Foundations for Housing on Reclaimed Mined Lands
Ground conditions in coal-mining regions require special attention when residential development is considered. Today, surface-mining operations can alter landforms through mining and reclamation, thus increasing land suitability for housing and related development. Such “made land,” however, is typically composed of deep soil and rock fills. Such fills undergo long-term settlement under their own heavy weight. Subsurface-mining operations can also affect surface structures by causing land subsidence.
Stabilizing reclaimed mines to support buildings and development
Introduction Land-use constraints hinder economic activity in the Virginia coalfield region; the lack of flat land hinders infrastructure construction, industrial recruitment, and business development. Reclaimed coal mines are widely discussed as potential development sites, but modern reclamation rarely prepares mined areas for building-support purposes. This publication describes mine-stabilization procedures that can be employed for developing reclaimed mine areas for building construction.
Use of mine fills for biological renovation of domestic wastewater
Development of Appalachian coal mining regions has been severely hampered by lack of domestic waste disposal technologies suited to fills. This research was conducted to evaluate the potential for biological renovation of domestic wastewater in fills produced from mining operations. Soil-fill (a mixture of Jefferson, fine-loamy, siliceous mesic Typic Hapludult and Muskingom, fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Typic Dystrochrept Marker and Low Splint Bench coal seams) were used in this study