why do regulations require strip mined areas be restored when mining ends?

Answer 1

I live in Southern Illinois where strip mining is often used to remove coal from the ground. I am well aware of what happens to the land during mining operations.

Mining companies do not always own the land that they strip mine. Often they have mineral rights only. Without these regulations, the mining company can remove the minerals (or coal) and leave the ground exactly as it ends when the operation is over. Often this mean deep pits filled with toxic pools and steep hills of rock and subsoil with no top soil for nature to work.

The regulations require filling in the pits with these rocky hills of loose materials and then replacing enough top soil back so that plants can grow immediately. If the mined area had no top soil, then it is not a requirement to haul any in.

The land owner (or if the land is owned by the mining company, the future land owner) is not left with mining debris hindering future development of the land.

In addition, the flow of water and the purity of the runoff water can make a big difference far beyond the actual land mined. This needs to be minimized.

Answer 2

Have you ever seen the results of strip mining? It causes devastation to the area leaving it useless for any purpose and too ugly to describe. The mining company has taken the mineral wealth so it is only fair that they return the land to a functional state when they depart.

Answer 3

the regs are there so it's not an eyesore to look at and it encourages future development in the area i believe