tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/reclamation-27201/articlesReclamation – The Conversation2020-12-09T21:41:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1481582020-12-09T21:41:47Z2020-12-09T21:41:47ZHow plants can help clean up oilsands tailing ponds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373131/original/file-20201204-23-1vjxo3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C12%2C1632%2C1259&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Oilsands tailings are a mixture of water, suspended sand, clay and residual bitumen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Dan Prat/Canva)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For every barrel of bitumen extracted in Alberta, about <a href="https://www.pembinainstitute.org/reports/oilsands-metrics.pdf">1.5 barrels of non-recyclable tailings volume are produced</a>. In 2019 alone, an estimated <a href="https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/projects/bitumen-production">1.5 million barrels of tailings were produced</a>, which would take <a href="https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/mining/tailings-ponds">five to 10 years</a> to cleanup and return to the landscape. </p>
<p>As of 2017, more than <a href="http://osip.alberta.ca/map/">1.2 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings have accumulated</a> in the northern Alberta boreal forest region, enough to bury the city of Edmonton under more than 1.8 metres of fluid waste material. </p>
<p>Tailings represent the largest liability for the oilsands. An investigation by the Alberta Energy Regulator estimates the total cleanup costs of oilsands mining operations facilities is around $130 billion and <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/11/23/news/alberta-officials-are-signalling-they-have-no-idea-how-clean-toxic-oilsands-tailings">critics have voiced concerns that an economic downturn could see these costs dropped on the shoulders of taxpayers</a>.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.capp.ca/explore/land-reclamation/">oilsands operators remain committed</a> to restoring the boreal forests that have been disturbed by mining activities. As a research scientist who studies remediation and biotechnology, I work with industry and collaborators to develop solutions that will help cleanup the vast quantity of tailings currently stored in the oilsands region, including nature-based approaches to reclamation.</p>
<h2>Why is reclamation so challenging?</h2>
<p>Oilsands tailings are a mixture of water, suspended sand, clay and residual bitumen. They are the byproduct of treating crushed ore with hot water to release the trapped bitumen.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="alttext" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373132/original/file-20201204-23-1qm94mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Oilsands tailings being pumped into a tailings pond in Alberta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Francis Black/Canva)</span></span>
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<p>The tailings are stored in ponds, where the heavier material quickly settles to the bottom, freeing up water to be reused in the extraction process. The remaining fine solids, such as clay, continue to settle and increase in density until the material is dry enough to use in the reclaimed landscape — <a href="https://www.oilsandsmagazine.com/technical/mining/tailings-ponds">a process that can take up to 150 years if left untreated</a>.</p>
<p>A shell of water forms around the clay particles, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1081/LFT-120003695">preventing them from interacting and allowing them to remain suspended</a>, even as larger particles settle. This suspension can be thin, like chocolate milk, or thick, like pudding. The water must be removed so that the material can be used to fill empty mining pits and support the weight of the clean sand and topsoil needed to reclaim the landscape. You can’t plant a forest on a foundation of pudding.</p>
<p>If the buried tailings are too fluid, the ground will be unstable. Several technologies are currently used to remove water from tailings such as water-separating polymers and giant centrifuges, however, these are not cost effective given the immense volume of stored tailings and still may not remove enough water for reclamation. </p>
<h2>Nature-based solutions</h2>
<p>Over the past 20 years, scientists have made considerable progress researching how nature can help solve human-caused problems such as land disturbances. This includes several studies evaluating <a href="https://doi.org/10.21000/JASMR98010104">plant growth on oilsands tailings</a> and the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267248898_Evapotranspiration_dewatering_effect_on_CT_deposits_by_grasses">potential to use plants</a> to address the <a href="https://alfalfagreen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Done-Suncor-Paper-2011.pdf">tailings volume problem</a>. </p>
<p>Plants are highly effective at pulling trapped water from the subsurface and releasing it to the environment in a process called evapotranspiration. For example, <a href="https://clu-in.org/download/techdrct/td_hoffnagle-phytoremediation.pdf">poplars growing in soil have been reported to transpire between six litres and 757 litres of water per day</a>, depending on the size and condition of the tree. However, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27177137/">tailings are not particularly hospitable to plant growth as they can lack nutrients such as nitrogen</a> and often <a href="https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/5676110f-0176-4e24-934f-bac38d9123b7">contain hydrocarbons, naphthenic acids, salts and heavy metals</a>. </p>
