1 / 18

Surface Coal MininG preventing forest fires one mine at a time

Surface Coal MininG preventing forest fires one mine at a time. Peter Baudendistel , Andy Lyman, Cory Mills. Common mining misconceptions . Scars the land Generally harmful to the environment Companies exploit their workers Harms people in nearby communities

gratia
Download Presentation

Surface Coal MininG preventing forest fires one mine at a time

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. Surface Coal MininGpreventing forest fires one mine at a time Peter Baudendistel, Andy Lyman, Cory Mills

  2. Common mining misconceptions • Scars the land • Generally harmful to the environment • Companies exploit their workers • Harms people in nearby communities • Lack of awareness of reclamation efforts

  3. Coal Facts • Coal is most affordable source of power fuel per million BTU, averaging less than one-quarter the price of petroleum and natural gas • 21st century coal plants emit 40% less co2 than the average 20th century coal plant • Regulated emissions from coal-based electricity generation decreased by ~40% since the 1970s; coal use has tripled • Public companies produce ~75% of U.S. coal

  4. Surface Coal Mining Techniques • Strip/Contour Mining • Waste rock stored adjacent to coal seam • Replaced periodically throughout mining process • Technique used extensively in largest coal-producing state, Wyoming • Mountain Top Removal • Only ~10% of coal mining in U.S. uses this technique • Waste rock stored in adjacent valleys • 95% of valley fills occur in intermittent streams

  5. Coal Jobs • 94% of national fossil fuel reserve • 235 year supply at current rate of energy use • 38 states contain coal, 13% of total land area contains coal • 2/3 of coal production from surface methods

  6. Coal Jobs • 134,000 direct coal jobs nationwide • Estimated 3.5 indirect jobs for every direct employee • 470,000 indirect jobs with estimated $4.7 billion payroll • 50,000 new employees to meet demand/retirees

  7. Health and safety • Lower black lung occurrences • No need to worry about roof falls/rib rolls • Lower fatal and non-fatal incident rates • Fewer slips, trips and falls • Occupational injury and illness rate of 3.5 cases/100 workers in 2008; near the lowest total among U.S major industries

  8. Safety • Surface coal mining heavily regulated • Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) • Enforces safety and health standards to eliminate fatal incidents and improve conditions and safety • Surface mines undergo minimum of two full annual inspections • No advance notice of inspections • MSHA reported a 99.6 percent inspection completion rate in 2005

  9. Environmental Regulations • More than three dozen federal environmental laws and regulations cover all aspects of mining • State laws and regulations • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Clean Air Act • Clean Water Act • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • Superfund Act

  10. Environmental Regulations • EPA Case Study – Deliberate Flawed Regulations • Electric conductivity regulates water quality in Appalachia • 300 – 500 microSiemens conductivity threshold • Background conditions exceed threshold • No evidence uniquely correlates higher conductivity levels with coal mining or valley fills • Higher conductivity often the result of any activity that disturbs surface of the earth (e.g., highway construction) • EPA noted they expect “few, if any” fill permit applications in Appalachia to meet the levels of conductivity set in guidance

  11. Reclamation • Protecting, restoring, and improving the land before, during, and after surface mining • 2 million acres of mined land reclaimed since 1978 • 100,000 acres of abandoned coal mines reclaimed

  12. Reclaimed Land in Use • Airports • Correctional Facilities • Fairgrounds • Farms • Industrial Parks • Wetland Development • Wildlife Management Areas http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/090408/GAL-09Apr08-1854/media/PHO-09Apr08-157549.jpg

  13. Wise County, VA Reclaimed Lands • Buchanan county park • Grundy Airport • Mountaintop Golf • Norton elementary school • Red Onion prison • St. Mary’s hospital • Wal-Mart shopping center • Wise county landfill http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/460/460-128/460-128.html

  14. sources

  15. Questions?

More Related