Land Reclamation at Abandoned Deep Coal Mine

A typical abandoned midwestern deep coal mine site was selected, final land use determined, baseline environmental data collected, engineering plans developed and implemented, and a post- construction evaluation begun. The project is a cooperative effort by two state agencies — the Abandoned Mined Land Reclamation Council of Illinois and the Illinois Institute of Natural Resources — and the U.S. Department of Energy through the Land Reclamation Program at Argonne National Laboratory. Site development included recontouring 23 acres of the 33.95 acre site. Cover material was applied to the recontoured areas which were then limed, fertilized, and seeded with a mixture of grasses and legumes. A pond was constructed to control runoff and to provide a combined wildlife and recreational area. After two growing seasons vegetation has been established and on-site water quality has shown significant improvement.