<p>Oilsands operators strive to avoid introducing non-native plant species to northern Alberta to avoid further disruption to the ecosystem. This limits the selection of plants to hardy boreal species, which often don’t share the same vigour as the fast-growing, invasive species. Research suggests, however, that the addition of plant growth-promoting supplements may help overcome some of the challenges faced by native species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="aerial view of bog and boreal forest, with a twisting creek running through it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373133/original/file-20201204-13-i836s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Scientists are evaluating new plant-based technologies that could help remove water from tailings to make them suitable to help rebuild the boreal forest in northern Alberta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jason V/Canva)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://cosia.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/2019%20Tailings%20Research%20Report_FINAL.pdf">In a recent industry-funded study</a>, which is pending publication in a peer-reviewed journal, we found that combining a protein-rich compound called hydrochar with a collection of different types of bacteria increased the nutrients available to the plants, including nitrogen, and promoted their growth on tailings. </p>
<p>The more the plants grew, the drier — and more solid — the tailings became. After 3.5 months, the plants had not only dried out the tailings, they had enriched them with organic material such as root fibres, and improved the structure of the tailings solids by secreting organic molecules. The end result were <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/iostc2018/home/Collins%20et%20al%20-%20DEVELOPMENT%20OF%20BACTERIAL%20INOCULUM%20FOR%20THE%20PROMOTION%20OF%20PLANT%20GROWTH%20ON%20TAILINGS%20MATERIAL.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1">tailings that looked more like soil than dried clay</a>. </p>
<p>This proof-of-concept study was limited to a large, outdoor greenhouse experiment, but the concept has gained momentum within the wider industry. Field trials are targeted for 2023 where native boreal plant species would be used to dry tailings in a small, experimental tailings pit prior to reclamation. Operators are also funding research that uses drones and floating islands to look at how to deploy seedlings on tailings pits being prepared for closure. </p>
<p>While there is still work to be done before the oilsands industry can use plants to remove the water from tailings, there’s still a lot of potential. A plant-based remediation strategy is a passive technology, making it a potentially cost-effective tool that could ease the liability risk faced by oilsands operators and Canadians by increasing the speed of reclamation in the oilsands region.</p>
<p><em>This is a corrected version of a story originally published on Dec. 9. The earlier story said the volume of fluid tailings could bury Alberta, instead of the city of Edmonton.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Collins receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and oilsands operators. She conducts research in collaboration with oilsands operators. </span></em></p>A new nature-based approach to managing oilsands tailings shows promise in the lab and may soon be tested in the field.Victoria Collins, Research associate, Applied BioNanotechnoloy Industrial Research group, Northern Alberta Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1436732020-10-15T13:29:33Z2020-10-15T13:29:33ZThe growing cost to clean up abandoned and orphaned wells<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363517/original/file-20201014-19-requmi.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C119%2C3784%2C2497&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A decommissioned pumpjack at a well head on an oil and gas installation near Cremona, Alta., October 2016.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lately, there’s been growing concern over the number of abandoned oil and gas wells in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Many of these wells are on farms, ranches or forests, and leaks from aging wells risk contaminating the soil and water. </p>
<p>The industry operates under the premise that companies must pay to clean up wells that are no longer in use. But with the era of rapid expansion and growth in the fossil fuel energy sector behind us, some companies have gone bankrupt and no longer have the resources to cover the high costs of cleanup, leaving behind thousands of so-called “orphan” wells.</p>
<p>Some worry the costs will be passed to taxpayers, as they were with the clean up of the <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/sydney-tar-ponds-have-been-cleaned-up-but-ghosts-of-toxic-past-remain-1.1533919">Sydney Tar Ponds</a> in Nova Scotia. In late April, the federal government launched a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-program-to-clean-up-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-to-begin-may-1/">$1-billion program to clean up abandoned and orphan wells in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan</a>, and the provinces have <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/business/energy/alberta-to-give-100-million-loan-to-decommission-orphan-wells/wcm/b605b125-bcd6-4654-8cec-972957550fa4/">promised hundreds of millions in loans</a>.</p>
