Characterization, Cleanup, and Revitalization of Mining Sites

Resources

Click on the items below to access reports, papers, and website links that provide further information on the topics of Characterization and Remediation, Mine Pools, Revitalization and Redevelopment, Radioactive Materials as well as General Information related to mining sites.

General Information

• Abandoned Mine Lands Portal. The Abandoned Mine Lands Portal is a partnership that spans federal, state and local efforts and is dedicated to raising awareness about abandoned mine lands.
• EPA Abandoned Mine Lands Program. This website identifies EPA resources related to the range of environmental risks and challenges from abandoned mine lands, as well as risk management approaches.
• The Global Acid Rock Drainage Guide. The International Network for Acid Prevention (INAP) and the Global Alliance have consolidated available scientific and guidance to develop the GARD Guide as a practical reference on best practices in minimizing the impacts of acid rock drainage (ARD) from mining sites. Designed primarily for a scientist or engineer with a reasonable background in chemistry and the basics of mining but with little specific knowledge of ARD, this compendium of the concepts, techniques, and processes has been prepared as a road map through the process of evaluating, planning, design, and management of ARD over the lifecycle of mining. The guide also provides references to identify more detailed information for those seeking specifics on ARD technologies and approaches. Initiated in 2009, the GARD Guide is still a work in progress. The GARD website provides for reader input, and all comments are welcome.
• Global Review of Pit Lake Case Studies. The use of pit lakes for long-term containment of tailings and mine waste is recognized as best practice by the mine closure community in many jurisdictions and in global guidance documents. Various sectors of the mining industry consider water-capped, in-pit mine waste disposal to be a best practice in terms of geotechnical stability, geochemical stability, and protection of regional aquifers (either by directing contaminated groundwater to the pit or by engineering a preferential pathway around the pit to minimize contact with mine waste). Presented in this report are 12 examples of successful pit lakes (6 of which were used to sequester tailings and/or mine wastes), 16 examples of pit lakes that are being extensively managed toward success (14 of which were used to sequester tailings and/or mine wastes), and 5 unsuccessful pit lakes (all of which were used to sequester tailings and/or mine wastes). See also 29 illustrating slides from the 2018 British Columbia MEND Metal Leaching/Acid Rock Drainage Workshop
• Hydrogeologic Properties of Earth Materials and Principles of Groundwater Flow. This book emphasizes the need for groundwater scientists to have a solid understanding of the occurrence and behavior of groundwater in a variety of conditions and settings. Knowledge of how porous media store, yield, and transmit water, and the factors that control groundwater flow rates and directions are highlighted. Eight Boxes present more detailed discussion of concepts introduced in the main text. Sixteen exercises and their solutions are also provided.
• Hydrogeology and Mineral Resource Development. The hydrogeological setting of a mineral resource development project is often a central component in mine planning, safe mine operations and sound environmental stewardship. This book illustrates many of the considerations involved in and methodologies applied when assessing the impacts of groundwater on mine operations, on mine water supply, on mineral waste management and in closure of a mine site following resource depletion. In most countries, strict regulation is in place that recognizes the need for management controls to minimize impacts on groundwater systems and nearby surface water flows. This book discusses the principles of hydrogeology that need to be considered to achieve those goals.
• Mine Waste Issues in the United States: A White Paper developed by the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC). This paper highlights the four areas that states and industries consider most important to address: pollution prevention, waste management, remediation and reuse, and legacy management. It also introduces innovative solutions to historical and current environmental problems in the industry.
• Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). OSM is responsible for establishing a nationwide program to protect society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations.

