scholarly journals PENNSYLVANIA’S ABANDONED MINE LAND (AML) EMERGENCY PROGRAM

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-86
Author(s):  
Eric E. Cavazza ◽  
◽  
John J. Stefanko ◽  
Richard L. Beam
Keyword(s):  
Structural Damage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Abandoned Mine ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Mine Fires ◽  
Coal Refuse ◽  
Eastern Pennsylvania ◽  
Engineering Staff

Abstract. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR) implements an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Emergency Program to address high-priority, abandoned mine land (AML) problems that suddenly occur throughout Pennsylvania’s coal fields. BAMR maintains two field offices: one in eastern Pennsylvania (Anthracite Region) in Wilkes-Barre and one in western Pennsylvania (Bituminous Region) in Ebensburg. Both field offices maintain in-house construction crews with significant equipment available to respond to and address many small AML Emergencies (hazards) such as pothole (or cavehole), subsidences, and mine drainage breakouts. For larger AML Emergencies such as subsidence events causing structural damage to homes, businesses, and roads; mine fires; coal refuse fires; landslides; or other large-scale or complex AML problems, projects are completed by outside contractors. Project designs are completed by BAMR engineering staff. The contractors are then hired through solicitation of bids or proposals with very short timeframes between bid issue and bid opening. Since October of 2010, BAMR has addressed nearly 800 AML Emergencies which equates to approximately 80 AML Emergency projects each calendar year. The average construction cost to address those emergencies was just over $3.25 million per year. Due to the increased precipitation over the Commonwealth the last several years, that number has increased to an average of 86 AML Emergency projects over the last five (5) years (2015–2019) with a record number of 127 addressed in calendar year 2018. The average cost to address those AML Emergency projects over that five-year period was $4.66 million per year. This paper will provide some background on Pennsylvania’s AML Emergency Program, some summary statistics including the annual number and types of projects completed including costs, and also highlight through both photos and video links some typical projects recently completed by the program.

FLUME SIMULATIONS TO DETERMINE FE2+ AND FE3+ KINETICS OF THE COLLOIDAL AND DISSOLVED FRACTIONS IN ABANDONED MINE DRAINAGE

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Peterson ◽  
◽  
Emma G. Saloky ◽  
Molly M. McGuire ◽  
Ellen K. Herman
Keyword(s):  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Abandoned Mine ◽  
Kinetics Of

THREE-DIMENSIONAL SEEPAGE ANALYSIS OF A COAL REFUSE PILE RECLAMATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-66
Author(s):  
Iuri Lira Santos ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Initial Water Content ◽  
Initial Water ◽  
Seepage Analysis ◽  
Cover System ◽  
Coal Refuse ◽  
Refuse Pile

Abstract. A coal refuse pile located in Greenbrier County, West Virginia was studied to restrict generation of acid mine drainage through the use of a cap and cover system. This paper presents results of a finite element method seepage analysis on a proposed reclamation design. The proposed reclamation incorporates a cap and cover system with a 0.3-m thick surface vegetation cap layer over a 0.6-m thick low permeability layer. The low permeability layer is directly above the coal refuse. Unsaturated soil mechanics was utilized, adopting the Fredlund and Xing equation for soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) estimation. SWCC fitting parameters were calculated using the Zapata and the Hernandez estimation techniques. Different precipitation events were used to evaluate seepage throughout the reclamation area and assess the effectiveness of the cap and cover system. A steep area (>4H:1V) and a flat area were considered. The water balance analysis showed a 50% to 88% reduction in water volume at the coal refuse layer and a reduction in the time for the refuse to return to initial water content due to the cap and cover system implementation. Moisture detainment was observed in the growth layer and is important for supporting vegetation persistence.

scholarly journals Large-scale application of the flood damage model RAilway Infrastructure Loss (RAIL)