<h2>How many wells are we talking about?</h2>
<p>Oil and gas companies drill holes into the ground to bring fossil fuels to the surface. They consist of steel and concrete, and can be hundreds of metres deep. </p>
<p>When they are no longer in use, or “inactive,” companies are required to periodically inspect and maintain the well. When there is no plan to use the well again, it is then partially removed, or “abandoned,” in a process that involves cleaning the well bore, plugging it with cement and removing the top. After a well has been abandoned the land can then be reclaimed.</p>
<p>There may be <a href="https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/alberta-to-overhaul-orphan-wells-clean-up-rules-in-effort-to-pay-down-the-mortgage-on-soaring-environment-liabilities">more than 91,000 inactive wells and 2,992 orphan wells</a> in Alberta alone, with another 10,000 additional inactive or abandoned wells in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/orphan-wells-british-columbia-oil-gas-auditor-general-1.5056633">British Columbia</a> and 24,000 in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/inactive-wells-liability-auditor-1.4695882">Saskatchewan</a>. </p>
<p>An abandoned well remains the responsibility of the company that owns it until its reclamation has been certified as complete. Orphan wells, on the other hand, are wells or associated facilities that no longer have a company responsible for them able to close the well and return the land to how it looked or was used before. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A panel of men at a conference" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363519/original/file-20201014-23-tfyan2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. chairman Murray Edwards, left, prepares to address the company’s annual meeting in Calgary in May 2019. The Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project says the province’s largest oil and gas companies are underestimating how much it will cost to clean up thousands of oil and gas wells drilled over past decades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are three basic steps to return a well site its previous state: abandonment, remediation and reclamation.</p>
<h2>What does ‘cleanup’ mean?</h2>
<p>Abandonment seals the well so that it can no longer be used. The above-ground infrastructure such as pumps and pipes is removed, and <a href="https://www.aer.ca/regulating-development/project-closure/suspension-and-abandonment/how-are-wells-abandoned.html">the well is cut and capped</a> at least one metre below the ground. The area is backfilled and checked for gas or liquid leaks that could be a threat to public health.</p>
<p>During the remediation step, soil and groundwater are tested for contaminants, such as salt or hydrocarbon-contaminated water and oil, and treated. Contaminated soil can be treated on site (often called land farming) or removed and replaced with clean soil (referred to as a dig and dump). Contaminated groundwater is typically removed or treated by installing of several temporary wells. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-tenth-of-active-and-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-in-northeastern-b-c-are-leaking-127921">A tenth of active and abandoned oil and gas wells in northeastern B.C. are leaking</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Remediation isn’t always necessary, but it is the most expensive step and can take years or decades to complete. <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/federal-budget-earmarks-100-million-for-oil-and-gas-technology-research">Research into remediation technologies and improvements is very active in many post-secondary institutions</a>.</p>
<p>Reclamation begins when the site is ready to be returned to its former use, or some other acceptable land use such as farming, ranching or forest. This may mean planting trees, grasses or re-establishing wetlands. Following a period of monitoring that may take several years, the land is then certified and returned to the previous owner.</p>
<h2>Cost of cleanup</h2>
<p>There’s a new-found urgency to clean up inactive and abandoned wells. Estimates to reclaim wells in Alberta rose to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4617664/cleaning-up-albertas-oilpatch-could-cost-260-billion-regulatory-documents-warn/">$260 billion in 2018 from earlier estimates of $58 billion</a>. In British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the estimated costs have grown significantly since 2007 to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/orphan-wells-british-columbia-oil-gas-auditor-general-1.5056633">$3 billion</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/inactive-wells-liability-auditor-1.4695882">$4 billion</a>, respectively.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Chain-link fence with 'no trespassing' and 'human health hazard' signs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363518/original/file-20201014-23-lsemvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Warning signs are posted on the fence surrounding the tar ponds in Sydney, N.S., in 2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CP PHOTO/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Although the size of the cleanup cost is alarming, it remains the responsibility of the companies responsible for the wells. What’s not included, however, is the liability of those wells that are no longer on company books. The <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/who-will-pay-albertas-orphan-wells">cost to clean up these orphaned wells could be as high as $100 billion</a>.</p>
