270 / 2023-10-05 17:12:02

Reclamation results at the large surface coal mine, western USA (Wyoming)

Reclamation,surface coal mine,Environemnt

The basis of successful reclamation results for any coal mining operation in the USA is to follow regulations and performance standards of the USA Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, state programs, and other federal environmental acts.  Approximately, 40% of coal in the US is produced by the state of Wyoming, where the largest surface coal mine North Antelope Rochelle Mine (NARM) is located. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ)/Wyoming Land Quality Division (WLQD) administers Wyoming’s coal regulatory program and approves surface coal mine permit applications. According to WLQD coal rules and regulations, the goal of a surface coal mine reclamation is to restore the land to a condition equal to or greater than the highest previous use.  For the western USA coal mines, a period of 10 years after planting species acceptable for the postmining land use has been established as a period to accept the reclamation effort. 

Before a mine permit is issued, the permittee must also submit a reclamation bond to secure the performance of reclamation obligations.  These reclamation obligations include rebuilding postmine topography with stable hydrologic system and establishing diverse and permanent vegetation cover that stabilizes the soil surface and is capable of self-regeneration.  In Wyoming, three major reclamation bond release phases indicate the achievement of various reclamations results.  WLQD together with coal industry, government, and consultant representatives established a set of criteria and performance standards that have to be verified in the field or through the revisions of Annual Reports submitted annually by the permittee.  These verification in the field and inspection of maintenance items are performed monthly by the state inspectors on irregular basis without prior notice.  All information including monitoring revegetation results, surface and ground water analysis are presented in Annual Reports.  

The collection and maintenance of inspection features and bond release criteria for NARM was organized by developing a geodatabase for the inspection purposes and bond release phases. A spatial system to combine all data for compliance purposes was created using geographic information system (GIS) via ESRI ArcPad mobile computing software and a Trimble GeoExplorer Series handheld GPS. Using geospatial tools proved to be a highly effective method to reduce time needed to prepare inspection reports, track all compliance features that satisfied criteria and performance standards for the bond release, and improves the inspector’s ability to assess reclamation adequacy and progress.