H. Marx

1980-01-01

A brief introduction to ecto- and endomycorrhizae and their importance to plants is presented. Recent findings confirm the significance of ectomycorrhizae, particularly those formed by Pisolithus tinctorius in nurseries, to survival and growth of pine seedlings on strip-mined lands. Commercial inoculum of this fungus may be available in 1981. Recent...

30 CFR 886.21 - What must I report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What must I report? 886.21 Section 886.21 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR UNCERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 886.21 What...

30 CFR 885.20 - What must I report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What must I report? 885.20 Section 885.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 885.20 What must I report...

30 CFR 885.20 - What must I report?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What must I report? 885.20 Section 885.20 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 885.20 What must I report...

Solutions Network Formulation Report. Landsat Data Continuity Mission Simulated Data Products for Bureau of Land Management and Environmental Protection Agency Abandoned Mine Lands Decision Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estep, Leland

2007-01-01

Presently, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has identified a multitude of abandoned mine sites in primarily Western states for cleanup. These sites are prioritized and appropriate cleanup has been called in to reclaim the sites. The task is great in needing considerable amounts of agency resources. For instance, in Colorado alone there exists an estimated 23,000 abandoned mines. The problem is not limited to Colorado or to the United States. Cooperation for reclamation is sought at local, state, and federal agency level to aid in identification, inventory, and cleanup efforts. Dangers posed by abandoned mines are recognized widely and will tend to increase with time because some of these areas are increasingly used for recreation and, in some cases, have been or are in the process of development. In some cases, mines are often vandalized once they are closed. The perpetrators leave them open, so others can then access the mines without realizing the danger posed. Abandoned mine workings often fill with water or oxygen-deficient air and dangerous gases following mining. If the workings are accidentally entered into, water or bad air can prove fatal to those underground. Moreover, mine residue drainage negatively impacts the local watershed ecology. Some of the major hazards that might be monitored by higher-resolution satellites include acid mine drainage, clogged streams, impoundments, slides, piles, embankments, hazardous equipment or facilities, surface burning, smoke from underground fires, and mine openings.

30 CFR 745.10 - Information collection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.10 Information collection. (a) In accordance... Federal lands under certain conditions. States that desire to enter into cooperative agreements to do so...

30 CFR 745.10 - Information collection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FEDERAL LANDS PROGRAM STATE-FEDERAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS § 745.10 Information collection. (a) In accordance... Federal lands under certain conditions. States that desire to enter into cooperative agreements to do so...

Reclamation of mined lands in the western coal region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Narten, Perry F.; Litner, S.F.; Allingham, J.W.; Foster, Lee; Larsen, D.M.; McWreath, H.C.

1983-01-01

In 1978, a group of scientists from several Federal agencies examined reclamation work at 22 coal mines in seven western States. The results of these examinations were not used to derive quantitative predictions of the outcome of reclamation work but rather to determine the general requirements for revegetation success. Locally, reclamation efforts are affected by climate, especially precipitation; the landform of the restored surface; the nature of the overburden material; the nature of the surface soil; and the natural ecological system. The goals of reclamation efforts are now broader than ever. Regulations call not only for reducing the steepness of the final surface and establishing a cover of mostly perennial native vegetation, but for restoring the land for specific land uses, achieving diversity both in types of plants and in number of species, and reintroduction of biological and ecological processes. If specific sites are monitored over a long enough period of time, quantitative predictions of success for individual mines may be possible, and such predictions can be included in environmental impact statements to help in the decision-making process. The results of this study indicate that current reclamation objectives can be met when the reclamation effort is designed on the basis of site-specific needs and when existing technology is used.

30 CFR 740.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... including, with respect to leased Federal coal, the Mineral Leasing Act and its implementing regulations... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.5... official action on behalf of a Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction over Federal lands. Coal...

30 CFR 740.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... including, with respect to leased Federal coal, the Mineral Leasing Act and its implementing regulations... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.5... official action on behalf of a Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction over Federal lands. Coal...

30 CFR 740.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... including, with respect to leased Federal coal, the Mineral Leasing Act and its implementing regulations... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.5... official action on behalf of a Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction over Federal lands. Coal...

30 CFR 740.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... including, with respect to leased Federal coal, the Mineral Leasing Act and its implementing regulations... PROGRAM GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON FEDERAL LANDS § 740.5... official action on behalf of a Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction over Federal lands. Coal...

Surface Soil Preparetion for Leguminous Plants Growing in Degraded Areas by Mining Located in Amazon Forest-Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irio Ribeiro, Admilson; Hashimoto Fengler, Felipe; Araújo de Medeiros, Gerson; Márcia Longo, Regina; Frederici de Mello, Giovanna; José de Melo, Wanderley

2015-04-01

The revegetation of areas degraded by mining usually requires adequate mobilization of surface soil for the development of the species to be implemented. Unlike the traditional tillage, which has periodicity, the mobilization of degraded areas for revegetation can only occur at the beginning of the recovery stage. In this sense, the process of revegetation has as purpose the establishment of local native vegetation with least possible use of inputs and superficial tillage in order to catalyze the process of natural ecological succession, promoting the reintegration of areas and minimizing the negative impacts of mining activities in environmental. In this context, this work describes part of a study of land reclamation by tin exploitation in the Amazon ecosystem in the National Forest Jamari- Rondonia Brazil. So, studied the influence of surface soil mobilization in pit mine areas and tailings a view to the implementation of legumes. The results show that the surface has areas of mobilizing a significant effect on the growth of leguminous plants, areas for both mining and to tailings and pit mine areas.

Lunar surface mine feasibility study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blair, Brad R.

This paper describes a lunar surface mine, and demonstrates the economic feasibility of mining oxygen from the moon. The mine will be at the Apollo 16 landing site. Mine design issues include pit size and shape, excavation equipment, muck transport, and processing requirements. The final mine design will be driven by production requirements, and constrained by the lunar environment. This mining scenario assumes the presence of an operating lunar base. Lunar base personnel will set-up a and run the mine. The goal of producing lunar oxygen is to reduce dependence on fuel shipped from Earth. Thus, the lunar base is the customer for the finished product. The perspective of this paper is that of a mining contractor who must produce a specific product at a remote location, pay local labor, and sell the product to an onsite captive market. To make a profit, it must be less costly to build and ship specialized equipment to the site, and pay high labor and operating costs, than to export the product directly to the site.

30 CFR 886.17 - How can my grant be amended?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How can my grant be amended? 886.17 Section 886.17 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR UNCERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 886.17 How can...

30 CFR 779.24 - Maps: General requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., included in or contiguous to the permit area; (b) The boundaries of land within the proposed permit area... boundaries of all areas proposed to be affected over the estimated total life of the proposed surface mining activities, with a description of size, sequence, and timing of the mining of sub-areas for which it is...

30 CFR 762.11 - Criteria for designating lands as unsuitable.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AREAS UNSUITABLE FOR MINING CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATING AREAS AS UNSUITABLE FOR... area shall be designated as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations, if... under the Act, this chapter or an approved State program. (b) Upon petition an area may be (but is not...

30 CFR 779.24 - Maps: General requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., included in or contiguous to the permit area; (b) The boundaries of land within the proposed permit area... boundaries of all areas proposed to be affected over the estimated total life of the proposed surface mining activities, with a description of size, sequence, and timing of the mining of sub-areas for which it is...

Effects of underground mining and mine collapse on the hydrology of selected basins in West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hobba, William A.

1993-01-01

The effects of underground mining and mine collapse on areal hydrology were determined at one site where the mined bed of coal lies above major streams and at two sites where the bed of coal lies below major streams. Subsidence cracks observed at land surface generally run parallel to predominant joint sets in the rocks. The mining and subsidence cracks increase hydraulic conductivity and interconnection of water-bearing rock units, which in turn cause increased infiltration of precipitation and surface water, decreased evapotranspiration, and higher base flows in some small streams. Water levels in observation wells in mined areas fluctuate as much as 100 ft annually. Both gaining and losing streams are found in mined areas. Mine pumpage and drainage can cause diversion of water underground from one basin to another. Areal and single-well aquifer tests indicated that near-surface rocks have higher transmissivity in a mine-subsided basin than in unmined basins. Increased infiltration and circulation through shallow subsurface rocks increase dissolved mineral loads in streams, as do treated and untreated contributions from mine pumpage and drainage. Abandoned and flooded underground mines make good reservoirs because of their increased transmissivity and storage. Subsidence cracks were not detectable by thermal imagery, but springs and seeps were detectable.

Analysis of alternative modifications for reducing backwater flooding at the Honey Creek coal strip-mine reclamation site in Henry County, Missouri. Water Resources Investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alexander, T.W.

Studies to determine the hydrologic conditions in mined and reclaimed mine areas, as well as areas of proposed mining, have become necessary with the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Honey Creek in Henry County, Missouri, has been re-routed to flow through a series of former strip mining pits which lie within the Honey Creek coal strip mine reclamation site. During intense or long duration rainfalls within the Honey Creek basin, surface runoff has caused flooding on agricultural land near the upstream boundary of the reclamation site. The calculated existing design discharge (3,050 cubic feetmore » per second) water-surface profile is compared to the expected water-surface profiles from three assumed alternative channel modifcations within the Honey Creek study area. The alternative channel modifications used in these analyses include (1) improvement of channel bottom slope, (2) relocation of spoil material, and (3) improved by-pass channel flow conditions. The alternative 1, 2, and 3 design discharge increase will reduce the agricultural field current (1990) frequency of backwater flooding from a 3-year to a 6.5-year event.« less

43 CFR 4.1373 - Hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Hearing. 4.1373 Section 4.1373 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Osm Decisions Proposing to...

43 CFR 4.1373 - Hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hearing. 4.1373 Section 4.1373 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Osm Decisions Proposing to...

Detection of Hydrologic Response at the River Basin Scale Caused by Land Use Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCormick, B. C.; Eshleman, K. N.; Griffith, J. L.; Townsend, P. A.

2008-05-01

The 187.5 km2 Georges Creek watershed, located on the Appalachian Plateau in western Maryland (USA), has experienced significant land use change due to surface mining of bituminous coal. We estimate that over 17% of the Georges Creek watershed is being actively surface-mined or was mined and reclaimed previously. The adjacent Savage River watershed (127.2 km2) is completely unaffected by surface mining. Both watersheds have long (>60 year) streamflow records maintained by USGS that were analyzed as part of this project, using Savage River as a control. Temporal analysis of the moments of the flood frequency distributions using a moving-window technique indicated that climatic variability affected both watersheds equally. Normalizing annual maximum flows by antecedent streamflow and causative precipitation allowed trends in the Georges Creek watershed flooding response to become more evident. An analysis of sixteen contemporary warm season storm events based on hourly streamflow and NEXRAD Stage III derived precipitation data provided clear evidence of differences in watershed response to rainfall. Georges Creek events (normalized by basin area and precipitation) are, on average, characterized by slightly greater (7%) peak runoff and shorter (3 hr) centroid lags than Savage River, even though the opposite was expected considering relative basin areas. These differences in stormflow response are most likely attributable to differences in current land use in the basins, particularly the large area of reclaimed minelands in Georges Creek. Interestingly, we found that Georges Creek events produce, on average, only 2/3 of the stormflow volume as Savage River, apparently due to infiltration of water into abandoned deep mine workings and an associated trans-basin drainage system that dates to the early 20th century. Long-term trend analysis at the river basin scale using empirical hydrologic methods is thus complicated by climatic variability and the legacy of deep mining in this system.

Sunbelt strives for diversification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jackson, D.

1982-08-01

The Sunbelt Mining Co. is a subsidiary of the Public Service Co., of New Mexico which seeks out and develops additional resources for both its parent company and new customers. The De-Na-Zin surface mine in the Bisti coalfield of New Mexico is described, together with the aggregate crushing and screening facility that supplies road construction material to the mine. The problem of overburden removal and the reclamation of land in the desert is discussed.

Economic effects of western Federal land-use restrictions on U.S. coal markets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, William Downing; Medlin, A.L.; Krohn, K.K.; Brookshire, D.S.; Bernknopf, R.L.

1991-01-01

Current regulations on land use in the Western United States affect access to surface minable coal resources. This U.S. Geological Survey study analyzes the long-term effects of Federal land-use restrictions on the national cost of meeting future coal demands. The analysis covers 45 years. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has determined the environmental, aesthetic, and economic values of western Federal coal lands and has set aside certain areas from surface coal mining to protect other valued land uses, including agricultural, environmental, and aesthetic uses. Although there are benefits to preserving natural areas and to developing areas for other land uses, these restrictions produce long-term national and regional costs that have not been estimated previously. The Dynamic Coal Allocation Model integrates coal supply (coal resource tonnage and coal quality by mining cost for 60 coal supply regions) with coal demand (in 243 regions) for the entire United States. The model makes it possible to evaluate the regional economic impacts of coal supply restrictions wherever they might occur in the national coal market. The main factors that the economic methodology considers are (1) coal mining costs, (2) coal transportation costs, (3) coal flue gas desulfurization costs, (4) coal demand, (5) regulations to control sulfur dioxide discharges, and (6) specific reductions in coal availability occurring as a result of land-use restrictions. The modeling system combines these economic factors with coal deposit quantity and quality information--which is derived from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resources Data System and the U.S. Department of Energy's Demonstrated Reserve Base--to determine a balance between supply and demand so that coal is delivered at minimum cost.

Hydrology of the North Fork of the Right Fork of Miller Creek, Carbon County, Utah, before, during, and after underground coal mining

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slaughter, C.B.; Freethey, G.W.; Spangler, L.E.

1995-01-01

From 1988-92 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, studied the effects of underground coal mining and the resulting subsidence on the hydrologic system near the North Fork of the Right Fork of Miller Creek, Carbon County, Utah. The subsidence caused open fractures at land surface, debris slides, and rockfalls in the canyon above the mined area. Land surface subsided and moved several feet horizontally. The perennial stream and a tributary upstream from the mined area were diverted below the ground by surface fractures where the overburden thickness above the Wattis coal seam is 300 to 500 feet. The reach downstream was dry but flow resumed where the channel traversed the Star Point Sandstone, which forms the aquifer below the coal seams where ground-water discharge provides new base flow. Concentrations of dissolved constituents in the stream water sampled just downstream from the mined area increased from about 300 mg/L (milligrams per liter) to more than 1,500 mg/L, and the water changed from primarily a magnesium calcium bicarbonate to primarily a magnesium sulfate type. Monitored water levels in two wells completed in the perched aquifer(s) above the mine indicate that fractures from subsidence- related deformation drained the perched aquifer in the Blackhawk Formation. The deformation also could have contributed to the decrease in discharge of three springs above the mined area, but discharge from other springs in the area did not change ubstantially; thus, the relation between subsidence and spring discharge, if any, is not clear. No significant changes in the chemical character of water discharging from springs were detected, but the dissolved-solids concentration in water collected from a perched sandstone aquifer overlying the mined coal seams increased during mining activity.

Carbon Sequestration on Surface Mine Lands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donald Graves; Christopher Barton; Richard Sweigard

2006-03-31

Since the implementation of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) in May of 1978, many opportunities have been lost for the reforestation of surface mines in the eastern United States. Research has shown that excessive compaction of spoil material in the backfilling and grading process is the biggest impediment to the establishment of productive forests as a post-mining land use (Ashby, 1998, Burger et al., 1994, Graves et al., 2000). Stability of mine sites was a prominent concern among regulators and mine operators in the years immediately following the implementation of SMCRA. These concerns resultedmore » in the highly compacted, flatly graded, and consequently unproductive spoils of the early post-SMCRA era. However, there is nothing in the regulations that requires mine sites to be overly compacted as long as stability is achieved. It has been cultural barriers and not regulatory barriers that have contributed to the failure of reforestation efforts under the federal law over the past 27 years. Efforts to change the perception that the federal law and regulations impede effective reforestation techniques and interfere with bond release must be implemented. Demonstration of techniques that lead to the successful reforestation of surface mines is one such method that can be used to change perceptions and protect the forest ecosystems that were indigenous to these areas prior to mining. The University of Kentucky initiated a large-scale reforestation effort to address regulatory and cultural impediments to forest reclamation in 2003. During the three years of this project 383,000 trees were planted on over 556 acres in different physiographic areas of Kentucky (Table 1, Figure 1). Species used for the project were similar to those that existed on the sites before mining was initiated (Table 2). A monitoring program was undertaken to evaluate growth and survival of the planted species as a function of spoil characteristics and reclamation practice. In addition, experiments were integrated within the reforestation effort to address specific questions pertaining to sequestration of carbon (C) on these sites.« less

Application of remote-sensing techniques to hydrologic studies in selected coal-mine areas of southeastern Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kenny, J.F.; McCauley, J.R.

1983-01-01

Disturbances resulting from intensive coal mining in the Cherry Creek basin of southeastern Kansas were investigated using color and color-infrared aerial photography in conjunction with water-quality data from simultaneously acquired samples. Imagery was used to identify the type and extent of vegetative cover on strip-mined lands and the extent and success of reclamation practices. Drainage patterns, point sources of acid mine drainage, and recharge areas for underground mines were located for onsite inspection. Comparison of these interpretations with water-quality data illustrated differences between the eastern and western parts of the Cherry Creek basin. Contamination in the eastern part is due largely to circulation of water from unreclaimed strip mines and collapse features through the network of underground mines and subsequent discharge of acidic drainage through seeps. Contamination in the western part is primarily caused by runoff and seepage from strip-mined lands in which surfaces have frequently been graded and limed but are generally devoid of mature stands of soil-anchoring vegetation. The successful use of aerial photography in the study of Cherry Creek basin indicates the potential of using remote-sensing techniques in studies of other coal-mined regions. (USGS)

Reforestation as a post-mining land use in the Midwest

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parr, D.E.

1982-12-01

With the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-87), some very stringent requirements for the successful establishment of trees and shrubs have come into effect. In response to these requirements, AMAX Coal Company is developing a reforestation program for seven surface mines in Indiana and Illinois using the best technology currently available. The program emphasizes obtaining good quality stock, the proper care and handling of stock, the proper planting of the stock, and an effective weed control program. The value of weed control for the establishment and growth of hardwoods has long been recognizedmore » in the forest industry, but has not been used extensively in the reforestation of surface mined lands. The improved survival of tree seedlings with the use of weed control justifies the additional cost. Weed control also enhances the growth of tree seedlings. However, the long term growth of seedlings is questionable due to the compaction resulting from the extensive grading required to achieve approximate original contour. To minimize compaction, a forest area in Illinois is being minimally graded only to the extent necessary for environmental stability. Minimal grading is designed to reduce compaction which in turn will promote the development of a more productive forest resource.« less

43 CFR 4.1103 - Eligibility to practice.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Eligibility to practice. 4.1103 Section 4.1103 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals General Provisions § 4.1103...

30 CFR 750.15 - Coal exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Coal exploration. 750.15 Section 750.15 Mineral... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.15 Coal exploration. Coal exploration operations on Indian lands shall be conducted in accordance with 25 CFR part 216...

30 CFR 750.15 - Coal exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Coal exploration. 750.15 Section 750.15 Mineral... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.15 Coal exploration. Coal exploration operations on Indian lands shall be conducted in accordance with 25 CFR part 216...

30 CFR 750.15 - Coal exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal exploration. 750.15 Section 750.15 Mineral... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.15 Coal exploration. Coal exploration operations on Indian lands shall be conducted in accordance with 25 CFR part 216...

30 CFR 750.15 - Coal exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Coal exploration. 750.15 Section 750.15 Mineral... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.15 Coal exploration. Coal exploration operations on Indian lands shall be conducted in accordance with 25 CFR part 216...

30 CFR 750.15 - Coal exploration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Coal exploration. 750.15 Section 750.15 Mineral... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.15 Coal exploration. Coal exploration operations on Indian lands shall be conducted in accordance with 25 CFR part 216...

43 CFR 4.1355 - Burden of proof.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Request for Hearing on A Preliminary.... 1260(c) (federal Program; Federal Lands Program; Federal Program for Indian Lands) § 4.1355 Burden of... comply with the Act, its implementing regulations, the regulatory program, or the permit. [67 FR 61511...

43 CFR 23.4 - Application for permission to conduct exploration operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Application for permission to conduct... SURFACE EXPLORATION, MINING AND RECLAMATION OF LANDS § 23.4 Application for permission to conduct... disposition under the mineral leasing acts without first filing an application for, and obtaining, a permit...

Long term stability of microbial diversity and activity potential in severely disturbed arid lands of the southwest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Arid land cryptobiotic soil crusts govern water infiltration, soil aggregate stability and nutrient cycling between soil microbial communities and vascular plants. Surface mining involves removal of topsoil and associated crust and storage in mixed mounds for extended periods. The exposed subsoil an...