<p>The issue of orphan wells is not evenly distributed across the oil and gas industry. It is almost exclusively concentrated with small and medium producers. But the energy sector recognizes their danger to the entire industry — from reputational harm and having a social license to operate — and supports the cleanup of orphan wells through orphan well associations (OWA). </p>
<p>In Alberta, the OWA is funded by a levy placed on all producers, and added up to about $60 million in 2019-20. The OWA prioritizes the lands it has under management to those that could cause harm to life or to the environment, and then to legacy sites on farmland or ranch land that continue to cause financial harm. </p>
<p>To stem the growth of orphan wells, the government of Alberta has provided more than $300 million in grants and loans to the OWA and <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-revamping-rules-for-oil-and-gas-wells-to-prevent-future-backlog-of-orphan-inactive-sites/wcm/23cd3067-77e4-4261-b325-13c69c220bba/">announced a new liability management framework, including regulation changes in how producers are assessed before given approval to drill a new well</a>.</p>
<p>The threat of more wells becoming orphaned is likely to increase given the long-term downward trend in the oil and gas industry. The attention given and investment announced over the last year to faster cleanup of inactive and abandoned wells is providing hope for the future. It is still too early to tell if we have truly learned the lessons of the past, but there appears at least to be a general agreement on the scale and urgency of the problem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Kemball receives funding from, NSERC, and Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA). </span></em></p>More oil and gas wells risk becoming orphaned given the long-term downward trend in the industry.Kevin Kemball, Director - Centre for Boreal Research, Northern Alberta Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1398592020-06-27T07:51:43Z2020-06-27T07:51:43ZWeak mining laws could add to Indonesia’s high drowning rates<p>Last month, Indonesia’s parliament managed to pass a revised law on mineral resources and coal, <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ins85947.pdf">the Mining Law No.4/2009</a>, without much scrutiny from civil organisations as the country is practising strict physical distancing. </p>
<p>Like the earlier version, the new revision, <a href="https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/138909/uu-no-3-tahun-2020">Law no. 3/2020</a>, sets no requirements to fill abandoned mine pits. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629620300530?via%3Dihub">Our recently published study</a> shows filling mining voids, particularly those close to residential areas, is critical to avoid drownings, especially in children. </p>
<p>To date, rainwater-filled mining pits in the province of East Kalimantan have claimed 37 lives, 32 of which were children under 18. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the current regulations are insufficient to protect locals from hazardous mining practices.</p>
<h2>Lack of legal clarity</h2>
<p>Mine reclamation is defined broadly in the <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ins85947.pdf">previous mining law</a> as an activity carried out throughout the phases of mining to arrange, restore and improve the quality of the environment and ecosystem to enable them to function again according to its designation.</p>
<p>The previous law and the revision require mining license holders to submit a reclamation and post-mining activity plan, and set aside a reclamation and post-mining guarantee in the form of a term deposit. </p>
<p>More specific requirements for reclamation are set out in <a href="http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/ins148966.pdf">implementing regulations</a> that state voids must be made safe, slopes stabilised, water quality in voids or on sites restored and monitored, and the mine site re-vegetated. </p>
<p>Other related laws governing mining require <a href="https://www.hukumonline.com/pusatdata/detail/28867/node/183/keputusan-menteri-pertambangan-dan-energi-no-555.k_26_m.pe_1995-tahun-1995-keselamatan-dan-kesehatan-kerja-pertambangan-umum">setting up fences or warning signs surrounding the mine site</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339500/original/file-20200603-130903-11ts9dj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A water-filled mining pit in Makroman, Samarinda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tessa Toumbourou</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629620300530?via%3Dihub">research</a>, respondents said a lack of clarity in previous laws allows mining companies to interpret reclamation narrowly, as limited to re-vegetating cleared land and the overburden (material that has been dug out of the mine pit and piled on site). </p>
