All forms of coal extraction, underground and surface, invariably rely on some form of fill construction to facilitate removal of the mineral resource. These fills, which are highly engineered and regulated, are usually constructed in small, ephemeral and intermittent stream courses.
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Figure 1
Typical Appalachian Ephemeral Stream [Photo]Figure 2Typical Appalachian Intermittent Stream
The construction of fills is not unique to the mining industry in West Virginia or Appalachia. The steep, rugged terrain of the region has provided limited areas for development or construction of any kind. What little flat land that does exist in West Virginia is confined to the floodplains of rivers and creeks and is usually occupied by roads, railroads and highways. New construction or development, mining or otherwise, will require some form of stream impacts and fill construction.
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Figure 3
Compressed Nature of Development in West Virginia: All the Useable Land Between Steep Mountains Has Been Developed
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Figure 4
Retail Center in West Virginia Constructed on a Mountaintop Using Valley Fills
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Figure 5
Federal Highway Construction in West Virginia
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Figure 6
Fill Constructed in Connection with Highway Development
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Figure 7
Photo of Highway Construction (Background) and New Residential and School Development Site (Foreground)
As noted previously, all forms of mining in West Virginia require the construction of fills. In underground mining, fills are required to provide access to the coal seam for miners and the coal extraction machinery. Underground mines also require the construction of a flat area or “bench” for the construction of essential support structures such as bathhouses, ventilation devices (fans), raw coal storage areas and electrical installations. Additionally, coal extracted using underground mining techniques must be “cleaned” on the surface at a preparation plant. Coal seams in Appalachia typically contain non-coal materials that lay within, above or below the coal seam. This material is mined along with the coal in underground mining and is mechanically separated from the coal at the preparation plant. The leftover material is placed in an adjacent refuse fill or impoundment.
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Figure 8
Underground Mine Access Road, Deep Mine Entries & Bench in West Virginia Constructed on Fills
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Figure 9
Coal Refuse Fill at an Underground Mining Complex
At surface mines, fills are required as a result of the "swell factor" that occurs when rock and soil is excavated to uncover coal seams. Most of the rock and soil that is excavated to allow removal of the coal is returned to the mined area as the first step of mine reclamation in a process known as backfilling. Backfilling also restores the pre-minign contours and appearance of the mined area to mirror the surrounding, undisturbed topography (surface mining is explained in more detail in subsequent sections).
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Figure 10
Diagram Explaining Swell Factor Overburden Following Excavation
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Figure 11
Valley Fill Construction at an Active Surface Mine
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Figure 12
Reclaimed and Revegetated Surface Mine and Valley Fills
Fills are a necessary component of all forms of development in Appalachia and West Virginia and any actions that restrict these needed fill structures will restrain if not stop this same development. Prohibitions or restrictions on mining-related fill structures will cripple both the underground and surface coal mining industry in West Virginia and Appalachia. Because West Virginia's economy, both state and local, is so dependent on revenues and taxes from the coal industry, any decline in the industry will have a resulting negative impact on the state. If the construction of fills are restricted, coal mining will be restricted and the effects on the economy of West Virginia will be devestating. The severity of the economic impacts increase as fills are further restricted and coal production is further reduced as the ability to mine coal, surface or undergorund, is dependent on fills. Recent mining engineering studies conducted as part of programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on surface mining in Appalachina provide more detailed and exact evidence with respect to fill prohibitions:
Limiting valley fills to ephemeral streams resulted in significant or total loss of the coal resource for 9 of the 11 mine sites when compared to the original mine site plans. All fo the coal resource was lost for 6 of the 11 mine sites. [1]
A recent study in the central Appalachian coalfields indicated the draconian effects that prohibiting all mining [in intermittent and perennial streams] could have on our nation's energy supply. Assuming that mining activities could not be conducted...this OSM [federal Office of Surface Mining] study has estimated that 92.5 percent of the available coal reserves in the Central Appalachian coal fields could not be mined. [2]
In response to a 1999 judicial decision that would have limited fill construction (later overturned on appeal) the West Viriginia Legislature commissioned a study of the economic and social consequences of limiting coal production: The...analysis considers two scenarios that are both within the realm of reason. In the first of these two scenarios, surface mining is gradually reduced, as currently permitted mines are retired and no new surface permits are granted. Even under this restricted scenario, the economic effects on the counties that comprise the study region are likely to be devestating. Total regional employment is predicted to decline by 4.3 percent, while overall regional economic activity is predicted to decline by $620 million within the first year. The economic impacts observed under the extreme scenario, in which the Haden decision leads to the immediate curtailment of surface mining, are even more extreme. A sudden cessation in surface mining is predicted to cost the study region more than 10,500 jobs, $281 million in incomes, and $1.8 billion in total economic activity.[3] In summary, fill construction is an absolute necessity for any form of development or coal mining activity to take place in Appalachia and/or West Virginia. The continued ability to construct these fills in connection with coal mining activities is critical to the economic and social well-being of West Virginia. The detailed sections that follow are intended to provide a better understanding of the methods of coal extraction employed in West Virginia and the fill structures that facilitate coal extraction.
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[1] Programmatic Mountaintop Mining/Valley Fill Environmental Impact Statement. EPA, OSM, Corps, F&WS adn WV DEP. Mountaintop EIS Technical Report. Pg. 1. 2000.
[2] U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Environmental Assessment for Rulemaking on Stream Buffer Zones and Excess Spoil, RIN 1029-AC04. pg. 15. 2004
[3] Marshall University - Center for Business and Economic Research. Coal Production Forecasts and Economic Impact Simulations in Southern West Virginia: A Special Report to the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee. pg. 37. 2000.