Development of a Procedure for Land Use Potential Evaluation for Surface-Mined Land. Appendix 1: Eastern U.S. Surface Mine Case Study

摘要

The potential usefulness of reclaimed surface-mined land has received much attention in recent times. This is partially because of the establishment of Federal environmental reclamation standards but concern for achieving better land uses has also been shown by interested members of the mining industry. In an effort to develop a procedure for evaluating postmining land use potentials, specific mines in various regions of the United States were studied to determine the extent of current mined-land planning and to discover characteristics that are regional in nature. As part of this investigation, a 430-acre surface mine in Clearfield County, PA, was studied. Established site planning principles were applied to the case study site including formation of a data base, development of alternate land use plans, and evaluation of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the land use alternatives. Key factors affecting site realization were identified along with positive suggestions for applying land use planning processes to mined-land planning.