43 CFR 4.1112 - Motions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals General Provisions § 4.1112 Motions. (a) Except for oral motions made in proceedings on the record, or where the administrative law judge otherwise directs... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2012-10-01 2011-10-01 true Motions. 4.1112 Section 4.1112 Public Lands...

43 CFR 4.1285 - Summary dismissal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Summary dismissal. 4.1285 Section 4.1285 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES... of the Office of Surface Mining § 4.1285 Summary dismissal. An appeal shall be subject to summary...

Development of industrial minerals in Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arbogast, Belinda F.; Knepper, Daniel H.; Langer, William H.; Cappa, James A.; Keller, John W.; Widmann, Beth L.; Ellefsen, Karl J.; Klein, Terry L.; Lucius, Jeffrey E.; Dersch, John S.

2011-01-01

Technology and engineering have helped make mining safer and cleaner for both humans and the environment. Inevitably, mineral development entails costs as well as benefits. Developing a mine is an environmental, engineering, and planning challenge that must conform to many Federal, State, and local regulations. Community collaboration, creative design, and best management practices of sustainability and biodiversity can be positive indicators for the mining industry. A better understanding of aesthetics, culture, economics, geology, climate, vegetation and wildlife, topography, historical significance, and regional land planning is important in resolving land-use issues and managing mineral resources wisely. Ultimately, the consuming public makes choices about product use (including water, food, highways, housing, and thousands of other items) that influence operations of the mineral industry. Land planners, resource managers, earth scientists, designers, and public groups have a responsibility to consider sound scientific information, society's needs, and community appeals in making smart decisions concerning resource use and how complex landscapes should change. An effort to provide comprehensive geosciences data for land management agencies in central Colorado was undertaken in 2003 by scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Geological Survey. This effort, the Central Colorado Assessment Project, addressed a variety of land-use issues: an understanding of the availability of industrial and metallic rocks and minerals, the geochemical and environmental effects of historic mining activity on surface water and groundwater, and the geologic controls on the availability and quality of groundwater. The USDA Forest Service and other land management agencies have the opportunity to contribute to the sustainable management of natural aggregate and other mineral resources through the identification and selective development of mineral resources and the reclamation of mines on lands that they administer. The information in this Circular will help them carry out that task.

Reclaimed mineland curve number response to temporal distribution of rainfall

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warner, R.C.; Agouridis, C.T.; Vingralek, P.T.; Fogle, A.W.

2010-01-01

The curve number (CN) method is a common technique to estimate runoff volume, and it is widely used in coal mining operations such as those in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. However, very little CN data are available for watersheds disturbed by surface mining and then reclaimed using traditional techniques. Furthermore, as the CN method does not readily account for variations in infiltration rates due to varying rainfall distributions, the selection of a single CN value to encompass all temporal rainfall distributions could lead engineers to substantially under- or over-size water detention structures used in mining operations or other land uses such as development. Using rainfall and runoff data from a surface coal mine located in the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky, CNs were computed for conventionally reclaimed lands. The effects of temporal rainfall distributions on CNs was also examined by classifying storms as intense, steady, multi-interval intense, or multi-interval steady. Results indicate that CNs for such reclaimed lands ranged from 62 to 94 with a mean value of 85. Temporal rainfall distributions were also shown to significantly affect CN values with intense storms having significantly higher CNs than multi-interval storms. These results indicate that a period of recovery is present between rainfall bursts of a multi-interval storm that allows depressional storage and infiltration rates to rebound. ?? 2010 American Water Resources Association.

Environmental geology of the Wilcox Group Lignite Belt, east Texas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Henry, C.D.; Basciano, J.M.

This report provides a data base for decisions about lignite mining and reclamation in the Wilcox Group of East Texas. A set of environmental geologic maps, which accompanies this report, depicts the character of the land that will be affected by mining. The environmental geologic maps of the East Texas lignite belt provide an accurate inventory of land resources. The maps identify areas where mining is most likely to occur, areas of critical natural resources that could be affected by mining, such as aquifer recharge areas, and areas of natural hazards, such as floodplains. Principal areas of both active andmore » planned surface mining are also located. The seven environmental geologic maps cover the outcrop area of the Wilcox Group, the major lignite host, and adjacent geologic units from Bastrop County to Texarkana. This report begins with a discussion of various physical aspects of the lignite belt, including geology, hydrology, soils, climate, and land use, to aid in understanding the maps. The criteria and methodology used to delineate the environmental geologic units are discussed. Varied applications of the environmental geologic maps are considered. 23 references, 9 figures, 3 tables.« less

Reclamation technology development for western Arkansas coal refuse waste materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

King, J.R.; Veith, D.L.

Coal mining has been an important industry in the Arkansas River Valley Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) of western Arkansas for more than 100 yr., most of it with little regard for environmental concerns. Almost 3,640 ha. of land affected by surface coal mines cover the seven-county area, with less than 1,200 ha. currently in various stages of operation or reclamation. Since only the active mining sites must now be reclaimed by law, the remaining 2,440 ha. of abandoned land remains at the mercy of natural forces. Little topsoil exists on these sites and the coal wastes are generally acidicmore » with a pH in the 4.0-5.5 range. Revegetation attempts under these conditions generally require continued maintenance and retreatment until an acceptable cover is achieved. If and when an acceptable vegetative cover is established, the cost frequently approaches $7,400/ha. ($3,000/acre). In an effort to resolve these issues and provide some direction for stabilizing coal waste lands, the US Department of Agriculture through its Soil Conservation Service Plant Materials Center at Boonville, Arkansas, received a Congressional Pass through administered by the US Bureau of Mines, to support a 5-yr. revegetation study on the coal mine spoils of western Arkansas. This paper reports the results through the spring of 1994 on that portion of the study dealing with the establishment of blackberries as a cash crop on coal mine spoils.« less

Chapter 11: Reforestation to enhance Appalachian mined lands as habitat for terrestrial wildlife

Treesearch

Petra Wood; Jeff Larkin; Jeremy Mizel; Carl Zipper; Patrick Angel

2017-01-01

Surface mining is widespread throughout the Appalachian coalfields, a region with extensive forests that are rich in wildlife. Game species for hunting, nongame wildlife species, and other organisms are important contributors to sustainable and productive ecosystems. Although small breaks in the forest canopy are important to wildlife diversity, most native Appalachian...

30 CFR 872.25 - Are there any restrictions on how OSM may use Federal expense funds?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Federal expense funds? 872.25 Section 872.25 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND... jurisdiction of Indian tribes that do not have an approved abandoned mine reclamation program under section 405...) Projects authorized under section 402(g)(4) in States and on lands within the jurisdiction of Indian tribes...

Invasion of a mined landscape: what habitat characteristics are influencing the occurrence of invasive plants?

Treesearch

D. Lemke; I.A. Tazisong; Y. Wang; J.A. Brown

2012-01-01

Throughout the world, the invasion of alien plants is an increasing threat to native biodiversity. Invasion is especially prevalent in areas affected by land transformation and anthropogenic disturbance. Surface mines are a major disturbance, and thus may promote the establishment and expansion of invasive plant communities. Environmental and habitat factors that may...

30 CFR 885.12 - What can I use grant funds for?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What can I use grant funds for? 885.12 Section 885.12 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 885.12 What can I...

30 CFR 885.17 - How can my grant be amended?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How can my grant be amended? 885.17 Section 885.17 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 885.17 How can my grant be...

30 CFR 886.18 - What audit and administrative requirements must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What audit and administrative requirements must I meet? 886.18 Section 886.18 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR UNCERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 886.18 What audit and...

30 CFR 885.18 - What audit, accounting, and administrative requirements must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What audit, accounting, and administrative requirements must I meet? 885.18 Section 885.18 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION GRANTS FOR CERTIFIED STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES § 885.18 What audit,...

Poker Flats Mine - Div. of Mining, Land, and Water

Science.gov Websites

Lands Coal Regulatory Program Large Mine Permits Mineral Property and Rights Mining Index Land Fishery Water Resources Factsheets Forms banner image of landscape Poker Flats Mine Home Mining Coal Regulatory Program Poker Flats Mine Mining Coal Regulatory Program Info Chickaloon Chuit Watershed Chuitna

Warmth and friendship abound in Siberia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whitworth, K.

1978-08-01

Despite the harsh climate, 20,000,000 people occupy 6,500,000 square kilometers of land, which contains approximately 60% of all the known fuel resources of the Soviet Union. More than 12% of the world's coal reserves are concentrated in Central Siberia between the Kuznetsk basin and the Yenisei, in an area no more than two percent of the land surface. It is for this reason and knowing that many technological advances in mining had been made in this area that, in discussion with the Soviet Coal Ministry, it was agreed that a WORLD COAL Editor, in pursuant to the agreement made betweenmore » the Soviet coal magazine UGOL and WORLD COAL should visit surface openpit, deep mines and coal preparation plants and prepare this article in the issue specially devoted to Russian coal mining achievements. The trip was undertaken in the short summer months around July when the climate is unbelievably like that of the Mediterranean. Four main areas were visited, Novokusnetsk, Mezdurechensk, Irkutsk and Cheremhovo.« less

Ultrawideband radar echoes of land mine targets measured at oblique incidence using a 250-kW impulse radar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chant, Ian J.; Staines, Geoff

1997-07-01

United Nations Peacekeeping forces around the world need to transport food, personnel and medical supplies through disputed regions were land mines are in active use as road blocks and terror weapons. A method of fast, effective land mine detection is needed to combat this threat to road transport. The technique must operate from a vehicle travelling at a reasonable velocity and give warning far enough ahead for the vehicle to stop in time to avoid the land mine. There is particular interest in detecting low- metallic content land mines. One possible solutionis the use of ultra-wide-band (UWB) radar. The Australian Defence Department is investigating the feasibility of using UWB radar for land mine detection from a vehicle. A 3 GHz UWB system has been used to collect target response from a series of inert land mines and mine-like objects placed on the ground and buried in the ground. The targets measured were a subset of those in the target set described in Wong et al. with the addition of inert land mines corresponding to some of the surrogate targets in this set. The results are encouraging for the detection of metallic land mines and the larger non-metallic land mines. Smaller low-metallic- content anti-personnel land mines are less likely to be detected.

A guide to State programs for the reclamation of surface mined areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Imhoff, Edgar A.; Friz, Thomas O.; LaFevers, James R.

1976-01-01

During 1975 inquiries of agencies in each State and review of State statutes and related administrative codes revealed that 38 States have established programs requiring the reclamation of surface mined lands. Results of analyses of those programs and ancillary data are presented in : (1) A table (matrix) which has been designed for the notation and elaboration of information pertaining to the mined-area reclamation programs of the 50 States; (2) a primer on surface mining activities and related reclamation practices and problems; and (3) a listing of types of non-Federal governmental controls applicable to reclamation. Interpretations of the status and content of State programs suggest that although a common thread runs through State statutory language, administrative requirements vary from State to State in order to meet different natural, economic, social, and political considerations. A general trend is seen in State programs toward the requiring of an integration of landuse planning and mine planning, with increased local governmental involvement.

The effects of acidic mine drainage from historical mines in the Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado—What is being done and what can be done to improve water quality?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Church, Stanley E; Owen, J. Robert; Von Guerard, Paul; Verplanck, Philip L.; Kimball, Briant A.; Yager, Douglas B.

2006-01-01

Historical production of metals in the western United States has left a legacy of acidic drainage and toxic metals in many mountain watersheds that are a potential threat to human and ecosystem health. Studies of the effects of historical mining on surface water chemistry and riparian habitat in the Animas River watershed have shown that cost-effective remediation of mine sites must be carefully planned. Of the more than 5400 mine, mill, and prospect sites in the watershed, 80 sites account for more than 90% of the metal loads to the surface drainages. Much of the low pH water and some of the metal loads are the result of weathering of hydrothermally altered rock that has not been disturbed by historical mining. Some stream reaches in areas underlain by hydrothermally altered rock contained no aquatic life prior to mining. Scientific studies of the processes and metal-release pathways are necessary to develop effective remediation strategies, particularly in watersheds where there is little land available to build mine-waste repositories. Characterization of mine waste, development of runoff profiles, and evaluation of ground-water pathways all require rigorous study and are expensive upfront costs that land managers find difficult to justify. Tracer studies of water quality provide a detailed spatial analysis of processes affecting surface- and ground-water chemistry. Reactive transport models were used in conjunction with the best state-of-the-art engineering solutions to make informed and cost-effective remediation decisions. Remediation of 23% of the high-priority sites identified in the watershed has resulted in steady improvement in water quality. More than $12 million, most contributed by private entities, has been spent on remediation in the Animas River watershed. The recovery curve for aquatic life in the Animas River system will require further documentation and long-term monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of remediation projects implemented.

The effects of acidic mine drainage from historical mines in the Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado—What is being done and what can be done to improve water quality?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Church, Stanley E.; Owen, Robert J.; Von Guerard, Paul; Verplanck, Philip L.; Kimball, Briant A.; Yager, Douglas B.

2007-01-01

Historical production of metals in the western United States has left a legacy of acidic drainage and toxic metals in many mountain watersheds that are a potential threat to human and ecosystem health. Studies of the effects of historical mining on surface water chemistry and riparian habitat in the Animas River watershed have shown that cost-effective remediation of mine sites must be carefully planned. of the more than 5400 mine, mill, and prospect sites in the watershed, ∼80 sites account for more than 90% of the metal loads to the surface drainages. Much of the low pH water and some of the metal loads are the result of weathering of hydrothermally altered rock that has not been disturbed by historical mining. Some stream reaches in areas underlain by hydrothermally altered rock contained no aquatic life prior to mining.Scientific studies of the processes and metal-release pathways are necessary to develop effective remediation strategies, particularly in watersheds where there is little land available to build mine-waste repositories. Characterization of mine waste, development of runoff profiles, and evaluation of ground-water pathways all require rigorous study and are expensive upfront costs that land managers find difficult to justify. Tracer studies of water quality provide a detailed spatial analysis of processes affecting surface- and ground-water chemistry. Reactive transport models were used in conjunction with the best state-of-the-art engineering solutions to make informed and cost-effective remediation decisions.Remediation of 23% of the high-priority sites identified in the watershed has resulted in steady improvement in water quality. More than $12 million, most contributed by private entities, has been spent on remediation in the Animas River watershed. The recovery curve for aquatic life in the Animas River system will require further documentation and long-term monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of remediation projects implemented.

Littoral assessment of mine burial signatures (LAMBS): buried landmine/background spectral-signature analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenton, Arthur C.; Geci, Duane M.; Ray, Kristofer J.; Thomas, Clayton M.; Salisbury, John W.; Mars, John C.; Crowley, James K.; Witherspoon, Ned H.; Holloway, John H., Jr.

2004-09-01

The objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Rapid Overt Reconnaissance (ROR) program and the Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies (ALRT) project's LAMBS effort is to determine if electro-optical spectral discriminants exist that are useful for the detection of land mines in littoral regions. Statistically significant buried mine overburden and background signature data were collected over a wide spectral range (0.35 to 14 μm) to identify robust spectral features that might serve as discriminants for new airborne sensor concepts. LAMBS has expanded previously collected databases to littoral areas - primarily dry and wet sandy soils - where tidal, surf, and wind conditions can severely modify spectral signatures. At AeroSense 2003, we reported completion of three buried mine collections at an inland bay, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beach sites. We now report LAMBS spectral database analyses results using metrics which characterize the detection performance of general types of spectral detection algorithms. These metrics include mean contrast, spectral signal-to-clutter, covariance, information content, and spectral matched filter analyses. Detection performance of the buried land mines was analyzed with regard to burial age, background type, and environmental conditions. These analyses considered features observed due to particle size differences, surface roughness, surface moisture, and compositional differences.

Land mine detection using multispectral image fusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, G.A.; Sengupta, S.K.; Aimonetti, W.D.

1995-03-29

Our system fuses information contained in registered images from multiple sensors to reduce the effects of clutter and improve the ability to detect surface and buried land mines. The sensor suite currently consists of a camera that acquires images in six bands (400nm, 500nm, 600nm, 700nm, 800nm and 900nm). Past research has shown that it is extremely difficult to distinguish land mines from background clutter in images obtained from a single sensor. It is hypothesized, however, that information fused from a suite of various sensors is likely to provide better detection reliability, because the suite of sensors detects a varietymore » of physical properties that are more separable in feature space. The materials surrounding the mines can include natural materials (soil, rocks, foliage, water, etc.) and some artifacts. We use a supervised learning pattern recognition approach to detecting the metal and plastic land mines. The overall process consists of four main parts: Preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, and classification. These parts are used in a two step process to classify a subimage. We extract features from the images, and use feature selection algorithms to select only the most important features according to their contribution to correct detections. This allows us to save computational complexity and determine which of the spectral bands add value to the detection system. The most important features from the various sensors are fused using a supervised learning pattern classifier (the probabilistic neural network). We present results of experiments to detect land mines from real data collected from an airborne platform, and evaluate the usefulness of fusing feature information from multiple spectral bands.« less

30 CFR 750.21 - Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.21 Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals...

30 CFR 750.21 - Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.21 Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals...

30 CFR 750.21 - Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.21 Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals...

30 CFR 750.21 - Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.21 Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals...

30 CFR 750.21 - Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INDIAN LANDS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS ON INDIAN LANDS § 750.21 Coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals...

10 CFR 63.121 - Requirements for ownership and control of interests in land.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... under the jurisdiction and control of DOE, or lands permanently withdrawn and reserved for its use. (2... under the general mining laws; (ii) Easements for right-of-way; and (iii) All other rights arising under... repository operations area. DOE shall exercise any jurisdiction and control over surface and subsurface...

43 CFR 4.1353 - Contents of request.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of request. 4.1353 Section 4.1353 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Request for Hearing on A Preliminary Finding Concerning A Demonstrated...

43 CFR 4.1263 - Contents of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of application. 4.1263 Section 4.1263 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Applications for Temporary Relief § 4.1263 Contents of application....

75 FR 1077 - Notice of Proposed Withdrawal Extension and Opportunity for Public Meeting; AK

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-08

... approximately 1,855 acres of National Forest System land from surface entry and mining--but not from mineral... withdrawal comprises approximately 1,855 acres of National Forest System land located in the Chugach National... Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest...

75 FR 8111 - Notice of Proposed Withdrawal Extension and Opportunity for Public Meeting; Alaska

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-23

... National Forest System land from surface entry and mining, but not from mineral leasing laws, to protect... the Juneau Falls Recreation Area. This withdrawal comprises approximately 320 acres of National Forest System land located in the Chugach National Forest, within T. 5 N., R. 4 W., Seward Meridian, as...

30 CFR 761.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., economic, or other values incompatible with surface coal mining operations means those values to be... demonstrate that prohibiting expansion of the operation onto that land would unfairly impact the viability of...

30 CFR 761.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., economic, or other values incompatible with surface coal mining operations means those values to be... demonstrate that prohibiting expansion of the operation onto that land would unfairly impact the viability of...

30 CFR 761.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., economic, or other values incompatible with surface coal mining operations means those values to be... demonstrate that prohibiting expansion of the operation onto that land would unfairly impact the viability of...

The Analysis of Object-Based Change Detection in Mining Area: a Case Study with Pingshuo Coal Mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, M.; Zhou, W.; Li, Y.

2017-09-01

Accurate information on mining land use and land cover change are crucial for monitoring and environmental change studies. In this paper, RapidEye Remote Sensing Image (Map 2012) and SPOT7 Remote Sensing Image (Map 2015) in Pingshuo Mining Area are selected to monitor changes combined with object-based classification and change vector analysis method, we also used R in highresolution remote sensing image for mining land classification, and found the feasibility and the flexibility of open source software. The results show that (1) the classification of reclaimed mining land has higher precision, the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of the classification of the change region map were 86.67 % and 89.44 %. It's obvious that object-based classification and change vector analysis which has a great significance to improve the monitoring accuracy can be used to monitor mining land, especially reclaiming mining land; (2) the vegetation area changed from 46 % to 40 % accounted for the proportion of the total area from 2012 to 2015, and most of them were transformed into the arable land. The sum of arable land and vegetation area increased from 51 % to 70 %; meanwhile, build-up land has a certain degree of increase, part of the water area was transformed into arable land, but the extent of the two changes is not obvious. The result illustrated the transformation of reclaimed mining area, at the same time, there is still some land convert to mining land, and it shows the mine is still operating, mining land use and land cover are the dynamic procedure.

Review of samples of sediment, tailings, and waters adjacent to the Cactus Queen gold mine, Kern County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rytuba, James J.; Kim, Christopher S.; Goldstein, Daniel N.

