Surface Coal Mining Effects on Ground Water Recharge (1990) / Chapter Skim
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4. Pre-Mining Conditions in Coal Mining
4. Pre-Mining Conditions in Coal Mining
Pages 41-59
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From page 41... ...
. EASTERN COAL PROVINCE The Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Atlantic Coast, and Appalachian regions are included in the Eastern -41
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From page 42... ...
-42100° 701°/~\ ~ - 2s i LO ~~ l Types of Coal in Fields 3001` Anthracite Low-volatile - bituminous , , Medium- and high I ~ volatile bituminous Lignite Elf hew' r~ ~ ~ /~// ~(/ 0 500 Ml LES Sub-bituminous I ~ ' 0 500 Kl LOMETERS Provinces ( 1 Rhode Island ~r~ta~nthracise ) 2 Penn Ivania anthracit Eastern 3 Atlantic coast 4 Appalachian 5 Northern 6 Eastern Interior 7 Western 8 Southw~tem Gulf 10 Texas ( 11 Fort Union J 12 Powder River Northern Great Plains ~ 13 Black Hills ~ 14 North Central Rocky Mountain 15 Tertiary lake beds /16 Bighorn Basin 17 Wind River 18 Hams fork 19 Uinta 20 Southwestern Utah 21 San Juan River 22 Raton Mesa 23 Denver \24 Green River 25-28 Pacific Coast Province FIGURE 4.1 Coal fields of the conterminous United States.
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From page 43... ...
-43~0° 10~° ~^o rub _ ~ Areas of extensive aquifers that Y yeild more than 50 gallons per Anna minute of freshwater Areas of less extensive aquifers - having smaller yields Fit r80° t3oo 0 200 400 MILES ,,. I ~ I I I r r r r r r r 0 200 400 600 KILOMETERS FIGURE 4.2 Ground water resources in relation to the coal fields of the conterminous United States.
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From page 44... ...
The eastern Kentucky coal field is an intensely dissected upland with sharp ridges, V-shaped valleys, and a local relief of up to 250 m. Surface mining by contour stripping, angering, and mountaintop removal produces about 50 percent of the region's coal.
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From page 46... ...
Orthids D2a -- Orthids with Argids, Orthents, gently or moderately sloping. Entisols Orthents and Xerolls , E2a -- Torriorthents, steep, with borollic subgroups of Aridisols; Usterts and aridic and vertic subgroups of Borolls; gently or moderately sloping.
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From page 47... ...
M2c -- Aridic subgroups of Borolls with Borollic subgroups of Argids and Orthids, and Torriorthents; gently sloping. M2S -- Borolls with Boralfs, Argids, Torriorthents, and Ustolls; moderately sloping or steep.
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From page 48... ...
Slope classes Gently sloping -- Slopes mainly less than 10 percent including nearly level. Moderately sloping -- Slopes mainly between 10 and 25 percent.
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From page 49... ...
Thus the hydrologically active zone in the eastern Kentucky coal field is generally associated with the secondarily fractured units. Pre-mining ground water quality ranges from good to poor in the Eastern Coal Province.
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From page 50... ...
They have low base saturation. cow ~ ~ J In western Kentucky coal is extracted by slope and/or shaft mining and surface mining.
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From page 51... ...
GULF COAL PROVINCE The Mississippi and Texas coal regions are included in the Gulf Coal Province (see Figure 4.19. The coal is a shallow lignite found interlayered with silts, clays, and coarser beds of Tertiary age (2.5 million to 6.5 million years ago)
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From page 52... ...
Pre-mining ground water quality in the Gulf Coal Province is good to excellent. NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS COAL PROVINCE The Fort Union, Powder River, Black Hills, and North Central coal regions are included in the Northern Great Plains Coal Province (see Figure 4.1~.
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From page 53... ...
Soils formed from' glacial till commonly have less than 12 percent exchangeable sodium while those formed from medium- to fine-textured parent materials generally exceed 12 percent within 150 cm and frequently exceed this level within 90 cm. Exchangeable sodium percentages as low as 5 percent will cause dispersion and crusting or sealing if material with this level of sodium is placed on the surface of mined land.
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From page 54... ...
The transition from baked to fused clinker is often abrupt, and in outcrop the fused rock appears to represent local vent areas where burning was accelerated by circulation of air through collapse fissures. Both baked and fused clinker are resistant rock types that cap many of the hills and ridges in the area and are easily recognized by the hummocky terrain and characteristic reddish color.
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From page 55... ...
Although coal does not have appreciable primary porosity or permeability, beds of coal in their natural state are rendered more Permeable by fractures that provide ~ minute openings for the storage and transmission of ground water. In most locations the coal beds are sufficiently permeable to yield adequate amounts of water for domestic and stock use.
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From page 56... ...
Clinker materials adjacent to the Tongue River Reservoir tend to be recharged by inflow from the reservoir during high stage and subsequently discharge to the-'reservoir during low stage. The pattern of ground water movement in the Decker area is strongly influenced by local topography.
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From page 57... ...
~~n~v loam to silty clay Textures range from _~ ~~ ~ _ , _~, Color ranges widely depending on parent materials and organic matter. Soils formed on alluvial deposits generally are
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From page 58... ...
Water in the coal ~ ~ sometimes has high salinity but is than other water in the area. and overburden more desirable ROCKY MOUNTAIN COAL PROVINCE The Tertiary lake beds, Bighorn Basin, Wind River, Hams Fork, Uinta, Southwestern Utah' San Juan River, Raton Mesa, Denver, and Green River coal regions are included in the Rocky Mountain Coal Province (see Figure 4.13.
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From page 59... ...
In areas with poor water quality, salinity is the problem. PACIFIC COAST COAL PROVINCE The Pacific Coast Coal Province groups small valley deposits of coal in the physiographic provinces of the Cascade-Sierra Mountains, Pacific Border, and portions of the Columbia Plateau and Basin and Range (see Figure 4.1~.
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