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2357-2371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patric Kellermann ◽  
Christine Schönberger ◽  
Annegret H. Thieken
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Damage Model ◽  
Flood Damage ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Experience has shown that river floods can significantly hamper the reliability of railway networks and cause extensive structural damage and disruption. As a result, the national railway operator in Austria had to cope with financial losses of more than EUR 100 million due to flooding in recent years. Comprehensive information on potential flood risk hot spots as well as on expected flood damage in Austria is therefore needed for strategic flood risk management. In view of this, the flood damage model RAIL (RAilway Infrastructure Loss) was applied to estimate (1) the expected structural flood damage and (2) the resulting repair costs of railway infrastructure due to a 30-, 100- and 300-year flood in the Austrian Mur River catchment. The results were then used to calculate the expected annual damage of the railway subnetwork and subsequently analysed in terms of their sensitivity to key model assumptions. Additionally, the impact of risk aversion on the estimates was investigated, and the overall results were briefly discussed against the background of climate change and possibly resulting changes in flood risk. The findings indicate that the RAIL model is capable of supporting decision-making in risk management by providing comprehensive risk information on the catchment level. It is furthermore demonstrated that an increased risk aversion of the railway operator has a marked influence on flood damage estimates for the study area and, hence, should be considered with regard to the development of risk management strategies.

scholarly journals Research on the Progress of Interdigital Transducer (IDT) for Structural Damage Monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Wang Ziping ◽  
Xiong Xiqiang ◽  
Qian Lei ◽  
Wang Jiatao ◽  
Fei Yue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Health Monitoring ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Safety Information ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Guided Wave ◽  
Structural Safety ◽  
Structural Health ◽  
Damage Monitoring

In the application of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) methods and related technologies, the transducer used for electroacoustic conversion has gradually become a key component of SHM systems because of its unique function of transmitting structural safety information. By comparing and analyzing the health and safety of large-scale structures, the related theories and methods of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) based on ultrasonic guided waves are studied. The key technologies and research status of the interdigital guided wave transducer arrays which used for structural damage detection are introduced. The application fields of interdigital transducers are summarized. The key technical and scientific problems solved by IDT for Structural Damage Monitoring (SHM) are presented. Finally, the development of IDT technology and this research project are summarised.

Deep-Ocean Exploitation Technology

1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (02) ◽  
pp. 145-158
Author(s):  
Raymond Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Abandoned Mine ◽  
Economic Potential ◽  
Mining Method ◽  
Mine Shaft ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Ocean Mining ◽  
Air Lift

The paper discusses the latest techniques proposed for mining minerals from the deep ocean. Deep ocean is defined as the sea beyond the continental shelf, particularly areas of the sea floor exceeding 1200 ft in depth. The three principal deep-ocean minerals having economic potential in the immediate future are identified. Four recently proposed advanced deep-ocean mining concepts are presented. Use of the air-lift pump as a viable mining method is discussed and a large-scale air-lift pump experiment conducted in an abandoned mine shaft at Galax, Virginia is described. The principal features of the conversion of a small C1-M-AV1 type cargo ship to a deep-ocean mining prototype vessel, RV Deepsea Miner, is outlined.

scholarly journals Terrestrial Ecosystem Impacts of Sulfide Mining: Scope of Issues for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota, USA

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee E. Frelich
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Metal Mining ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Mining Impacts

Large-scale metal mining operations are planned or underway in many locations across the boreal forest biome in North America, Europe, and Asia. Although many published analyses of mining impacts on water quality in boreal landscapes are available, there is little guidance regarding terrestrial impacts. Scoping of potential impacts of Cu-Ni exploration and mining in sulfide ores are presented for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), Minnesota USA, an area of mostly boreal forest on thin soils and granitic bedrock. Although the primary footprint of the proposed mines would be outside the BWCAW, displacement and fragmentation of forest ecosystems would cause spatial propagation of effects into a secondary footprint within the wilderness. Potential negative impacts include disruption of population dynamics for wildlife species with migration routes, or metapopulations of plant species that span the wilderness boundary, and establishment of invasive species outside the wilderness that could invade the wilderness. Due to linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, acid mine drainage can impact lowland forests, which are highly dependent on chemistry of water flowing through them. The expected extremes in precipitation and temperature due to warming climate can also interact with mining impacts to reduce the resilience of forests to disturbance caused by mining.

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