Disposal of excess spoil from coal mining and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977: a study of regulatory requirements, engineering practices, and environmental protection objectives
The objectives of the study were to conduct a nationwide review of engineering practices and physiographic and environmental conditions that have an impact on the disposal to excess spoil from surface and underground mining of coal and to evaluate the rationale for promulgating OSM regulations in the form of general guidelines, detailed engineering standards, or a combination of both. Chapter 3 deals with the history of the issues at hand-the earlier attempts by Congress to deal legislatively with the disposal of excess spoil, the enactment of SMCRA, and the concerns of OSM as it wrote its regulations. Chapter 4 quotes the OSM regulations pertaining to the disposal of excess spoil, presents the Committee's analysis of each of these regulations, and evaluates the costs of disposing of excess spoil. OSM's regulations pertaining to the hydrologic impacts of excess spoil fills are analyzed and pre-SMCRA state regulatory requirements are compared with the initial SMCRA regulatory requirements. Chapter 5 presents an alternative approach developed by the Committee and includes brief discussions of the regulatory approaches used by the Mine Safety and Health Administraton, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Geological Survey. Chapter 6 is a discussion of the characteristics of excess spoil and of excess spoil disposal areas, and of certain hazards in spoil disposal areas, such as land erosion and landslides. Chapter 7 deals with the environmental impacts of excess spoil, that is, its potential effects on water, air, land, and fish and wildlife in the vicinity of the spoil. Chapter 8 discusses engineering practices used in disposing of, and minimizing the environmental and other impacts of, excess spoil. Special attention is paid to the design of spoil disposal facilities, to the drainage of excess spoil embankments, and to the revegetation of excess spoil fills and embankments.
- Research Organization:
- National Research Council, Washington, DC (USA). Committee on Disposal of Excess Spoil
- OSTI ID:
- 6592767
- Report Number(s):
- NP-3901156; ON: DE83901156
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COAL MINING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
LAWS
MANAGEMENT
MINERAL WASTES
MINING
MINING LAWS
REGULATIONS
SOLID WASTES
SPOIL BANKS
SURFACE MINING
SURFACE MINING ACTS
TAILINGS
UNDERGROUND MINING
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES