DEVELOPING A GEOSPATIAL DECISION TOOL FOR DATA-BASED PRIORITIZATION AND TRACKING OF REMEDIATION AND ASSESSMENTS OF HAZARDS POSED BY MINED LANDS IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES

Mined lands, including surface, subsurface and groundwater operations, can pose potential environmental and human hazards; thus, there is broad interest in the reclamation potential of active and abandoned mined lands. However, centralized data and metrics for mined lands regarding their location, characteristics, reclamation status, and associated human and environmental health risks are lacking. To address this shortcoming, the USGS is developing a geospatial web application to deliver pertinent hazard and reclamation metrics for use by mined land managers and decision-makers. The application leverages existing national geospatial datasets to identify potential hazards and risks to vulnerable communities and prioritize and track remediation activities. Moreover, this tool will allow users to generate metrics that can assist decision-makers in evaluating the impacts of climate change on mined lands and monitor the effectiveness of mined land management projects. Current development efforts are focused on data-rich locations within the Colorado River Basin watershed, showcasing ongoing research efforts on mined lands in the region. Future efforts will expand the application scope to the Continental United States. This project is a partnership between the USGS, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Reclamation, National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Iterative and collaborative development with partners will assure a robust web application that presents useful information regarding mined lands, supporting well-informed decision-making processes.