Characterization and Remediation

• Brownfields Technology Primer: Mine Site Cleanup for Brownfields Redevelopment. The Primer provides information about approaches that have been used for redevelopment of mining sites, as well as new and innovative approaches to more efficiently characterize and clean up those sites.
• Investigative Strategies for Lead-Source Attribution at Superfund Sites Associated with Mining Activities. Identification of potentially responsible parties is complicated because Superfund sites can have a long history of use and involve contaminants that can have many sources. Such is often the case for mining sites that involve metal contamination; metals occur naturally in the environment, they can be contaminants in the wastes generated at or released from the sites, and they can be used in consumer products, which can degrade and release the metals back to the environment. This report examines the extent to which various sources contribute to environmental lead contamination at Superfund sites that are near lead-mining areas and focuses on sources that contribute to lead contamination at sites near the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District. It recommends potential improvements in approaches used for assessing sources of lead contamination at or near Superfund sites.
• Mine Waste Characterization Project, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS has taken a multidisciplinary approach to assemble, develop, and refine methods and tools for characterizing and screening weathered solid mine wastes. Tools developed from this work can be used in ranking and prioritizing historical mining waste piles.
• Mining Waste Treatment Technology Selection. Developed by ITRC, this site assists project managers in selecting an applicable technology or suite of technologies that can be used to remediate sites contaminated by mining waste. Each technology is described, along with a summary of the applicability, advantages, limitations, performance, stakeholder and regulatory considerations, and lessons learned from past applications.
• National Technology Development and Transfer Website, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). OSMRE's Technology Development and Transfer Program supports and enhances the technical skills that states and tribes need to operate their regulatory and reclamation programs and to effectively implement the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.
• Office of Technology Transfer, Colorado School of Mines. This website provides links to fact sheets on available technologies developed by the school's faculty and students, a list of resources on technology transfer, and links to the school's latest research publications.
• Operation and Maintenance of Passive Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Systems: A Framework for Watershed Groups. This report proposes a systematic framework for developing and maintaining AMD projects. It lists things to try when developing new projects, observing completed projects, or coming back to projects with problems. Successes and failures in passive AMD treatment systems have led to improvements in design of treatment measures, rules for selecting and sizing them, and methods to refurbish them when needed. A lifespan of 20 years is rare, but several projects have done well for five to seven years, lost efficacy, and resumed function after rejuvenation. This report aims to encourage watershed groups to develop plans for project operation and maintenance and resources to carry out those plans.
• Planning for Response Actions at Abandoned Mines with Underground Workings: Best Practices for Preventing Sudden, Uncontrolled Fluid Mining Waste Releases (OLEM 9200.3-118). The Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation and the Office of Emergency Management recommend applying these best practices, as appropriate, when carrying out EPA-lead activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act at hardrock mining and mineral processing sites with underground mine workings posing actual or potential fluid release hazards (July 2017, 70 pages).
• Reference Guide to Treatment Technologies for Mining-Influenced Water. This report highlights select mining-influenced water (MIW) treatment technologies used or piloted as part of remediation efforts at mine sites. It is intended to provide information on treatment technologies for MIW to federal, state and local regulators, site owners and operators, consultants, and other stakeholders. Included in the report are short descriptions of treatment technologies and information on the contaminants treated, pre-treatment requirements, long-term maintenance needs, performance, and costs. Sample sites illustrate considerations associated with selecting a technology. Website links and sources for more information on each topic are also included. This fact sheet provides more detail on the information included in the report and a searchable library of summary information for the technologies discussed in the body of the report, as well as additional technologies or products designed as passive or low cost treatment options, is available.

Ecosystem Goods and Services

• Ecosystem Goods and Services Case Studies and Models Support Community Decision Making Using the Enviroatlas and Eco-Health Relationship Browser
  Bolgrien, D.W., T.R. Angradi, J. Bousquin, T.J. Canfield, T.H. DeWitt, R.S. Fulford, et al.
  EPA 600-R-18-167, 109 pp, 2018
  Case studies, data tools, and models are presented to illuminate multiple lines of inquiry focused on improving the public's use of ecosystem goods and services (EGS) concepts for addressing environmental, social, and economic problems. The report summarizes current strategies for using EGS case studies and models to support community decision-making while highlighting the broad use of the EnviroAtlas and Eco-Health Relationship Browser.
• How the Community Value of Ecosystem Goods and Services Empowers Communities to Impact the Outcomes of Remediation Restoration and Revitalization Projects
  Williams, K.C., D.W. Bolgrien, J.C. Hoffman, T.R. Angradi, J. Carlson, R. Clarke, et al.
  EPA 600-R-17-292, 61 pp, 2018
  This report summarizes a systematic and comprehensive investigation of Remediation to Restoration to Revitalization (R2R2R) in the Great Lakes region. R2R2R is a place-based practice that requires ongoing communication amongst federal and state agencies, local governments, and citizens. Data from the Great Lakes Area of Concern collaboration were analyzed to identify forces that shaped decisions, participation, and the inclusion of stakeholder and public values. Two frameworks were then created that can be used to facilitate interpretation and transparency. One framework can be applied to decision contexts to discuss who-what-how decision outcomes. The second framework can be used to interpret distinct values and facilitate communication or comparison across boundaries of experience or responsibility. The frameworks are designed to improve transparency and facilitate conversations about decisions and ecosystem services.
• Practical Strategies for Assessing Final Ecosystem Goods and Services in Community Decision Making: FY 17 Output SHC 2.61
  U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Gulf Breeze, FL.
  EPA 600-R-18-183, 41 pp, 2018
  Research outputs from the Community-Based Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Project in the Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program are presented. The report summarizes how community-based studies have previously utilized ecosystem services to inform aspects of their decision-making, identify best practices that might transfer to other communities, and identify gaps in those practices.
• Ecosystem Goods and Services Production and Benefit Functions Case Studies Report: FY 16 Output SHC 2.61
  U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Gulf Breeze, FL.
  EPA 600-R-18-189, 32 pp, 2018
  Research and development conducted under the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program is intended to inform and empower decision-makers to weigh and integrate human health, socio-economic, environmental, and ecological factors to foster sustainability in the built and natural environments. This report describes EPA's research to incorporate the sustainability of final ecosystem goods and services production and benefits into community-scale decision making at study sites around the United States.

Mine Pools

Mine pools are groundwater that has accumulated in the voids left by mining activities. Click to expand the list of resources.