COAL GEOLOGY, PATTERNS OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, AND THE ABANDONED MINE LEGACY IN PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the American coal industry and is still the nation’s fourth largest producer. During the nineteenth century, anthracite coal from northeast Pennsylvania was prized in eastern cities for space heating, while western Pennsylvania’s bituminous fields were developed slightly later to support the growth of industry. Overall production peaked in 1918 at which time the anthracite industry entered a period of near continuous decline, while bituminous production plateaued at a reduced, but substantial, level. Substantive reclamation requirements were not imposed until the 1970’s. This history has left Pennsylvania with the nation’s largest abandoned mine lands problem: open portals, dangerous highwall, flooded pits, abandoned facilities and equipment, culm banks, acid mine drainage, and areas prone to subsidence mark the landscape and pose risks to public safety. The distribution and severity of these hazards is a result of the historical pattern of resource development, geology, and public policy, which are best illuminated through geospatial analysis. The (anthracite) coal region of northeast Pennsylvania contains a disproportionate fraction of the state’s abandoned mine legacy because the industry declined so significantly in this region prior to establishment of modern reclamation practices. Acid mine drainage is more severe because many abandoned drift mines are naturally drained by the folded structure of the Appalachian Mountains. Current production patterns indicate that refuse mining likely represents the most expeditious strategy for remediating abandoned mine lands in this region.