<p>Our research draws on key informant interviews, focus group discussions and site observations between December 2018 and May 2019. </p>
<p>Twenty four interviewees were from institutions including national and sub-national government, non-government and community organisations, mining companies and academia.</p>
<p>We also conducted interviews with local mining-affected communities.</p>
<p>We complemented our data with 32 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2017 with key informants from government, international NGOs, development organisations, and mining companies. </p>
<p>We compiled various government data sources, land satellite imagery (2016-2020) and media reports to show the location of mine-related fatalities and mine areas around Samarinda, East Kalimantan. </p>
<p>The law mentioned nothing about refilling the voids back after exploitation, a restoration activity that would be expensive for mining companies. Therefore, normal practice was simply <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629620300530?via%3Dihub">to leave the mining pits behind</a>. </p>
<p>The 2020 Mining Law stipulates five years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp100 billion (US$6.9 million) if mining business license holders fail to conduct mine reclamation, but the legal meaning of reclamation remains unclear. </p>
<p>The law only states that mining permit holders are required to “manage former mining pits” (Article 99). And, there is still no requirement to fill mining voids. </p>
<h2>Prone to drownings</h2>
<p>Using government-sourced mining licensing and land cover data, our mapping work shows more drownings occur where mine areas and populated areas overlap.</p>
<p>Smaller pits are more dangerous because they are nearest to roads and housing, however these are less prominent in satellite imagery.</p>
<p>East Kalimantan province, home to the <a href="http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Indonesia-Impacts-of-EII-on-Forests-1.pdf">majority of the country’s coal reserves</a>, is scarred with at least <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620300530?dgcid=author%22%22">1,735 abandoned mining pits</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339524/original/file-20200603-130955-1jxx1zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A water-filled mine pit near a residential area in Samarinda.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JATAM East Kalimantan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the revised law shifts governance responsibilities, including reclamation, from the provincial to the central government, it could potentially increase the risk of failing to identify small and dangerous pits.</p>
<p>Jakarta-based oversight of mining reclamation practices may have to depend on satellite technology which, unfortunately, might not spot smaller flooded voids. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339505/original/file-20200603-130961-195j9k8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Location of mine-related fatalities and mine areas around Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Compiled from various government data sources, Landsat imagery (2016-2020) and media reports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Werner</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629620300530?via%3Dihub">Our mapping</a> also shows drownings are likely to occur on mining sites classified as “Clean and Clear” (CnC) by government standards. </p>
<p>Holding a CnC certificate means the company has diligently completed the required documents. These documents include recommendations from relevant authorities for their permits and environmental assessments.</p>
<p>However, CnC designation does not assess <a href="https://auriga.or.id/resources/reports/64/untouchable-the-vulnerability-of-reclamation-and-post-mining-guarantees-to-corruption">whether mine reclamation has been performed</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/afterlife-of-the-mine-lessons-in-how-towns-remake-challenging-sites-106073">Afterlife of the mine: lessons in how towns remake challenging sites</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Money should not be an issue as the 2009 Mining Law required mining companies to submit the reclamation and post-mining plans along with a budget under reclamation guarantee funds. </p>
<p>A deposit is to be made prior to the extraction, and the fund is to be contributed to throughout the period of mining operation until prior to the mine’s closure. </p>
<p>They could use the fund to implement mining reclamation in accordance with their plans. Once companies have proved they have fulfilled their reclamation obligations, they may apply to have their reclamation guarantee returned.</p>
<p>If companies do not conduct reclamation, the government may appoint a third party to conduct reclamation using the stored reclamation funds. This obligation still carries on in the revised mining law. </p>
<p>However, many permit holders <a href="https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20200121/44/1192367/jaminan-reklamasi-dan-pascatambang-iup-masih-rendah">fail to comply</a> as it is more economically efficient to just <a href="https://icel.or.id/wp-content/uploads/Seri-Analisis-ICEL-Minerba.rev1_-1.pdf">abandon mining pits</a> once coal has been exhausted. </p>
