Actions Needed to Improve the Safety of Coal Mine Waste Disposal Sites
Gao ID: CED-77-82 September 21, 1977About 228 million tons of coal waste were created in mining 650 million tons of coal in the United States during 1976. Disposing of such huge quantities of waste material can cause environmental problems depending on how and where the waste is dumped.
Though conditions of most disposal sites were improved, many sites were abandoned and require immediate attention. Coal waste dams, used for disposal in mountainous areas, can be flood hazards when improperly constructed and maintained. In 1972, such a dam burst and released a wall of water into Buffalo Creek, killing 125 people. After this disaster, Congress enacted the National Dam Inspection Act of 1972, but this was never fully implemented because responsibilities were not clearly established. Inspections performed by the Corps of Engineers revealed that, of 687 structures inspected, 230 were dangerous, and 30 of these were critically hazardous. Because the Department of the Interior interpreted the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 as limiting its authority to regulating active mine property, it has not regulated abandoned sites.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
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