Surface Coal MininG preventing forest fires one mine at a time

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

8. 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

9. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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