<p>To reduce the chance of more drownings in the future and other adverse social and environmental impacts of mining, it is essential to strengthen regulations for reclamation and to fill mine voids. </p>
<p>The government should also consider increasing opportunities for citizen participation and protecting community rights, instead of loosening regulations for large mining companies.</p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139859/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Bebbington receives or has received funding from: Ford Foundation; Climate and Land Use Alliance; SESYNC; National Science Foundation; Australian Research Council; SSHRC. He is on the Board of Directors of Oxfam America and a Research Associate of RIMISP-Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Muhamad Muhdar, Tessa Toumbourou, dan Tim Werner tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Indonesia’s revised mining law is loose on the requirements for mining companies to close pits when operations are over, potentially adding to drowning casualties.Tessa Toumbourou, PhD Candidate, The University of MelbourneAnthony Bebbington, Milton P. and Alice C. Higgins Professor of Environment and Society, Professor of Geography, Clark UniversityMuhamad Muhdar, Associate professor, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Department, Faculty of Law, Universitas MulawarmanTim Werner, Research Fellow, School of Geography, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/564152016-05-10T01:35:09Z2016-05-10T01:35:09ZWill taxpayers foot the cleanup bill for bankrupt coal companies?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121054/original/image-20160503-19847-cfo6lx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Acid drainage from surface coal mining site, North Lima, Ohio</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jwpearce/13670964043/in/photolist-mQ4gjB-fUjpxH-nsZFVF-BtcWbK-byzHnT-p8SH2z-mCtyCP-cVUPLs-duwn5N-5pMLQx-ePwBNo-dpwnVr-2pXV2e-gzitqq-mQ5wiy-cL862N-mQ3DGe-nHrjus-bvdjA3-nsZmCn-nKikxQ-ni5hxG-bW8ooM-gicmk8-nBkMk6-nKixEq-m2t5Ft-nKrGas-nsYPmg-69rcLU-4QXNHY-8BtYPz-f9b9Mq-8n4CMK-a7yN6n-by6bNV-nHrAB7-56J896-m2sGJT-nMfmgP-8n7Liu-mQ5muL-5HonNg-mQ5u2j-mQ3Zrp-mQ4dEZ-69t4iX-mQ4d74-bprejL-mQ3C7F">Jack Pearce/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coal’s share of the U.S. energy market is rapidly plunging. Low-cost fracking-generated natural gas has <a href="http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/topic/0?agg=2,0,1&fuel=vtvv&geo=g&sec=g&linechart=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.COW-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.NG-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.NUC-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.HYC-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.WND-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.TSN-US-99.M&columnchart=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.COW-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.NG-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.NUC-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.HYC-US-99.M%7EELEC.GEN.WND-US-99.M&map=ELEC.GEN.ALL-US-99.M&freq=M&start=200101&end=201602&chartindexed=0&ctype=columnchart&ltype=pin&rtype=s&pin=&rse=0&maptype=0">overtaken the use of coal</a> at America’s power plants. Impending implementation of the Obama administration’s proposed <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-existing-power-plants">Clean Power Plan</a>, which would place stringent regulations on coal-fired power plant emissions, has also helped to drive coal production to its lowest level in decades. Government sources <a href="http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/report/coal.cfm">predict further decline</a>. </p>
<p>Fifty U.S. coal companies have <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2016/04/14/peabody-bankruptcy-offers-stark-warning-to-oil-and-gas-groups-of-risks-of-ignoring-climate-change/#20f3314c6d50">filed for bankruptcy</a> since 2012. Competition and more stringent environmental regulations played a role in this decline. But, just before coal prices collapsed, speculating top producers borrowed billions to finance unwise acquisitions. Now, unable to pay loan interest and principal, they have sought bankruptcy protection to restructure <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/peabody-energy-files-for-chapter-11-protection-from-creditors-1460533760">US$30 billion in debt</a>. The bankrupt companies include Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, Patriot Coal and Jim Walter Resources. </p>
<p>Last month <a href="http://www.kccllc.net/peabody">Peabody Energy Corp.</a>, the world’s biggest private-sector coal producer, followed suit. Peabody seeks to <a href="http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2016/04/14/default-pace-spikes-with-peabody-and-energy-xxi-bankruptcies/?mod=BOL_hp_blog_ii">restructure $8.4 billion in debt</a>. Its capitalization has <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/peabody-energy-files-for-chapter-11-protection-from-creditors-1460533760">fallen from $20 billion in 2011 to $38 million</a> at the time of bankruptcy. </p>
