scholarly journals Closure of German Hard Coal Mines: Effects and Legal Aspects of Mine Flooding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Stemke ◽  
Georg Wieber
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Mine Water ◽  
National Level ◽  
Coal Mines ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Hard Coal ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Mine Flooding ◽  
Approval Procedure

AbstractFollowing the closure of the last hard coal mines in Germany, pumping is no longer necessary. However, the resulting rise of mine water can affect the environment. Laws have been enacted at the European and national level to protect properties. Within the framework of the approval procedure, it must be determined whether the cessation of pumping may cause unacceptable effects, including water pollution. With regard to water protection, the European Union has issued the Water Framework and Groundwater Directives, which have been implemented into German national law. These contain the prohibition of deterioration and the requirement for improvement, with the aim of maintaining or achieving good ecological and chemical status. However, before the target mine water level is reached, the water does not need to comply, since although the pumps are switched off, no mine water is being discharged. This also rules out permit requirements, which only go into effect when the target mine water level has been reached and mine water is discharging. Obviously, however, detailed planning before then is necessary.

Legal aspects of protection of the financial interests of the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Marta Miedzińska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
National Level ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scope Of Protection ◽  
The Eu

The foundations and the operating framework of the institutions of the European Union and its Member States are determined by legal acts established at the EU level. The legal bases at the EU level contain key standards in the scope of protection of the financial interests of the European Union and are the main determinants for the individual EU countries when their legal institutions create legal bases at the national level. The aim of this article is to present the main legal basis for the protection of the financial interests of the European Union at the EU level, which will help to examine the impact of these provisions on detecting irregularities and fraud in the EU.

scholarly journals Mine Flooding History of a Regional Below-Drainage Coalfield Dominated by Barrier Leakage (1970–2014)

Geofluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Donovan ◽  
Eric F. Perry
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Mine Water ◽  
Underground Mines ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The North ◽  
Mining History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mine Flooding

A 44-year record of water level fluctuations in a series of adjacent closed underground mines documents the history of closure and mine flooding in the Fairmont Coalfield, one of the oldest coal mining districts in the Pittsburgh coal basin, West Virginia, USA. As closures proceeded and mines began to flood, US environmental regulations were first enacted mandating mine water control and treatment, rendering uncontrolled surface discharges unacceptable. The purpose of this study is to present this flooding history and to identify critical events that determined how mine pools evolved in this case. Also examined is the strategy developed to control and treat water from these mines. Flooding is visualized using both water level hydrographs and mine flooding maps with the latter constructed assuming mine water hydraulic continuity between one or more mines. The earliest flooding formed small pools within near-surface mines closed prior to 1962 yet still pumped following closure to minimize leaking into adjacent still-active workings. These subpools gradually enlarged and merged as more closures occurred and the need for protective pumping was removed, forming what is today referred to as the unconfined Fairmont Pool. Later, deeper mines, separated by intact updip barriers from the Fairmont Pool, were closed and flooded more gradually, supplied in large part by leakage from the Fairmont Pool. By 1985, all mines except 2 had closed and by 1994 all had fully flooded, with the Fairmont Pool interconnected to deeper single mine pools via barrier leakage. As protective pumping ceased, the Fairmont Pool rose to a water level 3 m higher than surface drainage elevation and in 1997 discharged from an undermined section of Buffalo Creek near the Monongahela River. The principal mine operator in the basin then designed a pumping system to transfer water from the Fairmont Pool to their existing treatment facilities to the north, thus terminating the discharge. It may be concluded that the progress of mine flooding was influenced by mining history and design, by the timing of closures, by barrier leakage conditions, and by geologic structure. A key element in how flooding proceeded was the presence of a series of intact barriers separating deep from shallow mines. The shallow mines closed and flooded early, but then lost sufficient water by barrier leakage into the deeper mines to delay the completion of flooding until after the deep mines had all closed and flooded as well. Intensive mine water control has continued from the 1997 breakout to the present. The final water control scheme was likely unanticipated and serendipitous; future district-wide mining efforts should be advised to consider in advance closeout strategies to control mine water postmining.

