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Rehabilitation Potential of Western Coal Lands
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Rehabilitation Potential of Western Coal Lands




A 1975 report to the Energy Policy Project of the Ford Foundation by a study committee of the National Academy of Sciences. This report explores environmental issues related to the surface mining of coal in the arid and semi-arid Western United States, and investigates the potential for rehabilitating lands that have been mined.

National Academy of Sciences
1974
211 pages


Authors and Advisory Committees
Authors
Contents
A Special Note
List Of Figures
List Of Tables
Foreword
Preface
Chapter One Findings and Recommendations
Findings
Recommendations
Chapter Two Statement of the Problem
Rehabilitation Criteria
Special Ecological Problems of Western Coal Lands
Relationship of Surface Mining to Broader Environmental Problems
Chapter Three Definition of the Western Coal Area
Geographic Location
Physiography
Definition of Strippable Coal
Chapter Four Water Resources in Relation to Surface Mining
The Arid Hydrologic Environment
Description of Water Resources
Water Quality
Water Requirements for Mining
Water Requirements for Surface Mine Rehabilitation
Hydrologic Impact of Disturbance in Arid Environments
The Problem of Information
Compensatory Water
Chapter Five Techniques for Rehabilitating Surface Mined Lands
Rehabilitation of Surface Mined Areas
Planning
Rehabilitation Techniques
Natural Succession: Abandoning the Spoils
Revegetation of Surface Mined Land
Management and Monitoring
Chapter Six Potential for Rehabilitation
Vegetation Types Overlying Strippable Coal
Summary of Potential for Rehabilitation
Estimated Costs of Rehabilitation
Information and Research Needs
Chapter Seven Environmental Impacts in a Larger Context
Law, Mining, and the Environment
Coal And the Generation of Electricity
Social and Demographic Changes
Land Ownership, Leasing Policy, and Land Use Control
Some Conclusions
References Cited
Table Of Contents for Appendixes
Appendix A
A.1 Climate of the Western Coal Areas
A.2 Soils
A.3 Overburden
A.4 Terrestrial Ecosystem
A.5 Archaeology and Paleontology
A.6 Land Use, Surface Ownership, and Mineral Ownership
References Cited in Table A-1
Appendix B
Appendix C
Footnotes
Reviewer Comments
National Coal Association
Colorado State University
University of Montana Department of Geology
Rocky Mountain Center on Environment (Romcoe)
Peabody Coal Company
Environmental Defense Fund, Inc.
Resources for the Future, Inc.
Division of Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife Development Tennessee Valley Authority
The University of Arizona
Index