2011-01-01

The Cactus Queen Mine is located in the western Mojave Desert in Kern County, California. The Cactus Queen gold-silver (Au-Ag) deposit is similar to other Au-Ag deposits hosted in Miocene volcanic rocks that consist of silicic domes and associated flows, pyroclastic rocks, and subvolcanic intrusions. The volcanic rocks were emplaced onto a basement of Mesozoic silicic intrusive rocks. A part of the Cactus Queen Mine is located on Federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Staff from the BLM initially sampled the mine area and documented elevated concentrations of arsenic (As) in tailings and sediment. BLM then requested that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with Chapman University, measure and characterize As and other geochemical constituents in sediment, tailings, and waters on the part of the mine on Federal lands. This report is made in response to the request by the BLM, the lead agency mandated to conduct a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) - Removal Site Investigation (RSI). The RSI applies to the potential removal of As-contaminated mine waste from the Cactus Queen Mine as a means of reducing As release and exposure to humans and biota. This report summarizes data obtained from field sampling of sediments, mine tailings, and surface waters at the Cactus Queen Mine on January 27, 2008. Our results provide a preliminary assessment of the sources of As and associated chemical constituents that could potentially impact humans and biota.

Cumulative impacts of mountaintop mining on an Appalachian watershed

PubMed Central

Lindberg, T. Ty; Bernhardt, Emily S.; Bier, Raven; Helton, A. M.; Merola, R. Brittany; Vengosh, Avner; Di Giulio, Richard T.

2011-01-01

Mountaintop mining is the dominant form of coal mining and the largest driver of land cover change in the central Appalachians. The waste rock from these surface mines is disposed of in the adjacent river valleys, leading to a burial of headwater streams and dramatic increases in salinity and trace metal concentrations immediately downstream. In this synoptic study we document the cumulative impact of more than 100 mining discharge outlets and approximately 28 km2 of active and reclaimed surface coal mines on the Upper Mud River of West Virginia. We measured the concentrations of major and trace elements within the tributaries and the mainstem and found that upstream of the mines water quality was equivalent to state reference sites. However, as eight separate mining-impacted tributaries contributed their flow, conductivity and the concentrations of selenium, sulfate, magnesium, and other inorganic solutes increased at a rate directly proportional to the upstream areal extent of mining. We found strong linear correlations between the concentrations of these contaminants in the river and the proportion of the contributing watershed in surface mines. All tributaries draining mountaintop-mining-impacted catchments were characterized by high conductivity and increased sulfate concentration, while concentrations of some solutes such as Se, Sr, and N were lower in the two tributaries draining reclaimed mines. Our results demonstrate the cumulative impact of multiple mines within a single catchment and provide evidence that mines reclaimed nearly two decades ago continue to contribute significantly to water quality degradation within this watershed. PMID:22160676

Geospatiotemporal data mining in an early warning system for forest threats in the United States

Treesearch

F.M. Hoffman; R.T. Mills; J. Kumar; S.S. Vulli; W.W. Hargrove

2010-01-01

We investigate the potential of geospatiotemporal data mining of multi-year land surface phenology data (250 m Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in this study) for the conterminous United States as part of an early warning system to identify threats to forest ecosystems. Cluster...

Cluster Analysis-Based Approaches for Geospatiotemporal Data Mining of Massive Data Sets for Identification of Forest Threats

Treesearch

Richard Trans Mills; Forrest M Hoffman; Jitendra Kumar; William W. Hargrove

2011-01-01

We investigate methods for geospatiotemporal data mining of multi-year land surface phenology data (250 m2 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) in this study) for the conterminous United States (CONUS) as part of an early warning system for detecting threats to forest ecosystems. The...

Frac Sand Mines Are Preferentially Sited in Unzoned Rural Areas.

PubMed

Locke, Christina

2015-01-01

Shifting markets can cause unexpected, stochastic changes in rural landscapes that may take local communities by surprise. Preferential siting of new industrial facilities in poor areas or in areas with few regulatory restrictions can have implications for environmental sustainability, human health, and social justice. This study focuses on frac sand mining-the mining of high-quality silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing processes for gas and oil extraction. Frac sand mining gained prominence in the 2000s in the upper midwestern United States where nonmetallic mining is regulated primarily by local zoning. I asked whether frac sand mines were more commonly sited in rural townships without formal zoning regulations or planning processes than in those that undertook zoning and planning before the frac sand boom. I also asked if mine prevalence was correlated with socioeconomic differences across townships. After creating a probability surface to map areas most suitable for frac sand mine occurrence, I developed neutral landscape models from which to compare actual mine distributions in zoned and unzoned areas at three different spatial extents. Mines were significantly clustered in unzoned jurisdictions at the statewide level and in 7 of the 8 counties with at least three frac sand mines and some unzoned land. Subsequent regression analyses showed mine prevalence to be uncorrelated with land value, tax rate, or per capita income, but correlated with remoteness and zoning. The predicted mine count in unzoned townships was over two times higher than that in zoned townships. However, the county with the most mines by far was under a county zoning ordinance, perhaps indicating industry preferences for locations with clear, homogenous rules over patchwork regulation. Rural communities can use the case of frac sand mining as motivation to discuss and plan for sudden land-use predicaments, rather than wait to grapple with unfamiliar legal processes during a period of intense conflict.

Geochemical investigations and interim recommendations for priority abandoned mine sites on U.S.D.A. Forest Service lands, Mineral Creek watershed, San Juan County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nash, J.T.

1999-01-01

Field observations, sampling of mine dumps and mine drainage waters, and laboratory studies of dump materials have been made at mining areas deemed to be on public lands administered by the USDA Forest Service in the Mineral Creek watershed. Results of chemical analyses of dump materials, leachates of those materials, and of surface waters draining mines or dumps provide indications of where acid is generated or consumed, and what metals are mobilized below mines or dumps. Information on 25 sites is reviewed and reclamation priorities are ranked into four classes (high, medium, low priority, or no work required). The western side of the upper Animas watershed (the Mineral Creek watershed) has a history of mining and prospecting for about 130 years. The intensity of miningrelated disturbance is higher than in most parts of the San Juan Mountains region, but actually is much less than the eastern half of the watershed (US BLM lands) and none of the mines moved millions of tons of rock and ore as in some of the eastern mines. The majority of the roughly one thousand mining sites on the USFS lands are very small (less than 100 tons or 70 cubic yards of dump material), are more than 2 miles from a major stream, or are so inaccessible as to prohibit reclamation. Twenty five sites have been considered by others to have significant size and potential for significant environmental degradation. These most significant mining areas were evaluated by multiple criteria, including tendency to generate acid or liberate toxic metals, observed acidic pH or dead vegetation (?kill zones?) below dumps or adits, potential mobility of metals, and likelihood of transport into streams of the watershed. In the author?s opinion, no single measurable parameter, such as metal concentration, is reliable for ranking significance or feasibility of reclamation. Rather, subjective estimates are required to evaluate combinations of, or interactions among, several parameters. The most subjective estimate in ranking feasibility of reclamation is the amount of natural and mine-related contamination at each mining area. Mitigation of natural contributions at mines or unmined areas is beyond the scope of these Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) investigations, but must be considered when planning reclamation. Available information for the 25 problem sites is adequate for ranking, but at some sites additional information on groundwater conditions is needed for a more reliable ranking and evaluation of reclamation methods.

Estimating Morning Change in Land Surface Temperature from MODIS Day/Night Observations: Applications for Surface Energy Balance Modeling.

PubMed

Hain, Christopher R; Anderson, Martha C

2017-10-16

Observations of land surface temperature (LST) are crucial for the monitoring of surface energy fluxes from satellite. Methods that require high temporal resolution LST observations (e.g., from geostationary orbit) can be difficult to apply globally because several geostationary sensors are required to attain near-global coverage (60°N to 60°S). While these LST observations are available from polar-orbiting sensors, providing global coverage at higher spatial resolutions, the temporal sampling (twice daily observations) can pose significant limitations. For example, the Atmosphere Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) surface energy balance model, used for monitoring evapotranspiration and drought, requires an observation of the morning change in LST - a quantity not directly observable from polar-orbiting sensors. Therefore, we have developed and evaluated a data-mining approach to estimate the mid-morning rise in LST from a single sensor (2 observations per day) of LST from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Aqua platform. In general, the data-mining approach produced estimates with low relative error (5 to 10%) and statistically significant correlations when compared against geostationary observations. This approach will facilitate global, near real-time applications of ALEXI at higher spatial and temporal coverage from a single sensor than currently achievable with current geostationary datasets.

Reforestation to enhance Appalachian mined lands as habitat for terrestrial wildlife

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, Petra B.; Larkin, Jeff; Mizel, Jeremy; Zipper, Carl E.; Angel, Patrick

2013-01-01

Surface mining is widespread throughout the Appalachian coalfield, a region with extensive forests that are rich in wildlife. Game species for hunting, non-game wildlife species, and other organisms are important contributors to sustainable and productive ecosystems. Although small breaks in the forest canopy are important to wildlife diversity, most native Appalachian wildlife species require primarily forested habitats. This Forest Reclamation Advisory provides guidance on reforestation practices to provide high quality habitat for native forest wildlife on Appalachian coal mines.

The Evaluation of Land Ecological Safety of Chengchao Iron Mine Based on PSR and MEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Xiangdong; Chen, Yong

2018-01-01

Land ecological security is of vital importance to local security and sustainable development of mining activities. The study has analyzed the potential causal chains between the land ecological security of Iron Mine mining environment, mine resource and the social-economic background. On the base of Pressure-State-Response model, the paper set up a matter element evaluation model of land ecological security, and applies it in Chengchao iron mine. The evaluation result proves to be effective in land ecological evaluation.

Study of terrestrial carbon cycling as impacted by mountaintop coal mining in the Southern Appalachian forest region using carbon elemental and isotopic data and remote sensing of land cover change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fox, J. F.; Campbell, J. E.; Martin, D.

2008-12-01

The need to quantify the impact of human disturbance upon carbon flux and storage has been recently highlighted in order to more accurately budget carbon. One understudied but critical area of research is surface coal mining's impact on terrestrial carbon storage and sediment carbon transport processes-which has been identified as potentially important to understanding fluxes in global carbon budgeting. While national attention has focused on U.S. coal production to maintain a vibrant economy, scientists are concerned that increased coal production could have unforeseen environmental implications if the relationship between coal mining practices and the environment is not better understood. This issue is particularly important to the coal mining region of the Southern Appalachian forest region, which has been responsible for 23.3% of the coal produced in the United States over the past twenty years and seen approximately 300,000 ha of forested land disturbed by surface coal mining during that time period. Our presentation provides results that focus upon terrestrial carbon cycling as impacted by mountaintop coal mining in the Southern Appalachian forest region. In order to study carbon redistribution due to the mining disturbance, our methods make use of measurements of total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of soils and eroded sediments collected in the region as well as published data, consultation with experts and remote sensing of land cover change. It was found that disturbed terrestrial carbon, including soil C, non-soil or plant C, and geogenic C, is approximately 10% of the carbon emitted to the atmosphere during coal combusting and transportation and mining of coal. Quantification of the fate of terrestrial carbon in different pools is provided and discussed including the fate atmosphere during recovery of the terrestrial system; newly deposited coal fragments within the terrestrial soil reservoir; and carbon that is eroded to streams in mined watersheds with different levels of disturbance.

Assessment of mercury erosion by surface water in Wanshan mercury mining area.

PubMed

Dai, ZhiHui; Feng, Xinbin; Zhang, Chao; Shang, Lihai; Qiu, Guangle

2013-08-01

Soil erosion is a main cause of land degradation, and in its accelerated form is also one of the most serious ecological environmental problems. Moreover, there are few studies on migration of mercury (Hg) induced by soil erosion in seriously Hg-polluted districts. This paper selected Wanshan Hg mining area, SW China as the study area. Revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and Geographic information system (GIS) methods were applied to calculate soil and Hg erosion and to classify soil erosion intensity. Our results show that the soil erosion rate can reach up to 600,884tkm(-2)yr(-1). Surfaces associated with very slight and extremely severe erosion include 76.6% of the entire land in Wanshan. Furthermore, the cumulative erosion rates in the area impacted by extremely severe erosion make up 90.5% of the total. On an annual basis, Hg surface erosion load was predicted to be 505kgyr(-1) and the corresponding mean migration flux of Hg was estimated to be 3.02kgkm(-2)yr(-1). The erosion loads of Hg resulting from farmland and meadow soil were 175 and 319kgyr(-1) respectively, which were enhanced compared to other landscape types due to the fact that they are generally located in the steep zones associated with significant reclamation. Contributing to establish a mass balance of Hg in Wanshan Hg mining area, this study supplies a dependable scientific basis for controlling soil and water erosion in the local ecosystems. Land use change is the most effective way for reducing Hg erosion load in Wanshan mining area. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The enviornmental assessment of a contemporary coal mining system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dutzi, E. J.; Sullivan, P. J.; Hutchinson, C. F.; Stevens, C. M.

1980-01-01

A contemporary underground coal mine in eastern Kentucky was assessed in order to determine potential off-site and on-site environmental impacts associated with the mining system in the given environmental setting. A 4 section, continuous room and pillor mine plan was developed for an appropriate site in eastern Kentucky. Potential environmental impacts were identified, and mitigation costs determined. The major potential environmental impacts were determined to be: acid water drainage from the mine and refuse site, uneven subsidence of the surface as a result of mining activity, and alteration of ground water aquifers in the subsidence zone. In the specific case examined, the costs of environmental impact mitigation to levels prescribed by regulations would not exceed $1/ton of coal mined, and post mining land values would not be affected.

Mercury Speciation and Trophic Magnification Slopes in Giant Salamander Larvae from the Pacific Northwest, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bank, M. S.; Crocker, J.; Wachtl, J.; Kleeman, P.; Fellers, G.; Currens, C.; Hothem, R.; Madej, M. A.

2014-12-01

Mercury (Hg) contamination of stream salamanders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States has received little attention. Here we report total Hg (HgT) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in larval giant salamanders (Dicamptodon spp.) and surface water from forested and chaparral lotic ecosystems distributed along a latitudinal gradient throughout Northern California and Washington. To test hypotheses related to potential effects from mining land-use activities, salamander larvae were also sampled from a reference site at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California, and at a nearby, upstream site (Shasta county) on Bureau of Land Management land where Hg contamination from gold mining activities has been documented. HgT concentrations in whole body larvae ranged from 4.6 to 74.5 ng/g wet wt. and percent MeHg ranged from 67% to 86%. Both HgT and MeHg larval tissue concentrations were significantly higher at the mining site in comparison to measured background levels (P < 0.001). We conclude that salamander larvae in remote stream ecosystems, where Hg sources were dominated by atmospheric deposition, were generally low in HgT and MeHg and, in comparison, watersheds with a legacy of land-use practices (i.e., mining operations) had approximately 4.5 - 5.5 times the level of HgT bioaccumulation. Moreover, trophic magnification slopes were highest in the Shasta county region where mining was present. These findings suggest that mining activities increase HgT and MeHg exposure to salamander larvae in the region and may present a threat to other higher trophically positioned organisms, and their associated food webs.

Frac Sand Mines Are Preferentially Sited in Unzoned Rural Areas

PubMed Central

Locke, Christina

2015-01-01

Shifting markets can cause unexpected, stochastic changes in rural landscapes that may take local communities by surprise. Preferential siting of new industrial facilities in poor areas or in areas with few regulatory restrictions can have implications for environmental sustainability, human health, and social justice. This study focuses on frac sand mining—the mining of high-quality silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing processes for gas and oil extraction. Frac sand mining gained prominence in the 2000s in the upper midwestern United States where nonmetallic mining is regulated primarily by local zoning. I asked whether frac sand mines were more commonly sited in rural townships without formal zoning regulations or planning processes than in those that undertook zoning and planning before the frac sand boom. I also asked if mine prevalence was correlated with socioeconomic differences across townships. After creating a probability surface to map areas most suitable for frac sand mine occurrence, I developed neutral landscape models from which to compare actual mine distributions in zoned and unzoned areas at three different spatial extents. Mines were significantly clustered in unzoned jurisdictions at the statewide level and in 7 of the 8 counties with at least three frac sand mines and some unzoned land. Subsequent regression analyses showed mine prevalence to be uncorrelated with land value, tax rate, or per capita income, but correlated with remoteness and zoning. The predicted mine count in unzoned townships was over two times higher than that in zoned townships. However, the county with the most mines by far was under a county zoning ordinance, perhaps indicating industry preferences for locations with clear, homogenous rules over patchwork regulation. Rural communities can use the case of frac sand mining as motivation to discuss and plan for sudden land-use predicaments, rather than wait to grapple with unfamiliar legal processes during a period of intense conflict. PMID:26136238

Soil biochemical properties in brown and gray mine soils with and without hydroseeding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, C.; Sexstone, A.; Skousen, J.

2015-09-01

Surface coal mining in the eastern USA disturbs hundreds of hectares of land every year and removes valuable and ecologically diverse eastern deciduous forests. Reclamation involves restoring the landscape to approximate original contour, replacing the topsoil, and revegetating the site with trees and herbaceous species to a designated post-mining land use. Re-establishing an ecosystem of ecological and economic value as well as restoring soil quality on disturbed sites are the goals of land reclamation, and microbial properties of mine soils can be indicators of restoration success. Reforestation plots were constructed in 2007 using weathered brown sandstone or unweathered gray sandstone as topsoil substitutes to evaluate tree growth and soil properties at Arch Coal's Birch River mine in West Virginia, USA. All plots were planted with 12 hardwood tree species and subplots were hydroseeded with a herbaceous seed mix and fertilizer. After 6 years, the average tree volume index was nearly 10 times greater for trees grown in brown (3853 cm3) compared to gray mine soils (407 cm3). Average pH of brown mine soils increased from 4.7 to 5.0, while gray mine soils declined from 7.9 to 7.0. Hydroseeding doubled tree volume index and ground cover on both mine soils. Hydroseeding doubled microbial biomass carbon (MBC) on brown mine soils (8.7 vs. 17.5 mg kg-1), but showed no effect on gray mine soils (13.3 vs. 12.8 mg kg-1). Hydroseeding also increased the ratio of MBC to soil organic C in both soils and more than tripled the ratio for potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN) to total N. Brown mine soils were a better growth medium than gray mine soils and hydroseeding was an important component of reclamation due to improved biochemical properties and microbial activity in mine soils.

Approaches to Post-Mining Land Reclamation in Polish Open-Cast Lignite Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasztelewicz, Zbigniew

2014-06-01

The paper presents the situation regarding the reclamation of post-mining land in the case of particular lignite mines in Poland until 2012 against the background of the whole opencast mining. It discusses the process of land purchase for mining operations and its sales after reclamation. It presents the achievements of mines in the reclamation and regeneration of post-mining land as a result of which-after development processes carried out according to European standards-it now serves the inhabitants as a recreational area that increases the attractiveness of the regions.

Effects of surface coal mining and reclamation on the geohydrology of six small watersheds in west-central Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Martin, Jeffrey D.; Duwelius, Richard F.; Crawford, Charles G.

1987-01-01

The watersheds studied include mined and reclaimed; mined and unreclaimed; and unmined, agricultural land uses, and are each < 3 sq mi in area. Surface water, groundwater, and meteorologic data for the 1981 and 1982 water years were used to describe and compare hydrologic systems of the six watersheds and to identify hydrologic effects of mining and reclamation. Peak discharges were greater at the agricultural watersheds than at the unreclaimed watersheds, primarily because of large final-cut lakes in the unreclaimed watersheds. Annual runoff was greatest at the unreclaimed watersheds, intermediate at the agricultural watersheds, and least at the reclaimed watersheds. Hydrologic effects of mining were identified by comparing the hydrologic systems at mined and unreclaimed watersheds with those at unmined, agricultural watersheds. Comparisons of the hydrologic systems of these watersheds indicate that surface coal mining without reclamation has the potential to increase annual runoff, base flow, and groundwater recharge to the bedrock; reduce peak flow rates and variation in flow; lower the water table in upland areas; change the relation between surface water and groundwater divides; and create numerous, local flow systems in the shallow groundwater. Hydrologic effects of reclamation were identified by comparing the hydrologic systems at mined and reclaimed watersheds with those at mined and unreclaimed watersheds. Reclamation has the potential to decrease annual runoff, base flow, and recharge to the bedrock; increase peak flow rates, variation in flow, and response to thunderstorms; reestablish the premining relation between surface and groundwater divides; and create fewer local flow systems in the shallow groundwater. (Lantz-PTT)

Monitoring of the mercury mining site Almadén implementing remote sensing technologies.

