How does Reclamation help the land after coal mining?
Reclamation should allow for the area to be resistant to soil erosion and, based on the soil requirements, fertilized and revegetated. Reclaimed land can be used for agriculture, forestry, wildlife habitation, and recreation. The cost of the rehabilitation of the mined land is factored into the mine’s operating costs.
What is geomorphic reclamation?
Geomorphic reclamation is a term used to describe a suite of approaches used to develop landforms that mimic native topography. The underlying premise is that native landforms evolve over many years in response to specific climatic and watershed characteristics.
What is coal mine reclamation?
Reclamation is the combined process by which adverse environmental effects of surface mining are minimized and mined lands are returned to a beneficial end use. End uses may be open space, wildlife habitat, agriculture, or residential and commercial development.
Why is it important for the reclamation of mining areas?
Mine reclamation creates useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals ranging from the restoration of productive ecosystems to the creation of industrial and municipal resources. In the United States, mine reclamation is a regular part of modern mining practices.
What is one example of land reclamation that coal companies have done?
The Flambeau Mine, located along the shores of the Flambeau River near Ladysmith, Wisconsin, operated from 1993 to 1997 and was reclaimed by 1999.
What environmental impacts does reclamation reduce?
However, after the land reclamation projects, the Mangrove cover in Singapore was reduced by 95%, thus also reducing the many environmental benefits they provide such as reducing air pollution and preventing soil erosion. Manhattan’s Battery Park City is another example of housing built on top of reclaimed land.
How do mining companies restore the land?
After the coal is stripped, mine companies are legally required to do some restoration, which usually involves replacing the exploded soil and rock—rubble—covering it with a layer of topsoil, and seeding it with anything that will hold the ground together.
What happens to the land after the mining of coal is finished?
Across the US, two out of every three acres of reclaimed coal mines have been turned into some form of grassland, which regulators say is often disused. Only 18% was converted into farming, housing, industry or recreation, while 16% was left in a wilder state as forest or undeveloped land.
What are the advantages of reclamation?
By restoring the land, you re-allow the land to thrive and remain conducive to fertile soil and other areas of growth. This restores the balance in the land and the ecosystem as a whole.
What are two environmental problems with abandoned coal mines?
Many surface and underground abandoned mines, and their associated spoil and refuse piles, provide an ongoing source of acid mine drainage and toxic heavy metals that can have long-term devastating impacts on groundwater, community water supplies, rivers, streams, and aquatic life.
What are some ways an area can undergo reclamation after being mined?
What are some ways an area can undergo reclamation after being mined? Refilled/reshaped w/vegetation planted; filled w/water to become a lake; turned into landfill; left open as home for bats or sealed off if underground.
How is land restored after mining?
Is reclamation good for the environment?
Reclamation usually leads to the decline of biological diversity, the decrease of natural wetlands, and the extinct of habitats for animals and plants. For migratory species, the living environment of marine plants and marine animals has been seriously affected.
What is the environmental impact of coal mining?
There are significant environmental impacts associated with coal mining and use. It could require the removal of massive amounts of top soil, leading to erosion, loss of habitat and pollution. Coal mining causes acid mine drainage, which causes heavy metals to dissolve and seep into ground and surface water.
What country has the largest reclamation area?
1. China (4,600 square miles) China is the country that leads the world in land reclamation spaces, with around 4,600 square miles of such spaces added to date.
What was the biggest problem facing coal miners?
Deforestation and Erosion: As part of the process of clearing the way for a coal mine, trees are cut down or burned, plants uprooted and the topsoil scraped away. This results in the destruction of the land (it can no longer be used for planting crops) and soil erosion.