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1995•UKnowledge (University of Kentucky)Open access

Regulating for the Long Term: SMCRA and Acid Mine Drainage

Courtney W. Shea

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Abstract

With the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), regulators and industry representatives expected to solve the problem of pollution of the Nation`s waterways caused by acidic discharges from coal mines. Eighteen years after the passage of SMCRA, hard issues of predicting, regulating and treating acid mine drainage remain. Acid mine drainage is most common in the coal seams of the Midwest and Appalachia: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee. This article discusses regulation of coal mines and acid mine drainage for the long term.

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With the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), regulators and industry representatives expected to solve the problem of pollution of the Nation`s waterways caused by acidic discharges from coal mines. Eighteen years after the passage of SMCRA, hard issues of predicting, regulating and treating acid mine drainage remain. Acid mine drainage is most common in the coal seams of the Midwest and Appalachia: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee. This article discusses regulation of coal mines and acid mine drainage for the long term.

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Available abstract

With the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), regulators and industry representatives expected to solve the problem of pollution of the Nation`s waterways caused by acidic discharges from coal mines. Eighteen years after the passage of SMCRA, hard issues of predicting, regulating and treating acid mine drainage remain. Acid mine drainage is most common in the coal seams of the Midwest and Appalachia: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee. This article discusses regulation of coal mines and acid mine drainage for the long term.

Key concepts: Coal mining, Acid mine drainage, Drainage, Land reclamation, Surface mining, Appalachia, Mining engineering, West virginia

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