PubMed

Schmid, Thomas; Rico, Celia; Rodríguez-Rastrero, Manuel; José Sierra, María; Javier Díaz-Puente, Fco; Pelayo, Marta; Millán, Rocio

2013-08-01

The Almadén area in Spain has a long history of mercury mining with prolonged human-induced activities that are related to mineral extraction and metallurgical processes before the closure of the mines and a more recent post period dominated by projects that reclaim the mine dumps and tailings and recuperating the entire mining area. Furthermore, socio-economic alternatives such as crop cultivation, livestock breeding and tourism are increasing in the area. Up till now, only scattered information on these activities is available from specific studies. However, improved acquisition systems using satellite borne data in the last decades opens up new possibilities to periodically study an area of interest. Therefore, comparing the influence of these activities on the environment and monitoring their impact on the ecosystem vastly improves decision making for the public policy makers to implement appropriate land management measures and control environmental degradation. The objective of this work is to monitor environmental changes affected by human-induced activities within the Almadén area occurring before, during and after the mine closure over a period of nearly three decades. To achieve this, data from numerous sources at different spatial scales and time periods are implemented into a methodology based on advanced remote sensing techniques. This includes field spectroradiometry measurements, laboratory analyses and satellite borne data of different surface covers to detect land cover and use changes throughout the mining area. Finally, monitoring results show that the distribution of areas affected by mercury mining is rapidly diminishing since activities ceased and that rehabilitated mining areas form a new landscape. This refers to mine tailings that have been sealed and revegetated as well as an open pit mine that has been converted to an "artificial" lake surface. Implementing a methodology based on remote sensing techniques that integrate data from several sources at different scales greatly improves the regional characterization and monitoring of an area dominated by mercury mining activities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Mexico Tech landmine, UXO, IED detection sensor test facility: measurements in real field soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendrickx, Jan M. H.; Alkov, Nicole; Hong, Sung-ho; Van Dam, Remke L.; Kleissl, Jan; Shannon, Heather; Meason, John; Borchers, Brian; Harmon, Russell S.

2006-05-01

Modeling studies and experimental work have demonstrated that the dynamic behavior of soil physical properties has a significant effect on most sensors for the detection of buried land mines. An outdoor test site has been constructed allowing full control over soil water content and continuous monitoring of important soil properties and environmental conditions. Time domain reflectometry sensors and thermistors measure soil water1 content and temperature, respectively, at different depths above and below the land mines as well as in homogeneous soil away from the land mines. During the two-year operation of the test-site, the soils have evolved to reflect real field soil conditions. This paper compares visual observations as well as ground-penetrating radar and thermal infrared measurements at this site taken immediately after construction in early 2004 with measurements from early 2006. The visual observations reveal that the 2006 soil surfaces exhibit a much higher spatial variability due to the development of mini-reliefs, "loose" and "connected" soil crusts, cracks in clay soils, and vegetation. Evidence is presented that the increased variability of soil surface characteristics leads to a higher natural spatial variability of soil surface temperatures and, thus, to a lower probability to detect landmines using thermal imagery. No evidence was found that the soil surface changes affect the GPR signatures of landmines under the soil conditions encountered in this study. The New Mexico Tech outdoor Landmine Detection Sensor Test Facility is easily accessible and anyone interested is welcome to use it for sensor testing.

43 CFR 4.1184 - Contents of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of application. 4.1184 Section 4.1184 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Expedited Review of Section 521(a)(2) Or 521(a)(3) Orders of Cessatio...

43 CFR 4.1292 - Contents of petition.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of petition. 4.1292 Section 4.1292 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Petitions for Award of Costs and Expenses Under Section 525(e) of the Ac...

43 CFR 4.1164 - Contents of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of application. 4.1164 Section 4.1164 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Section 521 Notices of Violation and Orders of Cessation § ...

43 CFR 4.1166 - Contents of answer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of answer. 4.1166 Section 4.1166 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Review of Section 521 Notices of Violation and Orders of Cessation § 4.116...

43 CFR 4.1192 - Contents of answer.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of answer. 4.1192 Section 4.1192 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Proceedings for Suspension Or Revocation of Permits Under Section 521(a)(4...

Detection of Flooding Responses at the River Basin Scale Enhanced by Land use Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCormick, Brian C.; Eshleman, Keith N.; Griffith, Jeff L.; Townsend, Philip A.

2009-01-01

The Georges Creek watershed (area 187.5 sq km) in western Maryland (United States) has experienced land use changes (>17% of area) associated with surface mining of coal. The adjacent Savage River watershed (area 127.2 sq km) is unmined. Moments of flood frequency distributions indicated that climatic variability affected both watersheds similarly. Normalizing annual maximum flows by antecedent streamflow and causative precipitation helped identify trends in flooding response. Analysis of contemporary storm events using Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) stage III precipitation data showed that Georges Creek floods are characterized by higher peak runoff and a shorter centroid lag than Savage River floods, likely attributable to differences in current land use. Interestingly, Georges Creek produces only two thirds of the storm-flow volume as Savage River, apparently because of infiltration into abandoned deep mine workings and an associated transbasin diversion constructed circa 1900. Empirical trend analysis is thus complicated by both hydroclimatic variability and the legacy of deep mining in the basin.

Remote sensing of effects of land use practices on water quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graves, D. H.; Colthrap, G. B.

1977-01-01

An intensive study was conducted to determine the utility of manual densitometry and color additive viewing of aircraft and LANDSAT transparencies for monitoring land use and land use change. The relationship between land use and selected water quality parameters was also evaluated. Six watersheds located in the Cumberland Plateau region of eastern Kentucky comprised the study area for the project. Land uses present within the study area were reclaimed surface mining and forestry. Fertilization of one of the forested watersheds also occurred during the study period.

Temporal and spatial variation of groundwater in quantity and quality in sand dune at coastal region, Kamisu city, central Japan.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umei, Yohei; Tsujimura, Maki; Sakakibara, Koichi; Watanabe, Yasuto; Minema, Motomitsu

2016-04-01

The role of groundwater in integrated water management has become important in recent 10 years, though the surface water is the major source of drinking water in Japan. Especially, it is remarked that groundwater recharge changed due to land cover change under the anthropogenic and climatic condition factors. Therefore, we need to investigate temporal and spatial variation of groundwater in quantity and quality focusing on the change during recent 10-20 years in specific region. We performed research on groundwater level and quality in sand dune at coastal region facing Pacific Ocean, Kamisu city, Ibaraki Prefecture, which have been facing environmental issues, such as land cover change due to soil mining for construction and urbanization. We compared the present situation of groundwater with that in 2000 using existed data to clarify the change of groundwater from 2000 to 2015. The quality of water is dominantly characterized by Ca2+-HCO3- in both 2000 and 2015, and nitrate was not observed in 2015, though it was detected in some locations in 2000. This may be caused by improvement of the domestic wastewater treatment. The topography of groundwater table was in parallel with that of ground surface in 2015, same as that in 2000. However, a depletion of groundwater table was observed in higher elevation area in 2015 as compared with that in 2000, and this area corresponds to the locations where the land cover has changed due to soil mining and urbanization between 2015 and 2000. In the region of soil mining, the original soil is generally replaced by impermeable soil after mining, and this may cause a decrease of percolation and net groundwater recharge, thus the depletion of groundwater table occurred after the soil mining.

An assessment of microbial communities associated with surface mining-disturbed overburden.

PubMed

Poncelet, Dominique M; Cavender, Nicole; Cutright, Teresa J; Senko, John M

2014-03-01

To assess the microbiological changes that occur during the maturation of overburden that has been disturbed by surface mining of coal, a surface mining-disturbed overburden unit in southeastern Ohio, USA was characterized. Overburden from the same unit that had been disturbed for 37 and 16 years were compared to undisturbed soil from the same region. Overburden and soil samples were collected as shallow subsurface cores from each subregion of the mined area (i.e., land 16 years and 37 years post-mining, and unmined land). Chemical and mineralogical characteristics of overburden samples were determined, as were microbial respiration rates. The composition of microbial communities associated with overburden and soil were determined using culture-independent, nucleic acid-based approaches. Chemical and mineralogical evaluation of overburden suggested that weathering of disturbed overburden gave rise to a setting with lower pH and more oxidized chemical constituents. Overburden-associated microbial biomass and respiration rates increased with time after overburden disturbance. Evaluation of 16S rRNA gene libraries that were produced by "next-generation" sequencing technology revealed that recently disturbed overburden contained an abundance of phylotypes attributable to sulfur-oxidizing Limnobacter spp., but with increasing time post-disturbance, overburden-associated microbial communities developed a structure similar to that of undisturbed soil, but retained characteristics of more recently disturbed overburden. Our results indicate that over time, the biogeochemical weathering of disturbed overburden leads to the development of geochemical conditions and microbial communities that approximate those of undisturbed soil, but that this transition is incomplete after 37 years of overburden maturation.

Matrix Intensification Alters Avian Functional Group Composition in Adjacent Rainforest Fragments

PubMed Central

Deikumah, Justus P.; McAlpine, Clive A.; Maron, Martine

2013-01-01

Conversion of farmland land-use matrices to surface mining is an increasing threat to the habitat quality of forest remnants and their constituent biota, with consequences for ecosystem functionality. We evaluated the effects of matrix type on bird community composition and the abundance and evenness within avian functional groups in south-west Ghana. We hypothesized that surface mining near remnants may result in a shift in functional composition of avifaunal communities, potentially disrupting ecological processes within tropical forest ecosystems. Matrix intensification and proximity to the remnant edge strongly influenced the abundance of members of several functional guilds. Obligate frugivores, strict terrestrial insectivores, lower and upper strata birds, and insect gleaners were most negatively affected by adjacent mining matrices, suggesting certain ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal may be disrupted by landscape change in this region. Evenness of these functional guilds was also lower in remnants adjacent to surface mining, regardless of the distance from remnant edge, with the exception of strict terrestrial insectivores. These shifts suggest matrix intensification can influence avian functional group composition and related ecosystem-level processes in adjacent forest remnants. The management of matrix habitat quality near and within mine concessions is important for improving efforts to preserveavian biodiversity in landscapes undergoing intensification such as through increased surface mining. PMID:24058634

Matrix intensification alters avian functional group composition in adjacent rainforest fragments.

PubMed

Deikumah, Justus P; McAlpine, Clive A; Maron, Martine

2013-01-01

Conversion of farmland land-use matrices to surface mining is an increasing threat to the habitat quality of forest remnants and their constituent biota, with consequences for ecosystem functionality. We evaluated the effects of matrix type on bird community composition and the abundance and evenness within avian functional groups in south-west Ghana. We hypothesized that surface mining near remnants may result in a shift in functional composition of avifaunal communities, potentially disrupting ecological processes within tropical forest ecosystems. Matrix intensification and proximity to the remnant edge strongly influenced the abundance of members of several functional guilds. Obligate frugivores, strict terrestrial insectivores, lower and upper strata birds, and insect gleaners were most negatively affected by adjacent mining matrices, suggesting certain ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal may be disrupted by landscape change in this region. Evenness of these functional guilds was also lower in remnants adjacent to surface mining, regardless of the distance from remnant edge, with the exception of strict terrestrial insectivores. These shifts suggest matrix intensification can influence avian functional group composition and related ecosystem-level processes in adjacent forest remnants. The management of matrix habitat quality near and within mine concessions is important for improving efforts to preserveavian biodiversity in landscapes undergoing intensification such as through increased surface mining.

43 CFR 9185.1-3 - Mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Mining claims. 9185.1-3 Section 9185.1-3 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT... Mining claims. (a) Application for survey. Application for the survey of a mining claim should be filed...

Human exposure to lead and other potentially harmful elements associated with galena mining at New Zurak, central Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lar, U. A.; Ngozi-Chika, C. S.; Ashano, E. C.

2013-08-01

Galena mining in New Zurak, central Nigeria is currently increasing in intensity, with widespread artisanal mining taking place alongside mechanised mining. These activities are causing immeasurable damage to the environment. The prolonged human exposure and ingestion of Pb and other potentially harmful elements (PHEs) such as U, Cd, Se, Zn and As that are released from ores during these (mining) activities is a cause of great concern to populations that live in the vicinity of these mine fields. Many of the communities make their living from subsistence farming, growing food from the surroundings, and obtaining drinking water from nearby surface and sub-surface water resources. An overall assessment of the degree of contamination or toxicity of Pb and other PHEs was carried out using the indices of geoaccumulation (Igeo) and contamination factors (CFs), in the different media sampled - farmland soils, uncultivated lands, mine tailings/dumps, natural waters and vegetables. Results reveal that the mine tailings and dumps are highly contaminated with Pb and other PHEs followed in decreasing degree of contamination by the uncultivated lands, farmlands and natural waters. These findings suggest that release of Pb and other PHEs from the galena mining activity has contributed significantly to the enrichment of these elements in the surrounding environment, including the natural water bodies, and are disposed to subsequent entry into the human body through the food chain. As such these PHE accumulations pose significant risks to the environment and human health, especially of children and pregnant women who are the most vulnerable groups in the area. In order to forestall a reoccurrence of the Zamfara Pb poisoning episode in northwestern Nigeria in 2010, where more than 400 children died, the authorities concerned should ensure that mining in New Zurak is done in a more environmentally friendly manner, ensuring the maintenance of an environmental quality adequate for good health and well-being of the surrounding mining communities.

Ecological bases of land reclamation in the mining regions of Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharytonov, Mykola; Gumentyk, Myhailo; Heilmeier, Hermann

2016-04-01

The mining production is situated in the several provinces of Ukraine. Specification of the problem coal and mixed sulfide mining activities in Ukraine have resulted in the generation of hundreds of millions of tons of hazardous wastes consisting of rest of manganese and iron oxides, traces of rare elements, sulphur bearing minerals, such as pyrite. These wastes have been / are still deposited, throughout the years, in huge stockpiles and dams. Land restoration in the mining region takes several forms. One of the ways is land reclamation. This way includes forest, recreation and agricultural reclamation. Land reclamation in industrial regions is conducted in one technological cycle with the process of ore mining. The soil mass is taken off, piled up and heaped onto the land after the rock has been replaced. The ecohydrogeological background of reclaimed lands forming and exploration was worked out. It foresee an environment restoration of disturbed lands to manage flow down, atmospheric precipitations taking aside, the process of the reclaimed profile biogenetic horizons formation and promotion with total depth 1.0-1.2 m and involvement of more suitable rocks and artificial drainage building. The effectiveness of different models of land reclamation and heavy metals migration through the rock-soil-plant system was investigated. Field experiments were carried out to study the adaptive potential of plants having different requirements for substrate fertility, with the main task to assess the prospects of land management for the rocks of the Nikopol manganese basin. The rocks exposed to the surface after manganese ore mining, first technical stage of landscape restoration, and plant melioration stages pass into other geochemical conditions and change their physical-chemical properties. During long-term melioration crops have dramatically improved some processes as following: bioweathering of rocks, phytomeliorated rocks fertility growth, etc. Meantime some rocks cannot be recommended for agricultural reclamation. Due to profile assessment the underlying layers of dark-gray shale still can be considered as object for heavy metals neutralization or phytoextraction. In Western Donbas the waste is stored in spoil dumps (19 million tons), and it is also used for the reclamation, for construction of the dams protecting the new bed of Samara river and artificial reservoirs. In a definite extent the ecological problems of Western Donbas are typical for the coal deposits, where the extraction is made by the closed way. The arrangement of used mine fields under the bottomland of Samara river leads to the earth surface subsidence. Due to chemical weathering from rocks (aqueous extract with pH<5) such macro components (nickel, copper, cobalt, chrome, nickel), but also micro impurity of rare metals (gallium, germanium, zirconium) come to environment. This environmental situation requires new technologies of phyto- and biomining. At this time seeds and rhizomes inoculation with arbuscular micorrhiza with some geochemical barriers (mechanical, sorption, oxidizing and rehabilitating) are subject for making decision. New ways are connected with agroforestry approaches development to grow energetic crops in the reclaimed minelands. Prospect results were obtained after first portion model field experiments with sorghum, miscanthus and swichgrass.

Abandoned Mine Lands

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Abandoned Mine Lands are those lands, waters, and surrounding watersheds where extraction, beneficiation, or processing of ores and minerals (excluding coal) has occurred. These lands also include areas where mining or processing activity is inactive.

A prototype for automation of land-cover products from Landsat Surface Reflectance Data Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rover, J.; Goldhaber, M. B.; Steinwand, D.; Nelson, K.; Coan, M.; Wylie, B. K.; Dahal, D.; Wika, S.; Quenzer, R.

2014-12-01

Landsat data records of surface reflectance provide a three-decade history of land surface processes. Due to the vast number of these archived records, development of innovative approaches for automated data mining and information retrieval were necessary. Recently, we created a prototype utilizing open source software libraries for automatically generating annual Anderson Level 1 land cover maps and information products from data acquired by the Landsat Mission for the years 1984 to 2013. The automated prototype was applied to two target areas in northwestern and east-central North Dakota, USA. The approach required the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and two user-input target acquisition year-days. The Landsat archive was mined for scenes acquired within a 100-day window surrounding these target dates, and then cloud-free pixels where chosen closest to the specified target acquisition dates. The selected pixels were then composited before completing an unsupervised classification using the NLCD. Pixels unchanged in pairs of the NLCD were used for training decision tree models in an iterative process refined with model confidence measures. The decision tree models were applied to the Landsat composites to generate a yearly land cover map and related information products. Results for the target areas captured changes associated with the recent expansion of oil shale production and agriculture driven by economics and policy, such as the increase in biofuel production and reduction in Conservation Reserve Program. Changes in agriculture, grasslands, and surface water reflect the local hydrological conditions that occurred during the 29-year span. Future enhancements considered for this prototype include a web-based client, ancillary spatial datasets, trends and clustering algorithms, and the forecasting of future land cover.

Habitat manipulation influences northern bobwhite resource selection on a reclaimed surface mine

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooke, Jarred M.; Peters, David C.; Unger, Ashley M.; Tanner, Evan P.; Harper, Craig A.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Clark, Joseph D.; Morgan, John J.

2015-01-01

More than 600,000 ha of mine land have been reclaimed in the eastern United States, providing large contiguous tracts of early successional vegetation that can be managed for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). However, habitat quality on reclaimed mine land can be limited by extensive coverage of non-native invasive species, which are commonly planted during reclamation. We used discrete-choice analysis to investigate bobwhite resource selection throughout the year on Peabody Wildlife Management Area, a 3,330-ha reclaimed surface mine in western Kentucky. We used a treatment-control design to study resource selection at 2 spatial scales to identify important aspects of mine land vegetation and whether resource selection differed between areas with habitat management (i.e., burning, disking, herbicide; treatment) and unmanaged units (control). Our objectives were to estimate bobwhite resource selection on reclaimed mine land and to estimate the influence of habitat management practices on resource selection. We used locations from 283 individuals during the breeding season (1 Apr–30 Sep) and 136 coveys during the non-breeding season (1 Oct–Mar 31) from August 2009 to March 2014. Individuals were located closer to shrub cover than would be expected at random throughout the year. During the breeding season, individuals on treatment units used areas with smaller contagion index values (i.e., greater interspersion) compared with individuals on control units. During the non-breeding season, birds selected areas with greater shrub-open edge density compared with random. At the microhabitat scale, individuals selected areas with increased visual obstruction >1 m aboveground. During the breeding season, birds were closer to disked areas (linear and non-linear) than would be expected at random. Individuals selected non-linear disked areas during winter but did not select linear disked areas (firebreaks) because they were planted to winter wheat each fall and lacked cover during the non-breeding season. Individuals also selected areas treated with herbicide to control sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) throughout the year. During the breeding season, bobwhites avoided areas burned during the previous dormant season. Habitat quality of reclaimed mine lands may be limited by a lack of shrub cover and extensive coverage of non-native herbaceous vegetation. Managers aiming to increase bobwhite abundance should focus on increasing interspersion of shrub cover, with no area >100 m from shrub cover. We suggest disking and herbicide application to control invasive species and improve the structure and composition of vegetation for bobwhites.

Fracture mapping and strip mine inventory in the Midwest by using ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, C. W.; Wobber, F. J.; Russell, O. R.; Amato, R. V.

1973-01-01

Analysis of the ERTS-1 imagery and high-altitude infrared photography indicates that useful fracture data can be obtained in Indiana and Illinois despite a glacial till cover. ERTS MSS bands 5 and 7 have proven most useful for fracture mapping in coal-bearing rocks in this region. Preliminary results suggest a reasonable correlation between image-detected fractures and mine roof-fall accidents. Information related to surface mined land, such as disturbed area, water bodies, and kind of reclamation, has been derived from the analysis of ERTS imagery.

Ten million tragedies, one step at a time

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wurst, J.

