COAL MINE PERMITTING:
HYDROGEOLOGIC ASSESSMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

        Coal is still abundant in Arkansas, though much of the more accessible coal has been mined in the past. Bill Prior of the Arkansas Geological Commission estimates that close to a billion tons of bituminous coal still is present in the Pennsylvanian-aged strata of the Arkansas River Valley. Much of this coal has a fairly low sulfur content, as compared to bituminous coals in many parts of the country. In addition, there are at least 9 billion tons of lignite in the southern and eastern part of the state in Tertiary-aged deposits. Activity in Arkansas has been slow in the past two decades, but still companies seek to open new mines. All the activity has been in the bituminous coals because of their higher energy output.Text Box:

 

In order to responsibly manage these coal resources and in order to protect the environment, companies seeking to mine coal in Arkansas must obtain a mining permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Thorough mining plans must be submitted along with a site analysis regarding geology and hydrology to assess environmental impact of the mining operation.

 

In recent years Dr. Kline has become active in working with companies to help in the preparation of their mining permits. In particular Dr. Kline performs geologic and hydrologic site investigation. Dr. Kline Text Box: works with the companies and with ADEQ to make sure that the planned mining activity will not negatively impact the surrounding area with such harms as acid mine drainage.  The work includes such things as geologic mapping, structural analysis, preparation of interpretive cross sections, drilling and sampling of coal overburden, acid-base accounting of overburden, coal and underclay, and interpretation of groundwater hydrology. Whenever possible, ATU students take part in the field work and some write up their participation in the form of a report for Special Problems course credit. Projects have included a small open pit mine in Sebastian County, a planned underground mine on the north flank of Poteau Mountain in Sebastian County, and a major strip mine and auger operation extending their work from Oklahoma into Scott County, Arkansas.