<p>Amid this turmoil, many observers fear that bankrupt coal companies will be able to shift their huge liabilities for reclamation, or restoring land that has been mined, to taxpayers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=163&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=163&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=163&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121069/original/image-20160503-9426-ob39vl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Panoramic image of mountaintop removal mining, West Virginia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ddimick/2960945511/in/photolist-5vDBWF-8D6boF-5vSRct-8z66tn-nL2n-8Uwf7N-7ZqeFW-5zEGU2-6JzMRP-8D8Erw-6HoiWU-5LPs8r-dpyU7-5BLYTB-duMivo-6JAyNa-a4Z2WX-5BRgPE-8D5xTi-5vJ57Y-6imfj2-p9cfGs-7cd23i-88Rs2R-aC2VG5-pGw5Zm-62MnWi-aFuhBZ-aCDKz2-521iyP-cijUH3-8njnvn-8D8Esd-nNEGsx-nNEvT7-nJvgNZ-nqerw3-pX3Hd-nNEJeP-a5X8Ft-5vXacw-8LH5YT-51re8n-4dMvwN-5vXanC-6NGENN-aEg4K6-6vxTL4-6vBYwj-6JAz8n">Dennis Dimick/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Congress passed the Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act, or <a href="http://www.osmre.gov/lrg/docs/SMCRA.pdf">SMCRA</a>, in 1977 to prevent such a scenario. But, in my view, state and federal coal regulators have failed to ensure that coal companies have enforceable financial guarantees in place, as the law requires. </p>
<p>I have interacted with the coal industry for 40 years, first as a government enforcement lawyer and then litigating issues relating to coal mine reclamation cases on behalf of conservation organizations and coalfield communities. I believe that if the unfunded liabilities of bankrupt coal companies are not covered by new guarantees and additional companies seek bankruptcy protection, there is a real chance that taxpayer-funded billion-dollar bailouts will be necessary to cover their cleanup costs. </p>
<h2>Planning for reclamation</h2>
<p>SMCRA was designed to prevent bankrupt coal companies from foisting onto taxpayers the costs of restoring thousands of acres of mined land and treating millions of gallons of polluted mine water. </p>
<p>When Congress enacted the law, it identified many of the adverse impacts when mined land was not reclaimed: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>…mined lands burden and adversely affect commerce and the public welfare by destroying or diminishing the utility of land for commercial, industrial, residential, recreational, agricultural, and forestry purposes, by causing erosion and landslides, contributing to floods, polluting the water, destroying fish and wildlife habitats, impairing natural beauty, damaging the property of citizens, creating hazards dangerous to life and property, degrading the quality of life in local communities, and by counteracting governmental programs and efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the decades preceding SMCRA’s enactment, thousands of bankrupt companies abandoned mines without reclaiming them. Many of these sites remain untreated today. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, restoring streams and watersheds across Pennsylvania that were damaged by <a href="https://www.epa.gov/polluted-runoff-nonpoint-source-pollution/abandoned-mine-drainage">acidic drainage</a> from mines abandoned before 1977 would cost <a href="http://pa.water.usgs.gov/projects/energy/amd/">$5 billion to $15 billion</a>. Similarly, reclaiming mining lands abandoned in West Virginia before SMCRA will cost an <a href="http://www.statejournal.com/story/29617664/abandoned-mine-reclamation-could-renew-wv-coalfields">estimated $1.3 billion</a> or more.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121064/original/image-20160503-3663-1jmhfwd.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impacts of acid mine drainage in Pennsylvania.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pa.water.usgs.gov/projects/energy/amd/images/amdmap.gif">U.S. Geological Survey</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>SMCRA is designed to force a coal company to address and incorporate the cost of reclamation in its business planning. The law mandates that when state or federal regulators issue mining permits, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/30/1259">coal companies must provide bonds or other financial guarantees</a> to ensure that if they fail to fully reclaim mines, the state will have money available to do the job. </p>
<p>Most coalfield states administer the federal law through state-law-based regulatory programs overseen by the Department of the Interior. SMCRA offers states several options. They include requiring companies to provide financial guarantees in the form of corporate <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/800.20">surety bonds</a>, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/800.21">collateral bonds</a> or <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/800.23">self-bonds</a>. </p>
<p>When companies use site-specific surety or collateral bonds, SMCRA requires states to calculate the cost of reclamation before any mining can begin. These studies must consider each mine site’s topography, geology, water resources and revegetation potential. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121407/original/image-20160505-19868-1grulyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strip mining, Powder River Basin, Wyoming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildearth_guardians/7487177554/in/album-72157630387577902/">WildEarth Guardians/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>States may also set up an <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/800.23">“alternate” to a bonding system</a> that achieves the objectives and purposes of a bonding program. This option has been <a href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1202514.html">described by a court</a> as a “collective risk-spreading system that … allows a State to discount the amount of the required site-specific bond to … less than the full cost needed to complete reclamation of the site in the event of forfeiture.” </p>