scholarly journals Groundwater Protection as an Essential Component of Water Management in the European Union in the Light of Modern Integration Processes: Legal Aspects of the Problem

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Iryna Iefremova ◽  
Iryna Lomakina ◽  
Nataliia Obiiukh
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Groundwater Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
The Eu

In the context of exacerbation of environmental problems that are global in nature, it is necessary to assess the opportunities and development prospects of environmental policy not only at the international level, but also at the regional European level. In this regard, the focus of our article is to consider the problem of protecting groundwater as a strategic natural resource and to analyze the practice of applying European directives on water quality and protection of groundwater in EU countries. In the EU, the basic legal framework for water protection is defined in the Water Framework Directive that determines the need to develop monitoring programs and basin water management plans to improve the quality of water in the EU by the member states. However, taking into account the fact that groundwater, especially drinking artesian water, is vulnerable to pollution, improvement of the legal groundwater protection system and the search for rational groundwater protection practices implemented in the EU countries are vitally necessary. Therefore, the paper aims to explore the ways of EU legislation development in the field of water resources protection, identifying the main areas of groundwater protection and analyzing the legal means used in certain EU countries, in particular, Austria, Germany, as well as identifying priorities and objectives for Ukraine on the way to integration into the system of European water legislation. Keywords: EU legislation, groundwater, groundwater pollution, groundwater use, water management, water protection.

scholarly journals Analytical modeling of mine water rebound: Three case studies in closed hard-coal mines in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Dmytro Rudakov ◽  
Sebastian Westermann
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Mine Water ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Analytical Modeling ◽  
Coal Mines ◽  
Hard Coal ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Working Volume

Purpose.In this paper we present and validate an analytical model of water inflow and rising level in a flooded mine and examine the model robustness and sensitivity to variations of input data considering the examples of three closed hard-coal mines in Germany. Methods. We used the analytical solution to a boundary value problem of radial ground water flow to the shaft, treated as a big well, and water balance relations for the series of successive stationary positions of a depression cone to simulate a mine water rebound in the mine taking into account vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity, residual volume of underground workings, and natural pores. Findings. The modeling demonstrated very good agreement with the measured data for all the studied mines. The maximum relative deviation for the mine water level during the measurement period did not exceed 2.1%; the deviation for the inflow rate to a mine before its flooding did not exceed 0.8%. Sensitivity analysis revealed the higher significance of the residual working volume and hydraulic conductivity for mine water rebound in the case of thick overburden and the growing significance of the infiltration rate and the flooded area size in the case of lower overburden thickness. Originality.The developed analytical model allows realistic prediction of transient mine water rebound and inflow into a mine with layered heterogeneity of rocks, irregular form of the drained area, and with the inflow/outflow to a neighboring mine and the volume of voids as a distributed parameter without gridding the flow domain performed in numerical models. Practical implications.The study demonstrated the advantages of analytical modeling as a tool for preliminary evaluation and prediction of flooding indicators and parameters of mined out disturbed rocks. In case of uncertain input data, modeling can be considered as an attractive alternative to usually applied numerical methods of modeling ground and mine water flow.

scholarly journals Legal aspects of counteracting phishing: the European Union experience

2020 ◽  
pp. 8-23
Author(s):  
Іван Васильович Яковюк ◽  
Артем Павлович Волошин ◽  
Антон Олексійович Шовкун
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
National Level ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Software Failures

