Abstract

GeoMine: GIS for Appalchian Coal Mining and Reclamation
Track: Mining and Geosciences
Authors: Robert Welsh

GeoMine is an OSM concept of an Internet-accessible GIS database of coal mines in the United States. The GeoMine Pilot Project is a GIS solution incorporating multi-sourced geospatial mining and reclamation data, primarily from Federal and state agencies involved in administering the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). The geographic scope of the pilot project is limited to the SMCRA primacy states of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Federal-administered Tennessee program. The business users for GeoMine are the agencies administering SMCRA and the CWA. This two-year project will inventory the geospatial data holdings of the agencies involved and prioritize available information to permit reviewers in those agencies. This solution will ensure that the data is consumable by typical GIS tools and will gauge the impacts on the various permitting processes and coordination needs.