<p>Surety bonds and collateral bonds are backed by cash, real property assets and financial guarantees from banks and surety companies. If a coal company goes bankrupt, regulators can collect on these bonds and use the money to fully reclaim abandoned mined land. However, state-approved “alternative” reclamation funding systems and self-bonding by coal companies do not provide the same certainty.</p>
<p>For example, both Pennsylvania and West Virginia approved systems in which coal operators paid nonrefundable fees into state funds that would be used to reclaim any bankrupt coal company sites. But neither required site-specific calculations of what reclamation would actually cost. Pennsylvania imposed a per-acre permit fee, and West Virginia required a few cents per-mined-ton reclamation fee. </p>
<p>Regulators in these states – enabled by lax federal oversight – failed to ensure that companies set aside enough funds. As a result, these agencies have exposed taxpayers to potentially enormous reclamation liability.</p>
<h2>Reclamation IOUs</h2>
<p>In 2001 a federal district court found that West Virginia’s federally approved state “alternate” bonding fund was <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2388814/west-virginia-highlands-conservancy-v-norton/">hugely underfunded</a> and could not guarantee reclamation of mines abandoned by bankrupt coal companies as required by SMCRA. The court held that state and federal regulators’ decade-long failure to institute a fully funded bonding system had created </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[A] climate of lawlessness, which creates a pervasive impression that continued disregard for federal law and statutory requirements goes unpunished, or possibly unnoticed. Agency warnings have no more effect than a wink and a nod … Financial benefits accrue to the owners and operators who were not required to incur the statutory burden and costs attendant to surface mining … </p>
</blockquote>
<p>SMCRA also allows companies to self-bond, if they meet <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/30/800.23">rigorous asset requirements</a>. But a self-bonding corporation’s promise to reclaim is little more than an IOU backed by company assets. </p>
<p>In 2014 federal regulators began, in the Interior Department’s words, “<a href="http://eelegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/OSMRE-Self-Bond-Fact-Sheet-2-9-15-2.pdf">exploring concerns related to the efficacy of self-bonding practices and procedure</a>” used by states. Instead of taking action, they opted to study the issue despite <a href="http://www.mining.com/web/weak-2014-numbers-worsen-an-already-bad-outlook-for-coal-companies/">strong indications of financial collapse</a> on the horizon. Now enormous western surface mines and mountaintop removal strip mines in central Appalachia are covered by <a href="http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/coal-bankruptcies-raise-questions-over-self-bonding-states">$3.6 billion in self-bonding obligations</a>, of which $2.4 billion is held by bankrupt Peabody, Arch and Alpha. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/121072/original/image-20160503-25000-53f1r7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Home below a strip mine, Campbell County, Tennessee.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/appvoices/7000037829/in/album-72157629262715216/">Appalachian Voices/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Companies reorganizing under federal bankruptcy laws will continue to mine and market coal, hoping to shed mountains of debt and eventually emerge from bankruptcy. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to obtain conventional surety bonds after they reorganize, or whether bankruptcy courts will direct the companies to use their remaining assets to partially fulfill their self-bonding obligations. </p>
<p>One thing is clear, however. Against the backdrop of a century of coal company bankruptcies and attendant environmental damage, <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/downsizing-the-us-coal-industry">regulators ignored a looming coal market collapse</a> with a wink and a nod. Properly administered, SMCRA’s reclamation bonding requirements should have required secure financial guarantees collectible upon bankruptcy. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, coal regulators viewed America’s leading coal companies like Wall Street’s mismanaged banks – too big to fail. As a result, American taxpayers may have to pick up an enormous reclamation tab for coal producers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56415/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick McGinley served as counsel or co-counsel in cases challenging the alternative bonding systems in Pennsylvania (1981) and West Virginia (2003).
</span></em></p>As coal energy loses market share, major U.S. coal companies are filing for bankruptcy. One multi-billion-dollar question: will taxpayers be forced to pay for cleaning up abandoned mines?Patrick McGinley, Professor of Law , West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.