Surface mining and land reclamation in Germany

Technical Report · Mon May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1972

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7314093· OSTI ID:7314093

Nephew, E. A.

Mining and land restoration methods as well as planning and regulatory procedures employed in West Germany to ameliorate environmental impacts from large-scale surface mining are described. The Rhineland coalfield in North Rhine Westphalia contains some 55 billion tons of brown-coal (or lignite), making the region one of Europe's most important energy centers. The lignite is extracted from huge, open-pit mines, resulting in large areas of disturbed land. The German reclamation approach is characterized by planning and carrying out the mining process as one continuum from early planning to final restoration of land and its succeeding use. Since the coalfield is located in a populated region with settlements dating back to Roman times, whole villages lying in the path of the mining operations sometimes have to be evacuated and relocated. Even before mining begins, detailed concepts must be worked out for the new landscape which will follow: the topography, the water drainage system, lakes and forests, and the intended land-use pattern are designed and specified in advance. Early, detailed planning makes it possible to coordinate mining and concurrent land reclamation activities. The comprehensive approach permits treating the overall problem as a whole rather than dealing with its separate aspects on a piecemeal basis.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 7314093
• Report Number(s): ORNL-NSF-EP-16
• 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
BROWN COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL MINING
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
EUROPE
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC
LAND RECLAMATION
LIGNITE
MINING
SURFACE MINING