Lacking the drama of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, or handguns, land mines have generally escaped professional and public attention. As land mines begin to be perceived as obstacles to post-war peacebuilding, some humanitarian groups and a few governments are preparing to fight the production and distribution of these weapons. Last year, a coalition of humanitarian groups including Human Rights Watch, Handicap International, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Vietman Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) launched an international campaign to ban the production and sale of mines; the United Nations began exploring its options, and some governments called for strengthening anmore » existing convention that was designed to control mines. This article describes the types of land mines and ways in which they are used, estimates some numbers of people injured by land mines in various conflicts, and discusses the market for land mines. Measures for exposing the land mine business and for clearing existing mines are discussed.« less

Geochemical investigations and interim recommendations for priority abandoned mine sites, BLM lands, upper Animas River watershed, San Juan County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nash, J. Thomas

1999-01-01

Field observations, sampling of mine dumps and mine drainage waters, and laboratory studies of dump materials have been made at mining areas deemed to be on public lands administered by the U. S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Upper Animas River watershed. Results of chemical analyses of dump materials, leachates of those materials, and surface waters draining mines or dumps provide indications of where acid is generated or consumed, and metal concentrations below mines or dumps. Information on sites previously identified as needing reclamation is reviewed and available geochemical information is used to rank 26 sites into four classes of priority for reclamation. Although there are more than a thousand mining sites (productive mines and prospects) on BLM lands in the Upper Animas River watershed study area, the majority are very small (less than about 70 cubic yards of dump material), are more than 2 miles from a major stream, or so inaccessible as to prohibit reclamation. In the summers of 1997 and 1998 approximately 200 sites were observed and more than 100 of these that appeared to have the potential to geochemically impact the watershed were examined more carefully and sampled. Building upon the prior work of the BLM and associated agencies, this work attempted to identify the most significant sources of mine-related contamination and to rank those sites as to priority for reclamation. These most significant mining areas have been examined within a geologic framework and were evaluated by multiple criteria, including tendency to generate acid and release toxic metals, observed damage to vegetation, potential to release metals based on leach tests, and likelihood of transport into streams of the watershed. No single measurable parameter, such as metal concentration, can be used to rank the sites. Rather, subjective estimates are required to evaluate combinations or interactions among several parameters. The most subjective estimate, while ranking feasibility of reclamation, is the relative amounts of naturally occurring metals and acidity and mine-related contamination at each mining area. Mitigation of natural contributions at mines or unmined areas is beyond the scope of my studies, but should be considered when planning reclamation. Available information for the 26 priority sites is adequate for ranking, but at some sites additional information on groundwater conditions is needed for a more complete site evaluation.

Social cost of land mines in four countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Mozambique.

PubMed Central

Andersson, N.; da Sousa, C. P.; Paredes, S.

1995-01-01

OBJECTIVES--To document the effects of land mines on the health and social conditions of communities in four affected countries. DESIGN--A cross design of cluster survey and rapid appraisal methods including a household questionnaire and qualitative data from key informants, institutional reviews, and focus groups of survivors of land mines from the same communities. SETTING--206 communities, 37 in Afghanistan, 66 in Bosnia, 38 in Cambodia, and 65 in Mozambique. SUBJECTS--174,489 people living in 32,904 households in the selected communities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Effects of land mines on food security, residence, livestock, and land use; risk factors: extent of individual land mine injuries; physical, psychological, social, and economic costs of injuries during medical care and rehabilitation. RESULTS--Between 25% and 87% of households had daily activities affected by land mines. Based on expected production without the mines, agricultural production could increase by 88-200% in different regions of Afghanistan, 11% in Bosnia, 135% in Cambodia, and 3.6% in Mozambique. A total of 54,554 animals was lost because of land mines, with a minimum cash value of $6.5m, or nearly $200 per household. Overall, 6% of households (1964) reported a land mine victim; a third of victims died in the blast. One in 10 of the victims was a child. The most frequent activities associated with land mine incidents were agricultural or pastoral, except in Bosnia where more than half resulted from military activities, usually during patrols. Incidences have more than doubled between 1980-3 and 1990-3, excluding the incidents in Bosnia. Some 22% of victims (455/2100) were from households reporting attempts to remove land mines; in these households there was a greatly increased risk of injury (odds ratio 4.2 and risk difference 19% across the four countries). Lethality of the mines varied; in Bosnia each blast killed an average of 0.54 people and injured 1.4, whereas in Mozambique each blast killed 1.45 people and wounded 1.27. Households with a land mine victim were 40% more likely to experience difficulty in providing food for the family. Family relationships were affected for around one in every four victims and relationships with colleagues in 40%. CONCLUSIONS--Land mines seriously undermine the economy and food security in affected countries; they kill and maim civilians at an increasing rate. The expense of medical care and rehabilitation add economic disability to the physical burden. Awareness of land mines can be targeted at high risk attitudes, such as those associated with tampering with mines. PMID:7549685

Social cost of land mines in four countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cambodia, and Mozambique.

PubMed

Andersson, N; da Sousa, C P; Paredes, S

1995-09-16

To document the effects of land mines on the health and social conditions of communities in four affected countries. A cross design of cluster survey and rapid appraisal methods including a household questionnaire and qualitative data from key informants, institutional reviews, and focus groups of survivors of land mines from the same communities. 206 communities, 37 in Afghanistan, 66 in Bosnia, 38 in Cambodia, and 65 in Mozambique. 174,489 people living in 32,904 households in the selected communities. Effects of land mines on food security, residence, livestock, and land use; risk factors: extent of individual land mine injuries; physical, psychological, social, and economic costs of injuries during medical care and rehabilitation. Between 25% and 87% of households had daily activities affected by land mines. Based on expected production without the mines, agricultural production could increase by 88-200% in different regions of Afghanistan, 11% in Bosnia, 135% in Cambodia, and 3.6% in Mozambique. A total of 54,554 animals was lost because of land mines, with a minimum cash value of $6.5m, or nearly $200 per household. Overall, 6% of households (1964) reported a land mine victim; a third of victims died in the blast. One in 10 of the victims was a child. The most frequent activities associated with land mine incidents were agricultural or pastoral, except in Bosnia where more than half resulted from military activities, usually during patrols. Incidences have more than doubled between 1980-3 and 1990-3, excluding the incidents in Bosnia. Some 22% of victims (455/2100) were from households reporting attempts to remove land mines; in these households there was a greatly increased risk of injury (odds ratio 4.2 and risk difference 19% across the four countries). Lethality of the mines varied; in Bosnia each blast killed an average of 0.54 people and injured 1.4, whereas in Mozambique each blast killed 1.45 people and wounded 1.27. Households with a land mine victim were 40% more likely to experience difficulty in providing food for the family. Family relationships were affected for around one in every four victims and relationships with colleagues in 40%. Land mines seriously undermine the economy and food security in affected countries; they kill and maim civilians at an increasing rate. The expense of medical care and rehabilitation add economic disability to the physical burden. Awareness of land mines can be targeted at high risk attitudes, such as those associated with tampering with mines.

Study of application of ERTS-A imagery to fracture related mine safety hazards in the coal mining industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, C. E.; Wobber, F. J. (Principal Investigator); Russell, O. R.; Amato, R. V.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The 70mm black and white infrared photography acquired in March 1973 at an approximate scale of 1:115,000 permits the identification of areas of mine subsidence not readily evident on other films. This is largely due to the high contrast rendition of water and land by this film and the excessive surface moisture conditions prevalent in the area at the time of photography. Subsided areas consist of shallow depressions which have impounded water. Patterns with a regularity indicative of the room and pillar configuration used in subsurface coal mining are evident.

43 CFR 3461.1 - Underground mining exemption from criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

.... 3461.1 Section 3461.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) ENVIRONMENT Federal Lands Review: Unsuitability for Mining § 3461.1 Underground mining exemption from criteria. (a) Federal lands with coal...

43 CFR 3461.1 - Underground mining exemption from criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

.... 3461.1 Section 3461.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) ENVIRONMENT Federal Lands Review: Unsuitability for Mining § 3461.1 Underground mining exemption from criteria. (a) Federal lands with coal...

43 CFR 3461.1 - Underground mining exemption from criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

.... 3461.1 Section 3461.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) ENVIRONMENT Federal Lands Review: Unsuitability for Mining § 3461.1 Underground mining exemption from criteria. (a) Federal lands with coal...

43 CFR 3461.1 - Underground mining exemption from criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

.... 3461.1 Section 3461.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) ENVIRONMENT Federal Lands Review: Unsuitability for Mining § 3461.1 Underground mining exemption from criteria. (a) Federal lands with coal...

Environmental consequences of the Retsof Salt Mine roof collapse

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yager, Richard M.

2013-01-01

In 1994, the largest salt mine in North America, which had been in operation for more than 100 years, catastrophically flooded when the mine ceiling collapsed. In addition to causing the loss of the mine and the mineral resources it provided, this event formed sinkholes, caused widespread subsidence to land, caused structures to crack and subside, and changed stream flow and erosion patterns. Subsequent flooding of the mine drained overlying aquifers, changed the groundwater salinity distribution (rendering domestic wells unusable), and allowed locally present natural gas to enter dwellings through water wells. Investigations including exploratory drilling, hydrologic and water-quality monitoring, geologic and geophysical studies, and numerical simulation of groundwater flow, salinity, and subsidence have been effective tools in understanding the environmental consequences of the mine collapse and informing decisions about management of those consequences for the future. Salt mines are generally dry, but are susceptible to leaks and can become flooded if groundwater from overlying aquifers or surface water finds a way downward into the mined cavity through hundreds of feet of rock. With its potential to flood the entire mine cavity, groundwater is a constant source of concern for mine operators. The problem is compounded by the viscous nature of salt and the fact that salt mines commonly lie beneath water-bearing aquifers. Salt (for example halite or potash) deforms and “creeps” into the mined openings over time spans that range from years to centuries. This movement of salt can destabilize the overlying rock layers and lead to their eventual sagging and collapse, creating permeable pathways for leakage of water and depressions or openings at land surface, such as sinkholes. Salt is also highly soluble in water; therefore, whenever water begins to flow into a salt mine, the channels through which it flows increase in diameter as the surrounding salt dissolves. Some mines leak at a slow rate for decades before a section of rock gives way, allowing what initially was a trickle of water to suddenly become a cascade and finally a torrent. Other mines become flooded and are destroyed when an errant drill hole punctures the mine ceiling, allowing water from overlying sources to flow into the mine. Either scenario can cause catastrophic flooding and permanent loss of the mine. Occasionally, a mine that has remained dry for a century will undergo a roof collapse that results in flooding.

Multicriteria analysis for sources of renewable energy using data from remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matejicek, L.

2015-04-01

Renewable energy sources are major components of the strategy to reduce harmful emissions and to replace depleting fossil energy resources. Data from remote sensing can provide information for multicriteria analysis for sources of renewable energy. Advanced land cover quantification makes it possible to search for suitable sites. Multicriteria analysis, together with other data, is used to determine the energy potential and socially acceptability of suggested locations. The described case study is focused on an area of surface coal mines in the northwestern region of the Czech Republic, where the impacts of surface mining and reclamation constitute a dominant force in land cover changes. High resolution satellite images represent the main input datasets for identification of suitable sites. Solar mapping, wind predictions, the location of weirs in watersheds, road maps and demographic information complement the data from remote sensing for multicriteria analysis, which is implemented in a geographic information system (GIS). The input spatial datasets for multicriteria analysis in GIS are reclassified to a common scale and processed with raster algebra tools to identify suitable sites for sources of renewable energy. The selection of suitable sites is limited by the CORINE land cover database to mining and agricultural areas. The case study is focused on long term land cover changes in the 1985-2015 period. Multicriteria analysis based on CORINE data shows moderate changes in mapping of suitable sites for utilization of selected sources of renewable energy in 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2012. The results represent map layers showing the energy potential on a scale of a few preference classes (1-7), where the first class is linked to minimum preference and the last class to maximum preference. The attached histograms show the moderate variability of preference classes due to land cover changes caused by mining activities. The results also show a slight increase in the more preferred classes for utilization of sources of renewable energy due to an increase area of reclaimed sites. Using data from remote sensing, such as the multispectral images and the CORINE land cover datasets, can reduce the financial resources currently required for finding and assessing suitable areas.

Land-cover change research at the U.S. Geological Survey-assessing our nation's dynamic land surface

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Tamara S.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an unprecedented, 27-year assessment of land-use and land-cover change for the conterminous United States. For the period 1973 to 2000, scientists generated estimates of change in major types of land use and land cover, such as development, mining, agriculture, forest, grasslands, and wetlands. To help provide the insight that our Nation will need to make land-use decisions in coming decades, the historical trends data is now being used by the USGS to help model potential future land use/land cover under different scenarios, including climate, environmental, economic, population, public policy, and technological change.

Economics of mining law

USGS Publications Warehouse

Long, K.R.

1995-01-01

Modern mining law, by facilitating socially and environmentally acceptable exploration, development, and production of mineral materials, helps secure the benefits of mineral production while minimizing environmental harm and accounting for increasing land-use competition. Mining investments are sunk costs, irreversibly tied to a particular mineral site, and require many years to recoup. Providing security of tenure is the most critical element of a practical mining law. Governments owning mineral rights have a conflict of interest between their roles as a profit-maximizing landowner and as a guardian of public welfare. As a monopoly supplier, governments have considerable power to manipulate mineral-rights markets. To avoid monopoly rent-seeking by governments, a competitive market for government-owned mineral rights must be created by artifice. What mining firms will pay for mineral rights depends on expected exploration success and extraction costs. Landowners and mining firms will negotlate respective shares of anticipated differential rents, usually allowing for some form of risk sharing. Private landowners do not normally account for external benefits or costs of minerals use. Government ownership of mineral rights allows for direct accounting of social prices for mineral-bearing lands and external costs. An equitable and efficient method is to charge an appropriate reservation price for surface land use, net of the value of land after reclamation, and to recover all or part of differential rents through a flat income or resource-rent tax. The traditional royalty on gross value of production, essentially a regressive income tax, cannot recover as much rent as a flat income tax, causes arbitrary mineral-reserve sterilization, and creates a bias toward development on the extensive margin where marginal environmental costs are higher. Mitigating environmental costs and resolving land-use conflicts require local evaluation and planning. National oversight ensures that the relative global avaliability of minerals and other values are considered, and can also promote adaptive efficiency by publicizing creative local solutions, providing technical support, and funding useful research. ?? 1995 Oxford University Press.

Livestock grazing for management of reclaimed land at Navajo Mine: Animal response

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gamble, D.C.; Gadzia, K.L.; Raisbeck, M.F.

1997-12-31

Livestock responses dining grazing of reclaimed land were monitored at the Navajo Mine since 1994. The Navajo Mine Grazing Management Program (GNP) began in 1991 to prepare for bond release and return of reclaimed land to the Navajo Nation by demonstrating the ability of the land to sustain the post-mining land use of livestock grazing. Local Navajos, whose livestock are used in the GMP, are interested in the ability of the land to sustain their livestock. Sustainable livestock grazing implies the ability of animals to thrive, successfully reproduce and maintain the health of the land. Daily care and monitoring ofmore » livestock health was carried out by herders hired by the mining company. General animal health parameters including blood selenium levels were monitored quarterly. Livestock responses to grazing reclaimed land have been largely positive. Cows have produced healthy offspring and owners indicate satisfaction with calf size, and overall performance of the cows. Selenium and other blood testing parameters indicate no adverse effect on animal health to date. Hazards associated with reclamation and ongoing mining activities are important considerations for lands being reclaimed for livestock grazing as a post-mining land use and must be monitored carefully during any grazing program. Preliminary results indicate that planned grazing by cattle on reclaimed land at Navajo Mine is feasible and does not adversely affect animal health.« less

43 CFR 6304.10 - Mining law administration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Mining law administration. 6304.10 Section 6304.10 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND... Laws § 6304.10 Mining law administration. ...

Study of application of ERTS-A imagery to fracture-related mine safety hazards in the coal mining industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, C. E.; Wobber, F. J.; Russell, O. R.; Martin, K. R. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Mined land reclamation analysis procedures developed within the Indiana portion of the Illinois Coal Basin were independently tested in Ohio utilizing 1:80,000 scale enlargements of ERTS-1 image 1029-15361-7 (dated August 21, 1972). An area in Belmont County was selected for analysis due to the extensive surface mining and the different degrees of reclamation occurring in this area. Contour mining in this area provided the opportunity to extend techniques developed for analysis of relatively flat mining areas in Indiana to areas of rolling topography in Ohio. The analysts had no previous experience in the area. Field investigations largely confirmed office analysis results although in a few areas estimates of vegetation percentages were found to be too high. In one area this error approximated 25%. These results suggest that systematic ERTS-1 analysis in combination with selective field sampling can provide reliable vegetation percentage estimates in excess of 25% accuracy with minimum equipment investment and training. The utility of ERTS-1 for practical and reasonably reliable update of mined lands information for groups with budget limitations is suggested. Many states can benefit from low cost updates using ERTS-1 imagery from public sources.

Impact of climate change on acid mine drainage generation and contaminant transport in water ecosystems of semi-arid and arid mining areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anawar, Hossain Md.

Disposal of untreated and treated mining wastes and tailings exerts a significant threat and hazard for environmental contamination including groundwater, surface water, wetlands, land, food chain and animals. In order to facilitate remediation techniques, it is important to understand the oxidation of sulfidic minerals, and the hydrolysis of the oxidation products that result in production of acid mine drainage (AMD), toxic metals, low pH, SO42- and Fe. This review has summarized the impacts of climate change on geochemical reactions, AMD generation, and water quality in semi-arid/arid mining environments. Besides this, the study included the effects of hydrological, seasonal and climate change on composition of AMD, contaminant transport in watersheds and restoration of mining sites. Different models have different types of limitations and benefits that control their adaptability and suitability of application in various mining environments. This review has made a comparative discussion of a few most potential and widely used reactive transport models that can be applied to simulate the effect of climate change on sulfide oxidation and AMD production from mining waste, and contaminant transport in surface and groundwater systems.

An evaluation of processing InSAR Sentinel-1A/B data for correlation of mining subsidence with mining induced tremors in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczyk, Artur; Grzybek, Radosław

2018-01-01

The Satellite Radar Interferometry is one of the common methods that allow to measure the land subsidence caused by the underground black coal excavation. The interferometry images processed from the repeat-pass Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems give the spatial image of the terrain subjected to the surface subsidence over mining areas. Until now, the InSAR methods using data from the SAR Systems like ERS-1/ERS-2 and Envisat-1 were limited to a repeat-pass cycle of 35-day only. Recently, the ESA launched Sentinel-1A and 1B, and together they can provide the InSAR coverage in a 6-day repeat cycle. The studied area was the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland, where the underground coal mining causes continuous subsidence of terrain surface and mining tremors (mine-induced seismicity). The main problem was with overlapping the subsidence caused by the mining exploitation with the epicentre tremors. Based on the Sentinel SAR images, research was done in regard to the correlation between the short term ground subsidence range border and the mine-induced seismicity epicentres localisation.

Surface-water quality of coal-mine lands in Raccoon Creek Basin, Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, K.S.

1985-01-01

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, plans to reclaim abandoned surface mines in the Raccoon Creek watershed in southern Ohio. Historic water-quality data collected between 1975 and 1983 were complied and analyzed in terms of eight selected mine-drainage characteristics to develop a data base for individual subbasin reclamation projects. Areas of mine drainage affecting Raccoon Creek basin, the study Sandy Run basin, the Hewett Fork basin, and the Little raccoon Creek basin. Surface-water-quality samples were collected from a 41-site network from November 1 through November 3, 1983, Results of the sampling reaffirmed that the major sources of mine drainage to Raccoon Creek are in the Little Raccoon Creek basin, and the Hewett Fork basin. However, water quality at the mouth of Sandy Run indicated that it is not a source of mine drainage to Raccoon Creek. Buffer Run, Goose Run, an unnamed tributary to Little Raccoon Creek, Mulga Run, and Sugar Run were the main sources of mine drainage sampled in the Little Raccoon Creek basin. All sites sampled in the East Branch Raccoon Creek basin were affected by mine drainage. This information was used to prepare a work plan for additional data collection before, during, and after reclamation. The data will be used to define the effectiveness of reclamation effects in the basin.

Land application of mine water causes minimal uranium loss offsite in the wet-dry tropics: Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia.

