Reclamation Costs of Strip-mined Land in Western North Dakota
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Date
1979
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North Dakota State University
Abstract
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Reclamation of strip-mined land in North Dakota is an important part of the mining process under present state law. Mining cannot be undertaken unless reclamation can be successfully completed. The reclamation process was divided into separate activities that must be performed, including preparation and planning, recontouring, top- soiling, and revegetation. The cost of reclamation was then estimated for a given set of mine conditions. The effects on reclamation cost of different physical characteristics of coal mines and requirements of the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 were also examined. The cost of reclamation under the conditions assumed was $6,500 per mined acre. The federal legislation would add an average of $2,900 per mined acre to the cost of reclamation.