Reclamation of coal refuse material on an abandoned mine site at Staunton, Illinois

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:6501752

Wilkey, M. L.; Zellmen, S. D.

In the State of Illinois lands that have been abandoned after deep mining or strip mining of coal present unique land reclamation problems. The old Consolidated Mine No. 14 was located in Macoupin County, northwest of the town of Staunton, Illinois. The refuse at this mine site was creating environmental problems typical of refuse areas in Illinois. Among these problems are runoff pH values of 2.6; severe erosion gullies; slopes of 1:1, 1:2, and steeper; glob and slurry with pH of 2.2; poor water quality; and sedimentation of tributaries of the Cahokia Creek watershed. Extreme environmental degradation had been caused by various physical and chemical characteristics of the refuse material. High concentrations of available boron, zinc, sulfate, and soluble salts; low concentrations of available nitrogen and potassium; and lack of organic matter make the refuse very poor soil for vegetative growth. In addition to these chemical characteristics, the physical properties of the refuse materials inhibited plant growth and encouraged erosion. The entire area was recontoured. All slopes were reduced to 5:1 or less. A 0.5 ha (1.2 ac) retention pond was constructed to help control runoff. Agricultural limestone was applied at a rate of 220 t/ha (98 tons/ac) on some areas. Other areas received Code L Alkali at a rate of 152 t/ha (68 tons/ac) to neutralize and stabilize the acid slurry material. The entire site was covered with 0.3 m (1 ft) of suitable cover material, limed, fertilized, and seeded. This paper traces the history of this land reclamation project from its early planning stages, through the construction phase, and up to the present research.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6501752
• Report Number(s): ANL/LRP-CP--10; CONF-7708105--1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
012000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
510500 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABANDONED SHAFTS
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
BORON
CARBONATE ROCKS
COAL MINING
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EROSION
FERTILIZERS
GREAT LAKES REGION
ILLINOIS
LAND RECLAMATION
LIMESTONE
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PH VALUE
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
RUNOFF
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEMIMETALS
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
SPOIL BANKS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SURFACE MINING
UNDERGROUND MINING
USA
ZINC