What does the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act require?
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) prohibits surface coal mining within the boundaries of any unit of the National Park System. SMCRA also provides the NPS with authority over permitting decisions regarding external surface coal mining.
What is the purpose of the Smcra?
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands.
What are the 4 major types of surface deposit mining?
These include strip mining, open-pit mining, mountaintop removal, dredging and highwall mining.
Why was the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 written?
Congress passed the SMCRA, which was signed by President Jimmy Carter, to “assure that the coal supply essential to the Nation’s energy requirements, and to its economic and social well-being, is provided and to strike a balance between protection of the environment and agricultural productivity and the Nation’s need …
What organizations support the SMCRA?
Appendix H: Local and State Organizations that Work with SMCRA
- www.blackwarriorriver.org.
- www.hurricanecreek.org.
- http://www.reformakmines.org/
- [email protected].
- http://www.kftc.org.
- www.kentucky.sierraclub.org.
- www.northernplains.org.
- www.drcinfo.com.
Is the SMCRA successful?
This is the true success of SMCRA. About 29.5 billion tons of coal have been mined while SMCRA has been in place. Most of that, about 90 percent, was used to generate electrical power. During this same time, the coal mining industry has successfully reclaimed more than 2 million acres (2,238,560) of mined lands.
How does resource extraction affect water quality?
Mining affects fresh water through heavy use of water in processing ore, and through water pollution from discharged mine effluent and seepage from tailings and waste rock impoundments. Increasingly, human activities such as mining threaten the water sources on which we all depend.
How can land be restored after strip mining?
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 are the 5 types of surface mining?
There are 5 main types of surface mining, which are used in various degrees and for different resources. These mining categories are: strip mining, open-pit mining, mountaintop removal, dredging and high wall mining.
How does mining affect water resources?
Why is mine water acidic?
Prevent water pollution: manage acidic water from mining sites. If you excavate coal, metal ores or other minerals, you may expose rocks and minerals that contain sulphur. If sulphur mixes with water and oxygen it can cause groundwater to become acidic. This is called acid mine drainage (AMD).