CHAPTER 5 EXECUTION OF RECLAMATION BY THE STATE OF MONTANA ABANDONED MINE PROGRAM

• Jurisdiction: United States

Mine Closure, Financial Assurance, and Final Reclamation
(Nov 2009)
CHAPTER 5
EXECUTION OF RECLAMATION BY THE STATE OF MONTANA ABANDONED MINE PROGRAM
John Koerth
Department of Environmental Quality
Montana Abandoned Mined Land Reclamation Program
Helena, Montana

John Koerth is the program manager for the Abandoned Mine Land program at Montana Department of Quality. He has been with the program for 20 years, with prior experience in consulting as well as the construction and mining industry. John has a bachelor degree in Agriculture from Montana State University with an emphasis in mined land reclamation. John is the Montana delegate to the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs (NAAMLP) an organization that he has been involved with for the past 20 years. John is an acknowledged expert in history and industrial archeology as it relates to Montana mining sites. He has presented talks on Montana mining history at the Montana Historical Society, to various local history groups, and at the convention of the Western Writers of America. John has written book reviews on mining topics for Montana the Magazine of Western History, Oregon Historical Quarterly, and the Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology. He has represented the State of Montana as an expert witness in the ASARCO bankruptcy trials, producing expert reports and written testimony. John lives in Helena, Montana with his wife and two children.

Mine Waste Cleanup Bureau - Abandoned Mines Section

NOT

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• Responsible for administering abandoned mine reclamation projects that are funded by federal grants

• Funding derived from tax on coal under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)

• Surface mining ($.315), underground mining ($.135/ton), and lignite ($.09/ton)

• Eligibility:

- Must have been mined or affected by mining processes and abandoned or left in an inadequate state prior to August 3, 1977

- August 28, 1974 for US Forest Service administered lands

- November 26, 1980 for US Bureau of Land Management administered lands

Exemptions:

- Coal mining sites that were operated after 1977 until November 24, 1990 and funds available from a bond, financial guarantee, or other source were insufficient for adequate reclamation

- Coal company surety became insolvent between August 4, 1977 and November 5, 1990 and the funds available from bankruptcy proceedings were not sufficient for adequate reclamation

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• Federal law requires sites to be addressed in a priority order:

• Priority one: The protection of public health, safety, general welfare and property from the extreme danger of adverse effects of mineral mining and processing practices.

• Priority two: The protection of public health, safety, and general welfare from the adverse effects of mineral mining and processing practices; and

• Priority three: The restoration of land and water resources and the environment previously degraded by the adverse effects of mineral mining and processing practices.

• DEQ-AML expanded the basic three-tiered model based on scientific assessments of on-site conditions and off-site impacts

• Abandoned Inactive Mine Scoring System (AIMSS) estimates risk posed by each site being evaluated relative to the other mine sites evaluated.

- Risk to public health or environment

- Hazard potential of substances

- Potential for contamination of drinking water supplies

- Potential for direct human contact

- Potential for detrimental effects to sensitive ecosystems

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• Abandoned Inactive Mine Scoring System (AIMSS) is based on:

• Site Specific Criteria:

- Extent of actual release, and the potential to release hazardous constituents from the site into the environment

- The quantity, toxicity, and concentrations of the hazardous constituents in waste material at the site, and;

- The degree of risk to human health and the environment posed by those hazardous constituents

• Over 3,000 abandoned coal mines

• Over 5,200 abandoned hardrock mine sites.

- Of these, 297 are on the MWCB Priority Site List.

• To date, all priority coal abandoned mine sites (with exception of AMD at coal sites) and 32 priority hardrock abandoned mine sites have been reclaimed.

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Montana Abandoned Mines

• Problems associated with abandoned mines:

- Toxic material

- Hazardous shafts and adits

- Acid mine drainage

- Sterile soils

- Mine fires

- Abandoned structures or equipment

- Air pollution

- High Walls

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• AML Procedures

- Preliminary Assessment

- Owner/Operator Investigation

- Cultural Resource Report

- Site Characterization/Reclamation Investigation

- EEE/CA

- CRP

- Bid Package Preparation

- Bid

- Construction

• Preliminary Assessment:

- Location of hazardous substances

- Quantity of contamination

- Physical and chemical attributes

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• Owner/Operator Investigation

- Identify past & current owner/operators

- Deed/Lease agreements

- Consent for Entry

- Permitted site?

IS SITE ELIGIBLE FOR AML FUNDING?

• Cultural Resource Investigation

- Identify and protect...