Powell River Project
Reclamation Guidelines for Surface-Mined Land in Southwest Virginia

Reclaiming Mined Lands as Industrial Sites

Carl E. Zipper, Extension Specialist, Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; and Charles Yates, Director, Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, Lebanon, Virginia.

Publication Number 460-132, posted May 1999

Table of Contents

Introduction	Conclusion
Guidelines for Reclaiming Mined Lands as Industrial Sites	Acknowledgments
Experimental Practice	References

Introduction

Reclamation of mined areas to support use by industry provides benefits. First of all, industrial use potential will increase the mined land's market value, compared to woodlands and pastures typically established on reclaimed mines in Virginia's coalfields. An increase in the reclaimed land's market value will benefit the landowner.

Second, it is reasonable to expect that the value of lands adjacent to the industrial site will also increase, especially if such lands are suitable for residential or commercial use, or for use by supporting industries.

Third, if the site is reclaimed in a manner that is suitable for industrial use, there is a potential for the mining operator to obtain quicker release from performance bonding requirements. For example, SMCRA's five-year period for vegetative persistence with "non-augmentation" would not apply to an area reclaimed for industrial use.

And finally, such sites can serve to aid location of new industry in the Virginia coalfield.

This publication provides guidelines for use by the Virginia coal mining industry in reclaiming mined lands to support industrial development.

Return to Table of Contents

Guidelines for Reclaiming Mined Lands as Industrial Sites

1. Determine the site's potential suitability for industrial use.

This can be accomplished most easily by contacting a local economic development agency. A number of agencies serve in this role, including county industrial development authorities, Lenowisco and Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commissions, and the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (CEDA).

If a mine operator has a serious intent to produce a reclaimed area suitable for industrial development, we recommend contacting CEDA as early in the process as possible. The initial contact should occur prior to filing the mining permit. When mining is completed, acceptance of the reclaimed site by CEDA into its industrial site inventory will allow Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to conclude that the SMCRA's post-mining land use requirements have been met and, when all other SMCRA requirements have been satisfied, to release the operator's performance bond.

CEDA works closely with the DMME; CEDA can be contacted by the mine developer directly or by working through DMME. Upon request by either the permit applicant or the property owner, Virginia DMME will communicate an industrial development interest to CEDA. Virginia DMME or the mine operator may arrange a meeting of parties representing CEDA, and the property owner and/or the permit applicant to discuss the site's potential for industrial use. Such a meeting can take place either at the site itself, Virginia DMME offices, or another location. At such a meeting, the operator can discuss with DMME and CEDA the site's industrial development potential.

Proximity to major roads and utilities is a factor that will be considered by CEDA and DMME in their assessment of a mine site's potential to be reclaimed in a manner that is suitable for industrial post-mining land use. If CEDA and DMME determine that the site can be made suitable for industrial use through appropriate mining and reclamation, CEDA will issue a letter to the permit applicant and/or the property owner to that effect. In its review of permit application documents, Virginia DMME will consider such a letter to be evidence of the site's industrial use potential.

It is critical that the above procedures take place as early in the permit-application process as possible.

If CEDA determines that a site's potential to serve industrial use in the short-term is not favorable, it may still be possible for the mine operator to develop a reclamation plan to enable the site to support an industrial use at a future time (see below).

2. Establish a post-mining land use strategy.

There are at least two major strategies available to a mine operator who has the desire to reclaim land to establish an industrial site.

• Short Term: If the site's location and reclamation potential are favorable for industrial use, the reclamation plan and permit development process should be conducted in close coordination with CEDA - especially if the operator wishes to take advantage of CEDA's ability to provide spoil-placement cost-share funding. In this case, the mine permit should specify that the post-mining land use is industrial.

• Long-Term: If the mine operator does not foresee the site being useful for industrial development purposes immediately after mining, we would not recommend writing the permit to specify an industrial post-mining land use. If the post-mining land use is specified as industrial but the site is not suitable for industrial use after mining is complete, the mine operator may experience problems in obtaining bond-release. An alternative strategy will be to write the permit to specify a non-industrial post-mining land use that is compatible with future conversion to industrial use, should such a conversion become feasible.

In some cases, it may be necessary for the mining operator to obtain a variance from approximate original contour (AOC) in order to achieve either a short-term or a long-term industrial post-mining land use. If the approved permit specifies an industrial post-mining land use, the permit may also include a variance from SMCRA's AOC requirements.

If the mine developer takes a long-term-strategy approach, approval by DMME of either an agricultural or a commercial forestry post-mining land use may allow the operator to obtain an AOC variance. If the mining operation will be conducted as mountaintop removal, an agricultural post-mining land use (including hayland - pasture) will allow the operator to obtain variance from AOC. Under the Virginia regulatory program, commercial forestry is defined as a commercial land use and thus is eligible for variance from AOC. Reclamation procedures recommended to achieve commercial forestry post-mining land use are described in VCE Publication 460-136.