Cybersecurity is increasingly seen as a fundamental problem of the state, which comprehensively affects its security and defense, economy, certain spheres of public life, in particular energy, health care and others. Reliable operation of data networks, computer systems and mobile devices is a prerequisite for the effective state and society functioning, an individual’s life. The reliability of key public information systems depends on many factors: cyberattacks, hardware and software failures, and all kinds of errors. The significant increase in the number of incidents in cyberspace necessitates a systematic analysis of sources of threats, the first place among which is phishing. The introduction of criminal responsibility for phishing is complicated by the fact that "phishing" is an "umbrella" concept that covers a number of launched or committed crimes. From criminal law point of view, phishing attacks can correspond to different categories of crimes (extortion, fraud, blackmail, offenses related to the processing of personal data, etc.). The attempt by some states to impose criminal penalties for phishing at the national level does not solve the problem, since it is not difficult for phishers who work worldwide to cross national barriers. That is still the reason why counteracting cybercrime requires significant efforts not only by individual states but also by international organizations, in particular by the European Union.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

Radiological evaluation of mine water discharges from hard coal mining in the Fossa Eugeniana Area, Germany

Kerntechnik ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
C. Wanke ◽  
S. Ritzel ◽  
R. Sachse ◽  
R. Michel
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Mine Water ◽  
Hard Coal ◽  
Radiological Evaluation ◽  
Hard Coal Mining

scholarly journals Innovative Method for Calculating the Break-Even for Multi-Assortment Production

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4213
Author(s):  
Dariusz Fuksa
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mines ◽  
New Method ◽  
Hard Coal ◽  
Customer Demand ◽  
Innovative Method ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Economic Health ◽  
Production Plans ◽  
A Company ◽  
A Current

The subject of the article is a new method that I have developed for calculating a multi-asset break-even for multi-assortment production, extended by a percentage threshold and a current sales ratio (which was missing in previously published methods). The percentage threshold provides unambiguous information about the economic health of a company. As a result, it became possible to use it in practice to evaluate the activities of economic entities (mines) and to perform modelling and optimisation of production plans based on different variants of customer demand scenarios. The publication addresses the complexity of the problem of determining the break-even in multi-assortment production. Moreover, it discusses the practical limitations of previous methods and demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed method on the example of hard coal mines.

scholarly journals Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa ◽  
Amirabbas Mofidi ◽  
Swenneke van den Heuvel ◽  
Thijmen van Bree ◽  
Frithjof Michaelsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Work Injuries ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Related Quality

Abstract Background Estimates of the economic burden of work injuries and diseases can help policymakers prioritize occupational health and safety policies and interventions in order to best allocate scarce resources. Several attempts have been made to estimate these economic burdens at the national level, but most have not included a comprehensive list of cost components, and none have attempted to implement a standard approach across several countries. The aim of our study is to develop a framework for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for selected European Union countries. Methods We develop an incidence cost framework using a bottom-up approach to estimate the societal burden of work injuries and diseases and implement it for five European Union countries. Three broad categories of costs are considered—direct healthcare, indirect productivity and intangible health-related quality of life costs. We begin with data on newly diagnosed work injuries and diseases from calendar year 2015. We consider lifetime costs for cases across all categories and incurred by all stakeholders. Sensitivity analysis is undertaken for key parameters. Results Indirect costs are the largest part of the economic burden, then direct costs and intangible costs. As a percentage of GDP, the highest overall costs are for Poland (10.4%), then Italy (6.7%), The Netherlands (3.6%), Germany (3.3%) and Finland (2.7%). The Netherlands has the highest per case costs (€75,342), then Italy (€58,411), Germany (€44,919), Finland (€43,069) and Poland (€38,918). Costs per working-age population are highest for Italy (€4956), then The Netherlands (€2930), Poland (€2793), Germany (€2527) and Finland (€2331). Conclusions Our framework serves as a template for estimating the economic burden of work injuries and diseases across countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Results can assist policymakers with identifying health and safety priority areas based on the magnitude of components, particularly when stratified by key characteristics such as industry, injury/disease, age and sex. Case costing can serve as an input into the economic evaluation of prevention initiatives. Comparisons across countries provide insights into the relevant performance of health and safety systems.

scholarly journals The Role of Spatio-Temporal Information to Govern the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Hartmut Müller ◽  
Marije Louwsma
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems.

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