Page 315 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

Sustainable reclamation and water management practices 291

hectare) of material are required by law to be applied to the surface after seeding. In
many instances, a product called “hydromulch,” comprising wood-fiber and paper-
fiber materials, is applied as a component of a hydroseeding mixture containing lime,
fertilizer, and seed. As well as serving as a traditional mulch, the hydromulch is also
easily visible on the land surface, which aids in ensuring that the hydroseed mix is
applied uniformly over all areas.

14.3.8.2 Plant species for reclamation seeding
The selection of plant species for seeding on disturbed sites in based on postmining
land use decisions. For pasture and hay land uses in the eastern USA, a combination of
cool season grasses and legumes are commonly seeded [49,55] (see Table 14.2 above).
For grasslands in the western USA, different species adapted to more arid climates are
generally seeded. Such species include grasses such as wheatgrass (Agropyron spp.),
orchardgrass (Dactylis glomeratus L.), smooth brome (Bromus inermis Leyss.), wil-
drye (Elymus spp.); legumes such as sweetclover and vetch; along with shrub species
such as sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), or saltbushes
(Atriplex and Sarcobatus) [51,87]. Recommended herbaceous groundcover species
for forest reclamation in the eastern USA are slower growing and less competitive
than those used for hay land and pasture (Table 14.3), which are typically called
“tree compatible.” Tree seedlings are usually planted immediately after hydroseeding
the ground cover. When restoring unmanaged forest as a postmining land use in the
eastern US, tree seedlings of commercially valuable species that are characteristic of
the region’s mature forests along with some midcanopy and early successional tree
species, including those that can produce fruits and seeds for wildlife within a few
years, are planted [66,67] (Table 14.3).

14.4 Water management during and after mining

14.4.1 Surface water management

Water resources management has become a critical component of coal mine permit-
ting and during the mining operation. Effective water management on the mine site is
essential for maintaining environmental quality in rivers and streams that receive
waters draining the mining area. Failure to manage water in a manner that minimizes
pollution impacts can result in impaired aquatic biological community assemblages in
streams both inside and outside of the mining area. Such impacts are often easily
observed by the public, and depending on regulatory requirements, may result in
litigation.
Therefore, practices are employed to reduce the contact of environmental waters
with disturbed materials. Diverting surface water that would otherwise drain into a
mining disturbance from above a mined site is a recommended and often-practiced
method to decrease the volumes of requiring management within mined area. Surface
drains or diversions are often constructed to move surface water quickly from the min-
ing disturbance. Such drains and diversions are generally placed on spoil materials