A Land Use Analysis of Existing and Potential Coal Surface Mining Areas in the Ohio River Basin Energy Study Region

摘要

This report was prepared as part of the Ohio River Basin Energy Study (ORBES), a multidisciplinary policy research program supported by the Environmental Protection Agency. It reports on the land use changes resulting from the surface mining of coal in the Ohio River Basin, which depend on the distribution of the coal, the economic attractiveness of the coal demand, rigor and effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms, and the resilience of the existing ecosystems. The three levels of coal demand assumed are taken from ORBES scenarios. The study analyzes existing industrial and governmental data on distribution, availability, and extraction of strippable coal. The history of reclamation enforcement and compliance is examined, and several potential land use results of the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 are analyzed. All of these factors are compared to existing patterns of topography, agriculture, and forestry.