html5-img
1 / 21

Ecosystem Management

Ecosystem Management. Ecosystem Restoration: Coal Mining. Coal Mining. Coal is the primary source of electric E. in US (and world except France and some Baltic’s) ASU uses equivalent of 7-9 tons/day Two main types of coal in eastern US. Anthracite (hard coal).

salena
Télécharger la présentation

Ecosystem Management

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Ecosystem Management Ecosystem Restoration:Coal Mining

  2. Coal Mining • Coal is the primary source of electric E. in US (and world except France and some Baltic’s) • ASU uses equivalent of 7-9 tons/day • Two main types of coal in eastern US

  3. Anthracite (hard coal) • Mined by deep mining (deep pit or underground) • Dig tunnel leaving pillars of coal in place to hold up ceiling • Go until reach end of coal vein (usually tapers down) • “Back out”, remove pillars as leave  collapse behind (hopefully)

  4. Coal mining drag line working an anthracite mine in eastern PA Photo by R. Grippo

  5. Anthracite coal mine near Coshocton, PA Photo by R. Grippo

  6. Bituminous (soft coal) • Remove topsoil, store on site to put back after done (contemporaneous reclamation) • Blast bedrock to reach coal seams (50 to 500 feet deep) • Remove coal, load on trucks to take to processing plant • Put back bedrock, topsoil to approximate original contour

  7. Drilling a blow hole and uncovering coal seam Photo by R. Grippo

  8. Exposed coal seam in high wall and spoil piles Photo by R. Grippo

  9. Dragline depositing mine spoils on low wall Photo by R. Grippo

  10. Booms Start of WW II Oil shortage (OPEC) in mid-70’s Rising fear of nuclear power plants Iraq wars and Hurricane Katrina Busts Great US Depression Decrease in home/railroad use Development of nuclear power plants Acid rain Coal Industry

  11. Control of Environmental Impacts of Mining

  12. LegislationSurface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) • Goals (mutually exclusive?) • Reduce environmental impact of mining • Increase amount of coal mined (reduce need for foreign oil) • Bonding – 2,00 to 5,000/acre put up by miner depending on depth Note: land use patterns before mining = land use after mining unless “higher and better uses” Note: Usually forest -------> forest (deciduous) (coniferous) because cheaper and easier to establish

  13. Legislation - Bonding (con’t) Wetland ----> wetland (usually not done because of complexity of restoration) Agriculture  agriculture Yield before = yield after

  14. Legislation – Bonding process • Bond held by DEQ – used for reclamation if miner fails to do so • Mining/reclamation must be contemporaneous – reclaim mine as move along • Money released back to miner based on certain criteria (sliding scale)

  15. Sliding scale of bond release • Regrading to approximate original contour = 40% bond release • Planting and sediment control = another 40% • Final planting growing well after 5 years, sediment control removal = last 20% (miners think 5 yrs too long, environmentalists too short)

  16. Deciduous forest before mining Photo by R. Grippo

  17. Coniferous “forest” after mining reclamation, near Clearfield, PA Photo by R. Grippo

  18. Water quality Each mine required to have an NPDES permit (but limits may not be based on biological effects  instead on amount which stains clothing washed in receiving stream)

  19. Treatment ponds for coal mine effluent Photo by R. Grippo

  20. Coal mining treatment pond sludge What a mess! Photo by R. Grippo

  21. Summary • Mining always causes severe environmental effect • Impossible to effect complete recovery under current economic conditions (too expensive -> no one willing to pay $1/day for electric lights (usually what we pay for refrigerator, electric water heater)

More Related