PubMed

Mumtaz, Saqib; Streten, Claire; Parry, David L; McGuinness, Keith A; Lu, Ping; Gibb, Karen S

2015-11-01

Ranger Uranium Mine (RUM) is situated in the wet-dry tropics of Northern Australia. Land application (irrigation) of stockpile (ore and waste) runoff water to natural woodland on the mine lease is a key part of water management at the mine. Consequently, the soil in these Land Application Areas (LAAs) presents a range of uranium (U) and other metals concentrations. Knowledge of seasonal and temporal changes in soil U and physicochemical parameters at RUM LAAs is important to develop suitable management and rehabilitation strategies. Therefore, soil samples were collected from low, medium, high and very high U sites at RUM LAAs for two consecutive years and the effect of time and season on soil physicochemical parameters particularly U and other major solutes applied in irrigation water was measured. Concentrations of some of the solutes applied in the irrigation water such as sulphur (S), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca) showed significant seasonal and temporal changes. Soil S, Fe and Ca concentration decreased from year 1 to year 2 and from dry to wet seasons during both years. Soil U followed the same pattern except that we recorded an increase in soil U concentrations at most of the RUM LAAs after year 2 wet season compared to year 2 dry season. Thus, these sites did not show a considerable decrease in soil U concentration from year 1 to year 2. Sites which contained elevated U after wet season 2 also had higher moisture content which suggests that pooling of U containing rainwater at these sites may be responsible for elevated U. Thus, U may be redistributed within RUM LAAs due to surface water movement. The study also suggested that a decrease in U concentrations in LAA soils at very high U (>900 mg kg(-1)) sites is most likely due to transport of particulate matter bound U by surface runoff and U may not be lost from the surface soil due to vertical movement through the soil profile. Uranium attached to particulate matter may reduce its potential for environmental impact. These findings suggest that U is effectively adsorbed by the soils and thus land application may serve as a useful tool for U management in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

36 CFR 228.2 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... mining laws of May 10, 1872, as amended (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), as they affect surface resources on all National Forest System lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture to which such laws are...

Humanitarian Consequences of Land Mines.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutherford, Ken

1997-01-01

Investigates the human and economic consequences of the continuing use and abandonment of land mines. Discusses the reasons for the worldwide proliferation (over 85 million uncleared mines in at least 62 countries) and the legal complexities in curtailing their use. Includes a brief account by a land-mine victim. (MJP)

Accuracy of land use change detection using support vector machine and maximum likelihood techniques for open-cast coal mining areas.

PubMed

Karan, Shivesh Kishore; Samadder, Sukha Ranjan

2016-08-01

One objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of support vector machine (SVM)-based image classification technique with the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) technique for a rapidly changing landscape of an open-cast mine. The other objective was to assess the change in land use pattern due to coal mining from 2006 to 2016. Assessing the change in land use pattern accurately is important for the development and monitoring of coalfields in conjunction with sustainable development. For the present study, Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data of 2006 and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)/Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data of 2016 of a part of Jharia Coalfield, Dhanbad, India, were used. The SVM classification technique provided greater overall classification accuracy when compared to the MLC technique in classifying heterogeneous landscape with limited training dataset. SVM exceeded MLC in handling a difficult challenge of classifying features having near similar reflectance on the mean signature plot, an improvement of over 11 % was observed in classification of built-up area, and an improvement of 24 % was observed in classification of surface water using SVM; similarly, the SVM technique improved the overall land use classification accuracy by almost 6 and 3 % for Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 images, respectively. Results indicated that land degradation increased significantly from 2006 to 2016 in the study area. This study will help in quantifying the changes and can also serve as a basis for further decision support system studies aiding a variety of purposes such as planning and management of mines and environmental impact assessment.

36 CFR 292.47 - Mining activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mining activities. 292.47... RECREATION AREAS Hells Canyon National Recreation Area-Federal Lands § 292.47 Mining activities. (a) Other Lands. The standards and guidelines of this section apply to mining activities in the Other Lands...

43 CFR 3822.1 - Subject to mining location.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Subject to mining location. 3822.1 Section... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) AREAS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL MINING LAWS Lands Patented Under the Alaska Public Sale Act § 3822.1 Subject to mining location. Lands segregated for...

Mine Land Reclamation and Eco-Reconstruction in Shanxi Province I: Mine Land Reclamation Model

PubMed Central

Bing-yuan, Hao; Li-xun, Kang

2014-01-01

Coal resource is the main primary energy in our country, while Shanxi Province is the most important province in resource. Therefore Shanxi is an energy base for our country and has a great significance in energy strategy. However because of the heavy development of the coal resource, the ecological environment is worsening and the farmland is reducing continuously in Shanxi Province. How to resolve the contradiction between coal resource exploitation and environmental protection has become the imperative. Thus the concept of “green mining industry” is arousing more and more attention. In this assay, we will talk about the basic mode of land reclamation in mine area, the engineering study of mine land reclamation, the comprehensive model study of mine land reclamation, and the design and model of ecological agricultural reclamation in mining subsidence. PMID:25050398

The geohydrologic system and probable effects of mining in the Sand Creek-Hanks lignite area, western Williams County, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Armstrong, C.A.

1985-01-01

The investigation was undertaken to define the geohydrology of the Sand Creek-Hanks area and to project probable hydrologic effects of lignite mining on the area. Aquifers occur in sandstone beds in the Fox Hills Sandstone and the Hell Creek Formation of Cretaceous age and in sandstone lenses and lignite beds in the Tongue River and Sentinel Butte Members of the Fort Union Formation of Tertiary age.The top of the Fox Hills aquifer ranges from about 1,200 to 2,000 feet below land surface. Yields of wells completed in the aquifer could be as much as 60 gallons per minute. Water in the Fox Hills aquifer is a sodium bicarbonate type and generallyDepths to the top of the Hell Creek aquifer range from about 900 to 1,600 feet. Well yields range from less than 10 to 40 gallons per minute. Water in the aquifer is a sodium bicarbonate type and generally contains between 1,000 and 2,200 milligrams per liter dissolved solids. Depths to aquifers in the Tongue River and Sentinel Butte Members of Fort Union Formation range from near land surface to about 1,000 feet below land surface. Wells completed in the aquifers may yield as much as 40 gallons per minute of sodium bicarbonate or a sodium sulfate type water that contains about 800 to 4,100 milligrams per liter dissolved solids.Glacial drift covers most of the study area. The drift thickness ranges from a veneer to about 380 feet. Well yields range from a few gallons per minute to 900 gallons per minute. Dissolved-solids concentrations in water from the glacial drift generally range from 477 to 2,050 milligrams per liter. Mining of lignite will destroy all aquifers in and above the mined lignite and will expose overburden to oxidation. Leaching will cause an increase in dissolved solids in ground water immediately beneath the mines and possibly will cause some increase in the dissolved solids in low flows in area streams.

Nome Offshore Mining Information

Science.gov Websites

Lands Coal Regulatory Program Large Mine Permits Mineral Property and Rights Mining Index Land potential safety concerns, prevent overcrowding, and provide for efficient processing of the permits and Regulatory Program Large Mine Permitting Mineral Property Management Mining Fact Sheets Mining Forms APMA

43 CFR 3475.6 - Logical mining unit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Logical mining unit. 3475.6 Section 3475.6 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT... § 3475.6 Logical mining unit. (a) Criteria for approving or directing establishment of an LMU shall be...

Land Ecological Security Evaluation of Underground Iron Mine Based on PSR Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xiao; Chen, Yong; Ruan, Jinghua; Hong, Qiang; Gan, Yong

2018-01-01

Iron ore mine provides an important strategic resource to the national economy while it also causes many serious ecological problems to the environment. The study summed up the characteristics of ecological environment problems of underground iron mine. Considering the mining process of underground iron mine, we analysis connections between mining production, resource, environment and economical background. The paper proposed a land ecological security evaluation system and method of underground iron mine based on Pressure-State-Response model. Our application in Chengchao iron mine proves its efficiency and promising guide on land ecological security evaluation.

30 CFR 948.25 - Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... March 26, 1993 Amendments contained in House Bill 2492; Expanded eligibility criteria; Acid mine... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands... STATE WEST VIRGINIA § 948.25 Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments...

30 CFR 948.25 - Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... March 26, 1993 Amendments contained in House Bill 2492; Expanded eligibility criteria; Acid mine... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands... STATE WEST VIRGINIA § 948.25 Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments...

30 CFR 948.25 - Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... March 26, 1993 Amendments contained in House Bill 2492; Expanded eligibility criteria; Acid mine... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands... STATE WEST VIRGINIA § 948.25 Approval of West Virginia abandoned mine lands reclamation plan amendments...

Abandoned Mine Lands Program - Division of Mining, Land, and Water

Science.gov Websites

, safety, general welfare and property from extreme danger resulting from the adverse effects of past coal mining practices. 2. Protection of public health, safety and general welfare from adverse effects of past lands and waters and the environment previously degraded by adverse effects of past coal mining

The non-participation of organic sulphur in acid mine drainage generation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Casagrande, D.J.; Finkelman, R.B.; Caruccio, F.T.

1989-01-01

Acid mine drainage is commonly associated with land disturbances that encounter and expose iron sulphides to oxidising atmospheric conditions. The attendant acidic conditions solubilise a host of trace metals. Within this flow regime the potential exists to contaminate surface drinking water supplies with a variety of trace materials. Accordingly, in evaluating the applications for mines located in the headwaters of water sheds, the pre-mining prediction of the occurrence of acid mine drainage is of paramount importance. There is general agreement among investigators that coal organic sulphur is a nonparticipant in acid mine drainage generation; however, there is no scientific documentation to support this concensus. Using simulated weathering, kinetic, mass balance, petrographic analysis and a peroxide oxidation procedure, coal organic sulphur is shown to be a nonparticipant in acid mine drainage generation. Calculations for assessing the acid-generating potential of a sedimentary rock should not include organic sulphur content. ?? 1989 Sciences and Technology Letters.

The Energy Lands Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, fiscal year 1976

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maberry, John O.

1978-01-01

The Energy Lands Program of the U.S. Geological Survey comprises several projects that conduct basic and interpretive earth-science investigations into the environmental aspects of energy-resource recovery, transmission, and conversion. More than half the coal reserves of the United States occur west of the Mississippi River; therefore, the program concentrates mostly on coal-producing regions in the Western interior. Additional studies involve the oil-shale region in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and coal-related work in Alaska and Appalachia. The work is done both by USGS personnel and under USGS grants and contracts through the Energy Lands Program to universities, State Geological Surveys, and private individuals. Maps and reports characterizing many aspects of environmental earth science are being prepared for areas of Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. Types of studies underway include bedrock, surficial, and interpretive geology; engineering geology, geochemistry of surface materials and plants; climatic conditions as they influence rehabilitation potential of mined lands; and feasibility of surface vs. underground mining. The purpose common to all investigations in the Energy Lands Program is to provide timely earth-science information for use by managers, policy-makers, engineers, scientists, planners, and others, in order to contribute to an environmentally sound, orderly, and safe development of the energy resources of the Nation.

Changing scene highlights III. [Iowa State University

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fassel, V. A.; Harl, Neil E.; Legvold, Sam

1979-01-01

The research programs in progress at Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, are reviewed: hydrogen (storage), materials, catalysts, TRISTAN (their laboratory isotope separator), coal preparation, coal classification, land reclamation (after surface mining, nitinol, neutron radiography, grain dust explosions, biomass conversion, etc). (LTC)

Assessment of satellite and aircraft multispectral scanner data for strip-mine monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spisz, E. W.; Dooley, J. T.

1980-01-01

The application of LANDSAT multispectral scanner data to describe the mining and reclamation changes of a hilltop surface coal mine in the rugged, mountainous area of eastern Kentucky is presented. Original single band satellite imagery, computer enhanced single band imagery, and computer classified imagery are presented for four different data sets in order to demonstrate the land cover changes that can be detected. Data obtained with an 11 band multispectral scanner on board a C-47 aircraft at an altitude of 3000 meters are also presented. Comparing the satellite data with color, infrared aerial photography, and ground survey data shows that significant changes in the disrupted area can be detected from LANDSAT band 5 satellite imagery for mines with more than 100 acres of disturbed area. However, band-ratio (bands 5/6) imagery provides greater contrast than single band imagery and can provide a qualitative level 1 classification of the land cover that may be useful for monitoring either the disturbed mining area or the revegetation progress. However, if a quantitative, accurate classification of the barren or revegetated classes is required, it is necessary to perform a detailed, four band computer classification of the data.

43 CFR 2650.3 - Lawful entries, lawful settlements, and mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Lawful entries, lawful settlements, and mining claims. 2650.3 Section 2650.3 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands... mining claims. ...

43 CFR 4.1116 - Status of notices of violation and orders of cessation pending review by the Office of Hearings...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Status of notices of violation and orders of cessation pending review by the Office of Hearings and Appeals. 4.1116 Section 4.1116 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior DEPARTMENT HEARINGS AND APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining...

Sensor feature fusion for detecting buried objects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, G.A.; Sengupta, S.K.; Sherwood, R.J.

1993-04-01

Given multiple registered images of the earth`s surface from dual-band sensors, our system fuses information from the sensors to reduce the effects of clutter and improve the ability to detect buried or surface target sites. The sensor suite currently includes two sensors (5 micron and 10 micron wavelengths) and one ground penetrating radar (GPR) of the wide-band pulsed synthetic aperture type. We use a supervised teaming pattern recognition approach to detect metal and plastic land mines buried in soil. The overall process consists of four main parts: Preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, and classification. These parts are used in amore » two step process to classify a subimage. Thee first step, referred to as feature selection, determines the features of sub-images which result in the greatest separability among the classes. The second step, image labeling, uses the selected features and the decisions from a pattern classifier to label the regions in the image which are likely to correspond to buried mines. We extract features from the images, and use feature selection algorithms to select only the most important features according to their contribution to correct detections. This allows us to save computational complexity and determine which of the sensors add value to the detection system. The most important features from the various sensors are fused using supervised teaming pattern classifiers (including neural networks). We present results of experiments to detect buried land mines from real data, and evaluate the usefulness of fusing feature information from multiple sensor types, including dual-band infrared and ground penetrating radar. The novelty of the work lies mostly in the combination of the algorithms and their application to the very important and currently unsolved operational problem of detecting buried land mines from an airborne standoff platform.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burger, James A

Concentrations of CO{sub 2} in the Earth’s atmosphere have increased dramatically in the past 100 years due to deforestation, land use change, and fossil fuel combustion. These humancaused, higher levels of CO{sub 2} may enhance the atmospheric greenhouse effect and may contribute to climate change. Many reclaimed coal-surface mine areas in the eastern U.S. are not in productive use. Reforestation of these lands could provide societal benefits, including sequestration of atmospheric carbon. The goal of this project was to determine the biological and economic feasibility of restoring high-quality forests on the tens of thousands of hectares of mined land andmore » to measure carbon sequestration and wood production benefits that would be achieved from large-scale application of forest restoration procedures. We developed a mine soil quality model that can be used to estimate the suitability of selected mined sites for carbon sequestration projects. Across the mine soil quality gradient, we tested survival and growth performance of three species assemblages under three levels of silvicultural. Hardwood species survived well in WV and VA, and survived better than the other species used in OH, while white pine had the poorest survival of all species at all sites. Survival was particularly good for the site-specific hardwoods planted at each site. Weed control plus tillage may be the optimum treatment for hardwoods and white pine, as any increased growth resulting from fertilization may not offset the decreased survival that accompanied fertilization. Grassland to forest conversion costs may be a major contributor to the lack of reforestation of previously reclaimed mine lands in the Appalachian coal-mining region. Otherwise profitable forestry opportunities may be precluded by these conversion costs, which for many combinations of factors (site class, forest type, timber prices, regeneration intensity, and interest rate) result in negative land expectation values. Improved technology and/or knowledge of reforestation practices in these situations may provide opportunities to reduce the costs of converting many of these sites as research continues into these practices. It also appears that in many cases substantial payments, non-revenue values, or carbon values are required to reach “profitability” under the present circumstances. It is unclear when, or in what form, markets will develop to support any of these add-on values to supplement commercial forestry revenues. However, as these markets do develop, they will only enhance the viability of forestry on reclaimed mined lands, although as we demonstrate in our analysis of carbon payments, the form of the revenue source may itself influence management, potentially mitigating some of the benefits of reforestation. For a representative mined-land resource base, reforestation of mined lands with mixed pine-hardwood species would result in an average estimated C accumulation in forms that can be harvested for use as wood products or are likely to remain in the soil C pool at ~250 Mg C ha{sup -1} over a 60 year period following reforestation. The “additionality” of this potential C sequestration was estimated considering data in scientific literature that defines C accumulation in mined-land grasslands over the long term. Given assumptions detailed in the text, these lands have the potential to sequester ~180 Mg C ha{sup -1}, a total of 53.5 x 10{sup 6} Mg C, over 60 years, an average of ~900,000 Mg C / yr, an amount equivalent to about 0.04% of projected US C emissions at the midpoint of a 60-year period (circa 2040) following assumed reforestation. Although potential sequestration quantities are not great relative to potential national needs should an energy-related C emissions offset requirement be developed at some future date, these lands are available and unused for other economically valued purposes and many possess soil and site properties that are well-suited to reforestation. Should such reforestation occur, it would also produce ancillary benefits by providing environmental services, such as enhanced watershed protection, and producing timber and renewable-fuel products.« less

30 CFR 935.25 - Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Plan to provide for the reclamation of areas causing acid mine drainage AMD and to revise the project... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land... STATE OHIO § 935.25 Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following is a...

30 CFR 935.25 - Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Plan to provide for the reclamation of areas causing acid mine drainage AMD and to revise the project... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land... STATE OHIO § 935.25 Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following is a...

30 CFR 935.25 - Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Plan to provide for the reclamation of areas causing acid mine drainage AMD and to revise the project... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land... STATE OHIO § 935.25 Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following is a...

30 CFR 935.25 - Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Plan to provide for the reclamation of areas causing acid mine drainage AMD and to revise the project... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land... STATE OHIO § 935.25 Approval of Ohio abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments. The following is a...

Contact Us - Division of Mining, Land, and Water

Science.gov Websites

Lands Coal Regulatory Program Large Mine Permits Mineral Property and Rights Mining Index Land Coal Regulatory Program 550 W. 7th Ave., Suite 900D Anchorage, AK 99501-3577 Phone: (907) 269-8650 Fax

Integration of MODIS data and Short Baseline Subset (SBAS) technique for land subsidence monitoring in Datong, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Chao-ying; Zhang, Qin; Yang, Chengsheng; Zou, Weibao

2011-07-01

Datong is located in the north of Shanxi Province, which is famous for its old-fashioned coal-mining preservation in China. Some serious issues such as land subsidence, ground fissures, mining collapse, and earthquake hazards have occurred over this area for a long time resulting in significant damages to buildings and roads. In order to monitor and mitigate these natural man-made hazards, Short Baseline Subsets (SBAS) InSAR technique with ten Envisat ASAR data is applied to detect the surface deformation over an area of thousands of square kilometers. Then, five MODIS data are used to check the atmospheric effects on InSAR interferograms. Finally, nine nonlinear land subsidence cumulative results during September 2004 and February 2008 are obtained. Based on the deformation data, three kinds of land subsidence are clearly detected, caused by mine extraction, underground water withdrawal and construction of new economic zones, respectively. The annual mean velocity of subsidence can reach 1 to 4 cm/year in different subsidence areas. A newly designed high-speed railway (HSR) with speeds of 350 km/h will cross through the Datong hi-tech zone. Special measures should be taken for the long run of this project. In addition, another two subsidence regions need further investigation to mitigate such hazards.

Coal and Open-pit surface mining impacts on American Lands (COAL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, T. A.; McGibbney, L. J.

2017-12-01

Mining is known to cause environmental degradation, but software tools to identify its impacts are lacking. However, remote sensing, spectral reflectance, and geographic data are readily available, and high-performance cloud computing resources exist for scientific research. Coal and Open-pit surface mining impacts on American Lands (COAL) provides a suite of algorithms and documentation to leverage these data and resources to identify evidence of mining and correlate it with environmental impacts over time.COAL was originally developed as a 2016 - 2017 senior capstone collaboration between scientists at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and computer science students at Oregon State University (OSU). The COAL team implemented a free and open-source software library called "pycoal" in the Python programming language which facilitated a case study of the effects of coal mining on water resources. Evidence of acid mine drainage associated with an open-pit coal mine in New Mexico was derived by correlating imaging spectrometer data from the JPL Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG), spectral reflectance data published by the USGS Spectroscopy Laboratory in the USGS Digital Spectral Library 06, and GIS hydrography data published by the USGS National Geospatial Program in The National Map. This case study indicated that the spectral and geospatial algorithms developed by COAL can be used successfully to analyze the environmental impacts of mining activities.Continued development of COAL has been promoted by a Startup allocation award of high-performance computing resources from the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). These resources allow the team to undertake further benchmarking, evaluation, and experimentation using multiple XSEDE resources. The opportunity to use computational infrastructure of this caliber will further enable the development of a science gateway to continue foundational COAL research.This work documents the original design and development of COAL and provides insight into continuing research efforts which have potential applications beyond the project to environmental data science and other fields.

