Approximate original contour reclamation: An alternative in steep slope terrains

WHEN the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) was signed into law in August of 1977, the event was hailed as a victory for environmental interests. The legislation put severe restrictions on spoil handling procedures used by coal surface mining operations and has produced substantial improvements in overall reclamation practices. Fundamental to SMCRA are its “approximate original contour” provisions, which specifically require surface mining operators to “…grade in order to restore the approximate original contour of the land with all highwalls, spoil piles, and depressions eliminated…” [Sec. 515(b)3]. The original contour requirement is applied separately to steep-slope mining situations (where premining slopes exceed 20 degrees) by Section 515(d)2, which states that the mining operation will “return the site to the appropriate original contour, which material will maintain stability following mining and reclamation.” Reclamation by approximate original contour (AOC) is a practice of recent origin in the central Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern West Virginia where pre-SMCRA state laws did not require complete backfilling of highwalls (3). Since the late 1970's, majority of central Appalachian mined land …