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

Abstract

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 somemore » 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.« less

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
6501752
Report Number(s):
ANL/LRP-CP-10; CONF-7708105-1
DOE Contract Number:  
W-31-109-ENG-38
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 2. annual meeting of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association, Alberta, Canada, 17 Aug 1977
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ABANDONED SHAFTS; LAND RECLAMATION; SURFACE MINING; ACID MINE DRAINAGE; BORON; COAL MINING; EROSION; FERTILIZERS; ILLINOIS; LIMESTONE; PH VALUE; RUNOFF; SPOIL BANKS; SULFATES; UNDERGROUND MINING; ZINC; CARBONATE ROCKS; ELEMENTS; ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT; GREAT LAKES REGION; MASS TRANSFER; METALS; MINING; NORTH AMERICA; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; RESERVOIR ROCK; ROCKS; SEDIMENTARY ROCKS; SEMIMETALS; SHAFT EXCAVATIONS; SULFUR COMPOUNDS; USA; 010900* - Coal, Lignite, & Peat- Environmental Aspects; 012000 - Coal, Lignite, & Peat- Mining; 510500 - Environment, Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)

Citation Formats

Wilkey, M. L., and Zellmen, S. D. Reclamation of coal refuse material on an abandoned mine site at Staunton, Illinois. United States: N. p., 1977. Web.
Wilkey, M. L., & Zellmen, S. D. Reclamation of coal refuse material on an abandoned mine site at Staunton, Illinois. United States.
Wilkey, M. L., and Zellmen, S. D. 1977. "Reclamation of coal refuse material on an abandoned mine site at Staunton, Illinois". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6501752.
@article{osti_6501752,
title = {Reclamation of coal refuse material on an abandoned mine site at Staunton, Illinois},
author = {Wilkey, M. L. and Zellmen, S. D.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6501752}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977},
month = {Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977}
}

Conference:
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