Environmental geology, Allegheny County and vicinity, Pennsylvania; description of a program and its results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Briggs, Reginald Peter

1977-01-01

Past land-use practices, including mining, in Allegheny County, Pa., have resulted in three principal environmental problems, exclusive of air and water contamination. They are flooding, landsliding, and subsidence over underground mines. In 1973, information was most complete relative to flooding and least complete relative to landsliding. Accordingly, in July 1973, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) entered into an agreement by which the USGS undertook studies chiefly aimed at increasing knowledge of landsliding and mine subsidence relative to land use, but having other ramifications as well, as part of a larger ARC 'Land-use and physical-resource analysis' (LUPRA) program. The chief geographic focus was Allegheny County, but adjacent areas were included in some investigations. Resulting products, exclusive of this report, are: 1. Forty-three provisional maps of landslide, distribution and susceptibility and of land modified by man in Allegheny County, 1:24,000 scale, 7? -minute quadrangle format, released to open files. 2. Four USGS Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps of Allegheny County showing (a) bedrock, MF685A; (b) susceptibility to landsliding, MF-685B ; (c) coal-mining features, MF-685C; and (d) zones that can be affected by flooding, landsliding and undermining, MF-685D; all at the scale of 1:50,000. 3. Two MF maps showing coal-mining activity and related information and sites of recorded mine-subsidence events, and one MF map classifying land surface by relative potentiality of mine subsidence, in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties, Pa., at a scale of 1:125,000--MF-693A through MF-693C. 4. A companion report to the Allegheny County map of susceptibility to landsliding--USGS Circular 728. 5. Five MF maps, largely in chart form, describing interaction of the shallow ground-water regime with mining-related problems, landsliding, heavy storm precipitation, and other features and processes, largely in Allegheny County--MF-641A through MF-641E. Map products are directly applicable to general classification of land for susceptibility to landsliding and mine subsidence and, to a lesser extent, flooding and engineering characteristics. The hydrogeologic charts enable greater understanding of environmental effects of ground water. All products are guides to expected conditions, but none are substitutes for detailed investigations of specific sites by competent technical personnel on the ground. Specific results and findings are: 1. Knowledge of .susceptibility to landsliding in Allegheny County now is adequate for application to countywide land-use planning. 2. About 110 mi2 (285. km2), or 15 percent, of the county has some significant degree of susceptibility to landsliding. 3. Although a general classification of land in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties relative to mine-subsidence incidents was prepared, data are wholly inadequate for even moderately precise prediction of subsidence events over previously mined-out areas; the accumulation of adequate data might not repay the effort in terms of damage prevention. 4. Commonwealth-of-Pennsylvania regulations, have been very successful in limiting mine-subsidence damage over areas mined after 1966. 5. Undermining and consequent subsidence may have affected the ground-water regime more widely than heretofore believed. Except for the earth-disturbance inventory that resulted in the maps of susceptibility to landsliding and man-modified land, methods used in the studies .largely were conventional. The inventory and ensuing analysis combined aerial photographic interpretation with field work and incorporation of existing data. The. method worked very well for the purposes of defining distribution of landslides and areas having different susceptibilities to landsliding. However, if susceptibility to landsliding alone had been the goal, this could

Monitoring coal mine changes and their impact on landscape patterns in an alpine region: a case study of the Muli coal mine in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

PubMed

Qian, Dawen; Yan, Changzhen; Xing, Zanpin; Xiu, Lina

2017-10-14

The Muli coal mine is the largest open-cast coal mine in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and it consists of two independent mining sites named Juhugeng and Jiangcang. It has received much attention due to the ecological problems caused by rapid expansion in recent years. The objective of this paper was to monitor the mining area and its surrounding land cover over the period 1976-2016 utilizing Landsat images, and the network structure of land cover changes was determined to visualize the relationships and pattern of the mining-induced land cover changes. In addition, the responses of the surrounding landscape pattern were analysed by constructing gradient transects. The results show that the mining area was increasing in size, especially after 2000 (increased by 71.68 km 2 ), and this caused shrinkage of the surrounding lands, including alpine meadow wetland (53.44 km 2 ), alpine meadow (6.28 km 2 ) and water (6.24 km 2 ). The network structure of the mining area revealed the changes in lands surrounding the mining area. The impact of mining development on landscape patterns was mainly distributed within a range of 1-6 km. Alpine meadow wetland was most affected in Juhugeng, while alpine meadow was most affected in Jiangcang. The results of this study provide a reference for the ecological assessment and restoration of the Muli coal mine land.

North American Bats and Mines Project: A cooperative approach for integrating bat conservation and mine-land reclamation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ducummon, S.L.

Inactive underground mines now provide essential habitat for more than half of North America`s 44 bat species, including some of the largest remaining populations. Thousands of abandoned mines have already been closed or are slated for safety closures, and many are destroyed during renewed mining in historic districts. The available evidence suggests that millions of bats have already been lost due to these closures. Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects that cost American farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually, therefore, threats to bat survival are cause for serious concern. Fortunately, mine closure methods exist that protect both batsmore » and humans. Bat Conservation International (BCI) and the USDI-Bureau of Land Management founded the North American Bats and Mines Project to provide national leadership and coordination to minimize the loss of mine-roosting bats. This partnership has involved federal and state mine-land and wildlife managers and the mining industry. BCI has trained hundreds of mine-land and wildlife managers nationwide in mine assessment techniques for bats and bat-compatible closure methods, published technical information on bats and mine-land management, presented papers on bats and mines at national mining and wildlife conferences, and collaborated with numerous federal, state, and private partners to protect some of the most important mine-roosting bat populations. Our new mining industry initiative, Mining for Habitat, is designed to develop bat habitat conservation and enhancement plans for active mining operations. It includes the creation of cost-effective artificial underground bat roosts using surplus mining materials such as old mine-truck tires and culverts buried beneath waste rock.« less

Hydrologic connections between environmental and societal change at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, B. B.; Harman, C. J.; Kipnis, E. L.; Liu, T.; Bernau, J. A.; Horel, J.

2017-12-01

The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) is an ephemeral and valued salt pan in northwestern Utah where a century of land speed racing and potash mining have created a complex and intertwined social and hydrologic system. The character of BSF changes on daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and geologic time scales in response to fluctuations in water balance, solute flux, and groundwater flow which is impacted by both local meteorology and water management associated with potash mining. In addition, the texture of the salt surface is changed by land use including racing activities, which impacts water fluxes through the crust. Ongoing research is focused on characterizing physical changes in the BSF environment and attributing observed changes in the landscape to specific processes and drivers. Five years of field observations and sampling, analyses of satellite imagery dating back the 1980s, and geochemical analysis of surface brines have shown that spatiotemporal changes in surface water and fluctuations in the surface salt footprint are linked to both climate and land use. Climate data over the last 30 years are examined to identify annual patterns in surface water balance at BSF to identify annual and seasonal climate constraints on flooding, evaporation, and desiccation cycles. A new weather station installed in the Fall of 2016 in the middle of BSF allows for unprecedented analyses of halite surface dynamics. Spatiotemporally dispersed stable isotope analyses of BSF surface brine samples constrain brine sources and evolution. An understanding of the processes that change the surface composition and texture through time inform interpretation of subsurface saline deposits at BSF. The wide range of temporal and spatial scales of observation help to guide to best management practices of this iconic natural resource.

LAND REBORN: TOOLS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY/NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ABANDONED MINE LAND PROGRAMS

EPA Science Inventory

Mining activities in the US (not counting coal) produce 1-2 billion tons of mine waste annually. Since many of the ore mines involve sulfide minerals, the production of acid mine drainage (AMD) is a common problem from these abandoned mine sites. The combination of acidity, heavy...

From Hills to Holes: How Climate Change and Mining are Altering Runoff Processes in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carey, S. K.

2015-12-01

Canadian environments are under considerable pressure from both climate and land-use change. While warming temperatures are widespread and amplified in the north, surface mining has resulted in large-scale landscape disturbance. How these changes affect catchment response is profound, fundamentally altering the cycling and delivery of water and geochemicals to the drainage network. In permafrost-underlain environments, coupled mass and energy processes control runoff response, and as ground thaw increases, new subsurface pathways become accessible while changing overall catchment storage. With surface mining, watersheds are altered such that they bare little resemblance to what existed prior to mining. In this presentation, data will be presented from long-term experiments exploring the impact of climate and mining on runoff processes in cold catchments using stable isotopes of water and associated hydrometric measurements. In southern Yukon, results from the Wolf Creek Research Basin highlights the influence of surface energy balances on controlling the timing and magnitude of flow response, with inter-annual variability largely driven by how atmospheric forcing interacts with permafrost-underlain areas of the catchment. In mountainous areas of southern British Columbia, surface mining reconfigures landscapes as valleys are filled with waste-rock. Mine-influenced catchments exhibit attenuated flows with delays in spring freshet and a more muted to precipitation. Stable isotopes in stream water suggests that both waste-rock and reference catchments are well mixed, however reference catchments are more responsive to enrichment and depletion events and that mine-influenced catchments had a heavier isotope signature than reference watersheds, suggesting enhanced influence of rainfall on recharge. In both cases, snow storage and release exerts considerable control on streamflow responses, and future changes in streamflow regimes will reflect both a changes in the snow regime and inherent catchment storage properties that are dynamic with time.

Selected Metals in Sediments and Streams in the Oklahoma Part of the Tri-State Mining District, 2000-2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andrews, William J.; Becker, Mark F.; Mashburn, Shana L.; Smith, S. Jerrod

2009-01-01

The abandoned Tri-State mining district includes 1,188 square miles in northeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas, and southwestern Missouri. The most productive part of the Tri-State mining district was the 40-square mile part in Oklahoma, commonly referred to as 'the Picher mining district' in north-central Ottawa County, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma part of the Tri-State mining district was a primary producing area of lead and zinc in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Sulfide minerals of cadmium, iron, lead, and zinc that remained in flooded underground mine workings and in mine tailings on the land surface oxidized and dissolved with time, forming a variety of oxide, hydroxide, and hydroxycarbonate metallic minerals on the land surface and in streams that drain the district. Metals in water and sediments in streams draining the mining district can potentially impair the habitat and health of many forms of aquatic and terrestrial life. Lakebed, streambed and floodplain sediments and/or stream water were sampled at 30 sites in the Oklahoma part of the Tri-State mining district by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality from 2000 to 2006 in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Quapaw and Seneca-Cayuga Tribes of Oklahoma. Aluminum and iron concentrations of several thousand milligrams per kilogram were measured in sediments collected from the upstream end of Grand Lake O' the Cherokees. Manganese and zinc concentrations in those sediments were several hundred milligrams per kilogram. Lead and cadmium concentrations in those sediments were about 10 percent and 0.1 percent of zinc concentrations, respectively. Sediment cores collected in a transect across the floodplain of Tar Creek near Miami, Oklahoma, in 2004 had similar or greater concentrations of those metals than sediment cores collected at the upstream end of Grand Lake O' the Cherokees. The greatest concentrations of cadmium, iron, lead, and zinc were detected in sediments beneath an intermittent tributary to Tar Creek, a slough which drains mined areas near Commerce, Oklahoma. In surface water, aluminum and iron concentrations were greatest in the Neosho River, perhaps a result of runoff from areas underlain by shales. The greatest aqueous concentrations of cadmium, lead, manganese, and zinc were measured in water from Tar Creek, the primary small stream draining the Picher mining district with the largest proportion of mined area. Water from the Spring River had greater zinc concentrations than water from the Neosho River, perhaps as a result of a greater proportion of mined area in the Spring River Basin. Dissolved metals concentrations were generally much less than total metals concentrations, except for manganese and zinc at sites on Tar Creek, where seepage of ground water from the mine workings, saturated mine tailings, and/or metalliferous streambed sediments may be sources of these dissolved metals. Iron and lead concentrations generally decreased with increasing streamflow in upstream reaches of Tar Creek, indicating dilution of metals-rich ground water by runoff. Farther downstream in Tar Creek, and in the Neosho and Spring Rivers, metals concentrations tended to increase with increasing streamflow, indicating that most metals in these parts of these streams were associated with runoff and re-suspension of metals precipitated as oxide, hydroxide, and hydroxycarbonate minerals on land surface and streambeds. Estimated total aluminum, cadmium, iron, manganese, and zinc loads generally were greatest in water from the Neosho and Spring Rivers, primarily because of comparatively large streamflows in those rivers. Slight increases in metal loads in the downstream directions on those rivers indicated contributions of metals from inflows of small tributaries such as Tar Creek and from runoff.

The USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative: Protecting and restoring the environment near abandoned mine lands

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1999-01-01

The Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Initiative is part of a larger strategy of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to clean up Federal lands contaminated by abandoned mines.Thousands of abandond hard-rock metal mines (such as gold, copper, lead, and zinc) have left a dual legacy across the Western United States. They reflect the historic development of the west, yet at the same time represent a possible threat to human health and local ecosystems.Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) are areas adjacent to or affected by abandoned mines. AML's often contain unmined mineral deposits, mine dumps (the ore and rock removed to get to the ore deposits), and tailings (the material left over from the ore processing) that contaminate the surrounding watershed and ecosystem. For example, streams near AML's can contain metals and (or) be so acidic that fish and aquatic insects cannot live in them.Many of these abandoned hard-rock mines are located on or adjacent to public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service. These federal land management agencies and the USGS are committed to mitigating the adverse effects that AML's can have on water quality and stream habitats.The USGS AML Initiative began in 1997 and will continue through 2001 in two pilot watersheds - the Boulder River basin in southwestern Montana and the upper Animas River basin in southwestern Colorado. The USGS is providing a wide range of scientific expertise to help land managers minimize and, where possible, eliminate the adverse environmental effects of AML's. USGS ecologists, geologists, water quality experts, hydrologists, geochemists, and mapping and digital data collection experts are collaborating to provide the scientific knowledge needed for an effective cleanup of AML's.

Impact of mining and forest regeneration on small mammal biodiversity in the Western Region of Ghana.

PubMed

Attuquayefio, Daniel K; Owusu, Erasmus H; Ofori, Benjamin Y

2017-05-01

Much of the terrestrial biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa is supported by tropical rainforest. Natural resource development, particularly surface mining in the rainforest, poses great risks to the region's rich and endemic biodiversity. Here, we assessed the impact of surface mining and the success of forest rehabilitation on small mammal diversity in the Western Region of Ghana. We surveyed small mammals in the project area and two adjoining forest reserves (control sites) before the mining operation and 10 years after mine closure and forest rehabilitation (topsoil replacement and revegetation). The forest reserves recorded higher species abundance than the mining areas. Majority of the species captured in the forest reserves, including Hylomyscus alleni, Praomys tullbergi, Malacomys cansdalei, and Hybomys trivirgatus, are forest obligate species. Only one individual each of H. alleni and P. tullbergi was captured in the naturally regenerated areas (core areas of mining activities that were allowed to revegetate naturally), while 32 individuals belonging to four species (Lophuromys sikapusi, Mus musculoides, Mastomys erythroleucus, and Crocidura olivieri) were recorded in the rehabilitated areas. Our data suggested negative effects of mining on small mammal diversity and the restoration of species diversity and important ecological processes after rehabilitation of altered habitats. We strongly encourage deliberate conservation efforts, particularly the development of management plans that require the restoration of degraded land resulting from mining activities.

Home - Division of Mining, Land, and Water

Science.gov Websites

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30 CFR 955.10 - Information collection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information collection. 955.10 Section 955.10 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... FEDERAL PROGRAM STATES AND ON INDIAN LANDS § 955.10 Information collection. The information collection...

43 CFR 4.1361 - Who may file.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Request for Review of Approval Or... Sale of Rights Granted Under Permit (federal Program; Federal Lands Program; Federal Program for Indian... forth in § 4.1360 may file a request for review of that decision. ...

Radionuclide Data and Calculations and Loss-On-Ignition, X-Ray Fluorescence, and ICP-AES Data from Cores in Catchments of the Animas River, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Church, Stan E.; Rice, Cyndi A.; Marot, Marci E.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Initiative is focused on the evaluation of the effect of past mining practices on the water quality and the riparian and aquatic habitats of impacted stream reaches downstream from historical mining districts located primarily on Federal lands. This problem is manifest in the eleven western states (west of longitude 102 degrees) where the majority of hardrock mines that had past production are located on Federal lands. In areas of temperate climate and moderate to heavy precipitation, the effects of rapid chemical and physical weathering of sulfides exposed on mine-waste dumps and acidic drainage from mines have resulted in elevated metal concentrations in the stream water and stream-bed sediment. The result of these mineral weathering processes has an unquantified impact on the quality of the water and the aquatic and riparian habitats that may limit their recreational resource value. One of the confounding factors in these studies is the determination of the component of metals derived from hydrothermally altered but unmined portions of these drainage basins. Several watersheds have been studied to evaluate the effects of acid mine drainage and acid rock drainage on the near-surface environment. The Animas River watershed in southwestern Colorado contains a large number of past-producing metal mines that have affected the watershed. Beginning in October 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a collaborative study of these effects under the USGS-AML Initiative. In this report, we present the radionuclide and geochemical analytical results of sediment coring during 1997-1999 from two cores from oxbow lakes 0.5 mi. upstream from the 32nd Street Bridge near Durango, Colo., and from three cores from beaver ponds within the Mineral Creek drainage basin near Silverton, Colo.

43 CFR 3585.3 - Mining claimant preference right leases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Mining claimant preference right leases. 3585.3 Section 3585.3 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF... Mountains National Recreation Area, Alaska § 3585.3 Mining claimant preference right leases. ...

Private and social costs of surface mine reforestation performance criteria.

PubMed

Sullivan, Jay; Amacher, Gregory S

2010-02-01

We study the potentially unnecessary costs imposed by strict performance standards for forest restoration of surface coal mines in the Appalachian region under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) that can vary widely across states. Both the unnecessary private costs to the mine operator and costs to society (social costs) are reported for two performance standards, a ground cover requirement, and a seedling survival target. These standards are examined using numerical analyses under a range of site productivity class and market conditions. We show that a strict (90%) ground cover standard may produce an unnecessary private cost of more than $700/ha and a social cost ranging from $428/ha to $710/ha, as compared with a 70% standard. A strict tree survival standard of 1235 trees/ha, as compared with the more typical 1087 trees/ha standard, may produce an unnecessary private cost of approximately $200/ha, and a social cost in the range of $120 to $208/ha. We conclude that strict performance standards may impose substantial unnecessary private costs and social costs, that strict performance standards may be discouraging the choice of forestry as a post-mining land use, and that opportunities exist for reform of reforestation performance standards. Our study provides a basis for evaluating tradeoffs between regulatory efficiency and optimal reforestation effort.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morgan, W.C.; Schermerhorn, J.G.

Recently passed federal strip mining legislation in the USA officially emphasizes that the increased coal production required by the United States through surface mining is going to be obtained only with stricter environmental standards. Dozing overburden down the hillside in Appalachian contour mining or leaving dragline spoils in area mining is now taboo and it is now, or will soon be, necessary to return the disturbed land to as good or better condition than before mining. These new restrictions will create a need for new and better ways to do the job. This article describes one approach for utilizing scrapersmore » and dozers to strip all of the overburden and to replace it in an environmentally satisfactory fashion. The objective was to do this at a lower cost than that possible with the traditional dragline system by using dozers and scrapers for reclamation and topsoil handling.« less

An assessment of cumulative impacts of coal mining on the hydrology in part of the Powder River structural basin, Wyoming; a progress report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jordan, P.R.; Bloyd, R.M.; Daddow, P.B.

1984-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality are involved in a cooperative effort to assess the probable cumulative impacts of coal mining on the hydrology of a part of the Powder River Structural Basin in Wyoming. It was assumed that the principal impacts on the ground-water system due to mining will occur in the relatively shallow aquifers which can be grouped into three homogeneous aquifers, namely, the Wyodak coal, the overburden, and the under burden. Emphasis of this report is on the results of analysis of surface-water resources in the Caballo Creek drainage. A surface-water model of the Caballo Creek drainage was developed using the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran model to help assess the impacts of mining activities on streamflow. The Caballo Creek drainage was divided into 10 land segments and 6 stream reaches in the modeling process. Three simulation runs show little, if any, change in streamflow between pre- and post-mining conditions and very little change between pre-mining and during-mining conditions. The principal reason for the absence of change is the high infiltration rate used in the model for all three conditions. (USGS)

36 CFR 292.22 - Land category assignments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the following four land categories: (i) Farm/forest/grazing land. (ii) Mining land. (iii) Residential.... Lands assigned to the Commercial, Residential, or Mining category may be reclassified as farm/forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Land category assignments...

