THE ROLE OF SCIENCE WITH RESPECT TO THE PUBLIC POLICY ASPECTS OF MOUNTANTOP REMOVAL MINING (MRTM) IN THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS

Mountaintop removal mining (MRTM) is a style of surface mining where mountain ridges are surface-mined for the coal contained in them down to a level where it is not economically feasible to continue mining deeper. MRTM is more similar to areal surface mining practiced in other parts of the country than to the contour surface mining that has been traditional in the Central Appalachians. Larger equipment and more sophisticated methods of mining engineering have allowed this change in the style of surface mining. During the mining operation there is a "bulking-up" effect which results in considerable broken rock (mine waste) to be disposed of. Some of this broken rock is placed in disposal areas called "valley fills" in the steep headwater areas of streams adjacent to the ridges being mined.

The possibility of environmental damage such as the siltation of streams, slope stability problems, and possible dificulties in adequate reclamation to an approximate original contour standard have generated intense public interest and even controversy. There has been considerable litigation as well as legislative and regulatory activity generated by MRTM.

Current scientific research should help address issues of site-specific and off-site impacts of this new style of mining by showing where MRTM is feasible and how much coal can be recovered using this method. Before the fundamentally public policy issue of allowing or disallowing MRTM is decided science can make a contribution as a source of facts for all of the public policy points of view to accomodate.