3. Develop a reclamation plan.

In order for a reclaimed mine site to be suitable for industrial use, several features are necessary. Critical factors that should be considered by the reclamation plan are listed and described below.

• A relatively flat surface configuration: The ideal landform surface will have a slope of about 2 percent. Larger areas of nearly flat acreage will make the site more desirable, all other things being equal, from the standpoint of an industrial developer.

• Developable area of suitable size: The amount of land necessary for a site to be suitable for industrial development will vary, depending on location and other factors. Generally, at least 25 acres of developable land will be necessary, while sites of 100 acres or larger will be ideal. At a location close to a major road and accessible to utilities, a site as small as 10 acres may be suitable. In remote locations, at least 100 developable acres may be necessary for an industrial use to be a realistic possibility.

• Road and utility access: It is critical that the reclamation plan establish a good road coming from a state-maintained highway. Depending on the situation, a road may be needed to allow movement of coal from the mining operation to processing and/or loading facilities. If coal must be hauled from the mine site to a public road, we recommend that the coal-haul road be built to dimensions that will support conversion to an industrial access road at some future date. For haul-road planning purposes, a 50-to-60 foot right-of-way, with room for 25-to-30 feet of pavement plus drainage, would in most cases be adequate. Utility access (power, water, sewer, communications) should also be planned.

• Soil placement procedures to support a stable land surface: If the mine permit specifies an industrial post-mining land use, soil placement procedures should be developed in consultation with CEDA and a geotechnical engineer. If a short-term industrial use is planned, it is critical that spoils be placed in a manner that will minimize post-mining settlement and that use of these procedures be professionally verified and documented. Such procedures typically include spoil composition control and in-place spoil compaction. Most industrial clients will require assurance that site settlement will not be a problem.

The procedures required to stabilize a reclaimed mine site are described in VCE Publication 460-130. The soil placement procedures required to produce a reclaimed landform that will be suitable for industrial use shortly after mining will be more costly than typical mine reclamation procedures. In some cases, CEDA may be willing to reimburse the mine operator for the additional costs required to assure site stabilization. If the mining operator or landowner has an interest in obtaining such reimbursement, CEDA should be contacted as early in the mine planning process as possible.

If the mine planner chooses a long-term industrial use strategy, it is unlikely that CEDA will be willing to share the cost of site stabilization. Thus, a less-costly site stabilization procedure will be desirable. In such situations, a post-mining surface stabilization procedure such as deep dynamic compaction (see VCE Publication 460-130) may be necessary at some future time to make the site suitable for high-value industrial development. Placement of a spoil stockpile that is accessible to the intended industrial site and potentially available for use in surface regrading will reduce the future cost of deep dynamic compaction should this procedure prove necessary. Such a stockpile should contain spoil that is free of large boulders, easily handled and graded, and suitable for revegetation.

In either case, the reclamation plan should include the following elements:

• The fill should be constructed so as to assure adequate internal drainage. Typically, this can be achieved by placing a layer of durable-rock boulders at the bottom of the filled area.

• Material placed in the fill should be more-or-less uniform in nature. Placement of woody debris in the fill must be avoided.

• A layer of fine material, at least 10 feet in depth, should be placed in the surface. This material should be suitable for revegetation, and should enable burial of underground utilities at low cost if and when the site is converted to an industrial use.

• If the site is permitted to a non-industrial post-mining land use within a long-term industrial-use strategy, the surface spoil material must be suitable for the permitted post-mining land use at the conclusion of mining.

4. At the conclusion of mining, implement declared post-mining land use. If the mine is permitted to achieve an industrial post-mining land use, the operator should maintain contact with CEDA to assure entry of the site into CEDA's industrial site inventory so the site may be considered by DMME for bond release.

If the permitted post-mining land use is commercial forestry, suitable timber species should be established, the mining operator must conduct reclamation in a manner that assures a high level of forest productivity, and the mine operator or land owner should be prepared to manage that species in a manner that is consistent with DMME's commercial forestry land use requirements. Preparation of mined lands to support productive timber stands can reduce mine reclamation costs, compared to common practices that include "tracking in" of spoils and high levels of fertilization (see VCE Publication 460-136). Lands reclaimed in this manner can support highly productive timber stands, thus producing future economic value for the land owner (see VCE Publication 460-138).

If the permitted post-mining land use is agricultural, the mining operator and/or land owner should be prepared to comply with relevant SMCRA and DMME requirements.

Return to Table of Contents

Experimental Practice

Return to Table of Contents

Conclusion

Return to Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Return to Table of Contents

References

Torbert, J.L., J.A. Burger, and J. Johnson. 1994. Commercial Forestry as a Post-Mining Land Use. VCE Publication 460-136.

Zipper, C, and S. Winter. 1997. Stabilizing Reclaimed Mines to Support Buildings and Development. VCE Publication 460-130. 12 pages.

(Note: Above publications are available from Virginia Cooperative Extension or Powell River Project).

Return to Table of Contents

View this document in PDF format

Visit Virginia Cooperative Extension