36 CFR 292.22 - Land category assignments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the following four land categories: (i) Farm/forest/grazing land. (ii) Mining land. (iii) Residential.... Lands assigned to the Commercial, Residential, or Mining category may be reclassified as farm/forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Land category assignments...

36 CFR 292.22 - Land category assignments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the following four land categories: (i) Farm/forest/grazing land. (ii) Mining land. (iii) Residential.... Lands assigned to the Commercial, Residential, or Mining category may be reclassified as farm/forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Land category assignments...

36 CFR 292.22 - Land category assignments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the following four land categories: (i) Farm/forest/grazing land. (ii) Mining land. (iii) Residential.... Lands assigned to the Commercial, Residential, or Mining category may be reclassified as farm/forest... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Land category assignments...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 761.14 - Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public... operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (a) This section does not apply to: (1) Lands for which a...

30 CFR 938.20 - Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land reclamation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land... PENNSYLVANIA § 938.20 Approval of Pennsylvania abandoned mine land reclamation plan. The Pennsylvania Abandoned... are available at the following locations: (a) Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources...

American elm in mine land reforestation

Treesearch

M.B. Adams; P. Angel; C. Barton; J. Slavicek

2015-01-01

Reforestation of mined land in the Appalachians realizes many important benefits and provides important ecosystem services. Because much of the reclaimed mine lands in Appalachia were previously in forest, reclaiming these drastically disturbed areas to forests is desirable, feasible and cost-effective. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) provides a five-step...

Investigation of Land Subsidence using ALOS PALSAR data: a case study in Mentougou (Beijing, China)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jianping; Xiang, Jie; Xie, Shuai; Liu, Jing; Tarolli, Paolo

2017-04-01

Mining activities have been documented for centuries in Mentougou, and land subsidence resulting from mining operations has already been known over the past few decades. However, there has been ongoing concern that excessive groundwater extraction may lead to further subsidence. Therefore it is critical to map the land cover changes to understand the actual impact of these activities. So, the land cover changes from 2006 to 2011 were examined based on multi-source remote sensing imageries( including ALOS and landsat-7) by using object-oriented classifications combined with a decision tree and retrospective approaches. Also, land subsidence in Mentougou between 2006 and 2011 has been mapped using the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time-series analysis with the ALOS L-band SAR data. We processed 14 ascending SAR images during May 2006 to July 2011. Comparison of InSAR measurements with the land cover changes and pre-existing faults suggest that mining activities is the main cause of land subsidence. The land subsidence observed from InSAR data are approximately up to 15 mm/year in open-pit mining area and up to 24 mm/year in underground mining areas. The InSAR result are validated by the ground survey data in several areas, and the comparison between the InSAR result with the mining schedule showed there were some correlations between them. The result underline the potential use of InSAR measurements to provide better investigation for land subsidence, and also suggest that the most influential factors for land subsidence is underground coal mine.

30 CFR 904.25 - Approval of Arkansas abandoned mine land reclamation plan amendments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...; Management accounting; and Abandoned mine land problem description. September 22, 1999 January 14, 2000... management and disposition of land and water; Reclamation on private land; Rights of entry; Public...

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) signatures of transient ecohydrological systems: The case of post-mining landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brück, Yasemine; Schulte Overberg, Philipp; Pohle, Ina; Hinz, Christoph

2017-04-01

Assessing ecohydrological systems that undergo state transitions due to environmental change is becoming increasingly important. One system that can be used to study severe disturbances are post-mining landscapes as they usually are associated with complete removal of vegetation and afterwards subsequent ecosystem restoration or spontaneous rehabilitation in line with natural succession. Within this context it is of interest, whether and how (fast) the land cover in these areas returns to conditions comparable to those in the undisturbed surrounding or those prior mining. Many aspects of mine site rehabilitation depend on climatic, geomorphic and ecological settings, which determine at which rate vegetation may be re-established. In order to identify general patterns of vegetation establishment, we propose to use NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) time series for mine affected land to estimate rate of recovery across climate regions and ecoregions. In this study we analysed the MODIS Terra Satellite 8 day-composite NDVI for areas influenced by surface mining in different climates from 2001 to 2015. The locations have been chosen based on their extent and the data availability of mining and rehabilitation activities. We selected coal extraction as a case study as strip mining generates well-defined chronosequences of disturbance. The selected mining areas are located in equatorial, arid, warm temperate or snow climates with different precipitation and temperature conditions according to the Köppen-Geiger classification. We analysed the NDVI time series regarding significant characteristics of the re-vegetation phase. We applied hierarchical cluster analysis to capture the spatial heterogeneity between different pixels (ca. 250 * 250 m2 each) in and around each open cast mine. We disentangled seasonality, trend and residual components in the NDVI time series by Seasonal and Trend decomposition using LOESS. As expected the time of the removal of vegetation can be clearly identified from the NDVI time series and provides the starting point of disturbance. The cluster analysis allowed us to distinguish between the non-mining land, the mine and the restored land of different ages. Based on these clusters, the time series decomposition revealed the dominance of the trend of increasing NDVI in areas undergoing the restoration process as well as the prevailing seasonality of the oldest restored sites. The determined phase of a dominant trend component, lasting until the NDVI is in the range of the surrounding landscape or the pre-mining conditions, is in the scale of a decade. The impacts of different hydroclimatic regimes and different rehabilitation strategies on long term NDVI development are currently being investigated. Furthermore, coherence analysis will be applied to quantify short term influences of hydrometeorological variables on vegetation development.

Science for watershed decisions on abandoned mine lands; review of preliminary results, Denver, Colorado, February 4-5, 1998

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nimick, David A.; Von Guerard, Paul

1998-01-01

From the Preface: There are thousands of abandoned or inactive mines on or adjacent to public lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service. Mine wastes from many of these abandoned mines adversely affect resources on public lands. In 1995, an interdepartmental work group within the Federal government developed a strategy to address remediation of the many abandoned mines on public lands. This strategy is based on using a watershed approach to address the abandoned mine lands (AML) problem. The USGS, working closely with the Federal land-management agencies (FLMAs), is key for the success of this watershed approach. In support of this watershed approach, the USGS developed an AML Initiative with pilot studies in the Boulder River in Montana and the Animas River in Colorado. The goal of these studies is to design and implement a reliable strategy that will supply the scientific information to the FLMAs so that land managers can develop efficient and cost-effective remediation of AML. The symposium 'Science for Watershed Decisions on Abandoned Mine Lands: Review of Preliminary Results' held in Denver, Colorado, on February 4-5, 1998, provided the FLMAs a first look at the techniques, data, and interpretations being generated by the USGS pilot studies. This multidisciplined effort already is proving very valuable to land managers in making science-based AML cleanup decisions and will continue to be of increasing value as additional and more complete information is obtained. Ongoing interaction between scientists and land managers is essential to insure the efficient continuation and success of AML cleanup efforts.

Assessing post-industrial land cover change at the Pine Point Mine, NWT, Canada using multi-temporal Landsat analysis and landscape metrics.

PubMed

LeClerc, Emma; Wiersma, Yolanda F

2017-04-01

This study investigates land cover change near the abandoned Pine Point Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Industrial mineral development transforms local environments, and the effects of such disturbances are often long-lasting, particularly in subarctic, boreal environments where vegetation conversion can take decades. Located in the Boreal Plains Ecozone, the Pine Point Mine was an extensive open pit operation that underwent little reclamation when it shut down in 1988. We apply remote sensing and landscape ecology methods to quantify land cover change in the 20 years following the mine's closure. Using a time series of near-anniversary Landsat images, we performed a supervised classification to differentiate seven land cover classes. We used raster algebra and landscape metrics to track changes in land cover composition and configuration in the 20 years since the mine shut down. We compared our results with a site in Wood Buffalo National Park that was never subjected to extensive anthropogenic disturbance. This space-for-time substitution provided an analog for how the ecosystem in the Pine Point region might have developed in the absence of industrial mineral development. We found that the dense conifer class was dominant in the park and exhibited larger and more contiguous patches than at the mine site. Bare land at the mine site showed little conversion through time. While the combination of raster algebra and landscape metrics allowed us to track broad changes in land cover composition and configuration, improved access to affordable, high-resolution imagery is necessary to effectively monitor land cover dynamics at abandoned mines.

Potential conflict between the coal and arable land resources in australia: A case for corporate responsiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langkamp, Peter J.

1985-01-01

Background information on possible surface-coal-mining operations in arable agricultural areas in Australia is provided. The major co-occurrence of the coal and arable land resources was in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the Liverpool Plains region of New South Wales; however, coal development will probably only occur in the former region over the next decade. Analysis of the situation in the Darling Downs region, which consists of 11 Shires, found five companies conducting prefeasibility projects for surface-coal development and the size of exploration areas concerned far exceeding final mined-land disturbance estimates. Most of the land included in the prefeasibility studies was classified as “arable with moderate crop restrictions requiring intensive management” (classes II IV). The total area of land that may be disturbed at some time in the future was less than 2% of the arable land in the Shires concerned. Project mutual exclusivity and ongoing rehabilitation of disturbed areas further reduce arable land out of production at any one time. It is suggested that, if self-regulation by the coal industry in Australia on rehabilitation issues is to remain a viable option in these areas, an understanding between the corporate and public sectors on the extent and limitations of its responsibilities must be obtained. The current development of a National Conservation Strategy for Australia should assist this to proceed. Research on various rehabilitation issues may be required prior to project commitment to ensure the responsibilities identified are realizable. Integrative problem-solving, incorporating audit procedures, was suggested as a suitable method to achieve these aims and corporate responsiveness was seen as a necessary first step.

78 FR 22557 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection; Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-16

... to request approval for the collection of information for the Abandoned Mine Land Problem Area... collection of information found in the form OSM-76, Abandoned Mine Land Problem Area Description form. OSM is... activity: Title: OSM-76--Abandoned Mine Land Problem Area Description Form. OMB Control Number: 1029-0087...

75 FR 4581 - Endangered [and Threatened] Wildlife and Plants; Permit(s); Land Clearing Associated With...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-28

...] Endangered [and Threatened] Wildlife and Plants; Permit(s); Land Clearing Associated With Phosphate Mining in... (Aphelocoma coerulescens)--occupied habitat incidental to land clearing and phosphate mining in Manatee County... with phosphate mining which will result in the take of 100 ac of occupied scrub-jay habitat, including...

75 FR 38831 - Endangered [and Threatened] Wildlife and Plants; Permit(s); Land Clearing Associated With...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-06

...] Endangered [and Threatened] Wildlife and Plants; Permit(s); Land Clearing Associated With Phosphate Mining in... (Aphelocoma coerulescens)-occupied habitat incidental to land clearing and phosphate mining in Manatee County... with phosphate mining which will result in the take of 75 ac of occupied scrub-jay habitat, including...

43 CFR 3741.1 - Validation of certain mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Validation of certain mining claims. 3741.1 Section 3741.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF... DEVELOPMENT Claims, Locations and Patents § 3741.1 Validation of certain mining claims. The Act in section 1(a...

43 CFR 3741.1 - Validation of certain mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Validation of certain mining claims. 3741.1 Section 3741.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF... DEVELOPMENT Claims, Locations and Patents § 3741.1 Validation of certain mining claims. The Act in section 1(a...

43 CFR 3741.1 - Validation of certain mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Validation of certain mining claims. 3741.1 Section 3741.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF... DEVELOPMENT Claims, Locations and Patents § 3741.1 Validation of certain mining claims. The Act in section 1(a...

43 CFR 3741.1 - Validation of certain mining claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Validation of certain mining claims. 3741.1 Section 3741.1 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF... DEVELOPMENT Claims, Locations and Patents § 3741.1 Validation of certain mining claims. The Act in section 1(a...

State of remediation and metal toxicity in the Tri-State Mining District, USA.

PubMed

Johnson, Aaron W; Gutiérrez, Mélida; Gouzie, Douglas; McAliley, L Rex

2016-02-01

Mining operations in the Tri-State Mining District of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma (TSMD), once one of the major lead and zinc mining areas in the world, had completely ceased by 1970. As mining companies moved out, the land was left with underground tunnels and mine shafts and the surface with abandoned tailings piles, which progressively contaminated groundwater and soil. Despite remedial actions undertaken in the 1980's, areas within the TSMD still contain Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations exceeding safe levels. Because of the large area and highly dispersed occurrence of wastes, environmental studies generally have been confined either to a stream basin or to a single state. Studies also have differed in their approach and analytical methodologies. An overview of the totality of the TSMD and its present state of contamination is presented here. Data show that metal content in sediments have the following common features: (1) a wide range of Pb and Zn concentrations, up to three orders of magnitude, (2) median values for Cd, Pb and Zn content in sediments and soils were similar among studies, (3) median values for most studies were at or above the guidelines recommended for aquatic habitats, and (4) highest content of Pb and Zn were closely associated with the geographical location of former mining and smelting centers. The above observations imply that mine wastes remain a problem and further remediation is needed. Cost-effective remedial alternatives for this area's geology, climate, and land use, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mining Land Subsidence Monitoring Using SENTINEL-1 SAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, W.; Wang, Q.; Fan, J.; Li, H.

2017-09-01

In this paper, DInSAR technique was used to monitor land subsidence in mining area. The study area was selected in the coal mine area located in Yuanbaoshan District, Chifeng City, and Sentinel-1 data were used to carry out DInSAR techniqu. We analyzed the interferometric results by Sentinel-1 data from December 2015 to May 2016. Through the comparison of the results of DInSAR technique and the location of the mine on the optical images, it is shown that DInSAR technique can be used to effectively monitor the land subsidence caused by underground mining, and it is an effective tool for law enforcement of over-mining.

Coal resources in environmentally-sensitive lands under federal management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, William D.; Tully, John K.; Moser, Edward N.; Dee, David P.; Bryant, Karen; Schall, Richard; Allan, Harold A.

1995-01-01

This report presents estimates of coal-bearing acreage and coal tonnage in environmentally-sensitive areas. The analysis was conducted to provide data for rulemaking by the Federal Office of Surface Mining (Watson and others, 1995). The rulemaking clarifies conditions under which coal can be mined in environmentally-sensitive areas. The area of the U.S. is about 2.3 billion acres. Contained within that acreage are certain environmentally-sensitive and unique areas (including parks, forests, and various other Federal land preserves). These areas are afforded special protection under Federal and State law. Altogether these protected areas occupy about 400 million acres. This report assesses coal acreage and coal tonnage in these protected Federal land preserves. Results are presented in the form of 8 map-displays prepared using GIS methods at a national scale. Tables and charts that accompany each map provide estimates of the total acreage in Federal land preserve units that overlap or fall within coal fields, coal-bearing acreage in each unit, and coal tonnage in each unit. Summary charts, compiled from the maps, indicate that about 8% of the Nation's coal reserves are located within environmentally-sensitive Federal land preserves.

Assessment of coal geology, resources, and reserves in the Montana Powder River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haacke, Jon E.; Scott, David C.; Osmonson, Lee M.; Luppens, James A.; Pierce, Paul E.; Gunderson, Jay A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize geology, coal resources, and coal reserves in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area in southeastern Montana. This report represents the fourth assessment area within the Powder River Basin to be evaluated in the continuing U.S. Geological Survey regional coal assessment program. There are four active coal mines in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area: the Spring Creek and Decker Mines, both near Decker; the Rosebud Mine, near Colstrip; and the Absaloka Mine, west of Colstrip. During 2011, coal production from these four mines totaled approximately 36 million short tons. A fifth mine, the Big Sky, had significant production from 1969-2003; however, it is no longer in production and has since been reclaimed. Total coal production from all five mines in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area from 1968 to 2011 was approximately 1.4 billion short tons. The Rosebud/Knobloch coal bed near Colstrip and the Anderson, Dietz 2, and Dietz 3 coal beds near Decker contain the largest deposits of surface minable, low-sulfur, subbituminous coal currently being mined in the assessment area. A total of 26 coal beds were identified during this assessment, 18 of which were modeled and evaluated to determine in-place coal resources. The total original coal resource in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area for the 18 coal beds assessed was calculated to be 215 billion short tons. Available coal resources, which are part of the original coal resource remaining after subtracting restrictions and areas of burned coal, are about 162 billion short tons. Restrictions included railroads, Federal interstate highways, urban areas, alluvial valley floors, state parks, national forests, and mined-out areas. It was determined that 10 of the 18 coal beds had sufficient areal extent and thickness to be evaluated for recoverable surface resources ([Roland (Baker), Smith, Anderson, Dietz 2, Dietz 3, Canyon, Werner/Cook, Pawnee, Rosebud/Knobloch, and Flowers-Goodale]). These 10 coal beds total about 151 billion short tons of the 162 billion short tons of available resource; however, after applying a strip ratio of 10:1 or less, only 39 billion short tons remains of the 151 billion short tons. After mining and processing losses are subtracted from the 39 billion short tons, 35 billion short tons of coal were considered as a recoverable resource. Coal reserves (economically recoverable coal) are the portion of the recoverable coal resource that can be mined, processed, and marketed at a profit at the time of the economic evaluation. The surface coal reserve estimate for the 10 coal beds evaluated for the Montana Powder River assessment area is 13 billion short tons. It was also determined that about 42 billion short tons of underground coal resource exists in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area; about 34 billion short tons (80 percent) are within 500-1,000 feet of the land surface and another 8 billion short tons are 1,000-2,000 feet beneath the land surface.

Water resources and potential effects of surface coal mining in the area of the Woodson Preference Right Lease Application, Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, M.R.

1987-01-01

Federal coal lands of the Woodson Preference Right Lease Application are located in Dawson and Richland Counties, northeastern Montana. A probable mine area, comprised of the lease area and adjacent coal lands, contains about 220 million tons of recoverable lignite coal in the 12-37 ft thick Pust coal bed. A hydrologic study has been conducted in the area to describe the water resources and to evaluate potential effects of coal mining on the water resources. Geohydrologic data collected from wells and springs indicate that several aquifers exist in the area. Sandstone beds in the Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation (Paleocene age) are the most common aquifers and probably underlie the entire area. The Pust coal bed in the Tongue River Member is water saturated in part of the probable mine area and is dry in other parts of the probable mine area. Other aquifers, located mostly outside of the probable mine area, exist in gravel of the Flaxville Formation (Miocene of Pliocene age) and valley alluvium (Pleistocene and Holocene age). Chemical analyses of groundwater indicate a range in dissolved solids concentration of 240-2,280 mg/L. Surface water resources are limited. Most streams in the area are ephemeral and flow only in response to rainfall or snowmelt. Small reaches of the North and Middle Forks of Burns Creek have intermittent flow. Water sampled from a small perennial reach of the Middle Fork had a dissolved solids concentration of 700 mg/L. Mining of the Pust coal bed would destroy one spring and four stock wells, dewater areas of the Pust coal and sandstone aquifers, and probably lower water levels in seven stock and domestic wells. Mining in the valley of Middle Fork Burns Creek would intercept streamflow and alter flow characteristics of a small perennial reach of stream. Leaching of soluble minerals from mine spoils may cause a long-term degradation of the quality of water in the spoils and in aquifers downgradient from the spoils. Some of the effects on local water supplies could be mitigated by development of new wells in deeper sandstones of the Tongue River Member. Effects of mining on water resources would be minimized if only areas of dry coal were mined. (Author 's abstract)

43 CFR 4.1309 - Petition for discretionary review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Petition for discretionary review. 4.1309... APPEALS PROCEDURES Special Rules Applicable to Surface Coal Mining Hearings and Appeals Petitions for Review of Proposed Individual Civil Penalty Assessments Under Section 518(f) of the Act § 4.1309 Petition...

30 CFR 946.30 - State-Federal Cooperative Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... regulations, including 40 CFR part 1500. 4. The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and...) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA or the Act), 30 U.S.C. 1273(c), which... jurisdiction pursuant to the laws, regulations, agreements, and restrictions governing those lands. These...

30 CFR 946.30 - State-Federal Cooperative Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... regulations, including 40 CFR part 1500. 4. The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and...) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA or the Act), 30 U.S.C. 1273(c), which... jurisdiction pursuant to the laws, regulations, agreements, and restrictions governing those lands. These...

30 CFR 946.30 - State-Federal Cooperative Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... regulations, including 40 CFR part 1500. 4. The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and...) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA or the Act), 30 U.S.C. 1273(c), which... jurisdiction pursuant to the laws, regulations, agreements, and restrictions governing those lands. These...