Potential Impacts of Coal Mining

Potential environmental impacts associated with coal mining vary by development phase, and include direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts.

The potential impacts of coal mining projects are discussed in this section in general terms. The impacts of a specific project can vary substantially and will be determined by specific factors such as the method of mining employed, the amount of land disturbed by the mine, the location of the site with respect to other resources (e.g., use of the site by threatened species or endangered species, distance to surface water bodies), and so forth.

Measures to avoid or mitigate impacts are identified in the Mitigation Measures section. Guidance on conducting impact assessments and identifying appropriate mitigation measures for specific projects is provided in the Project-Specific Impact Assessments section.

Follow the links below to learn more about potential general impacts by phase of development:

• Site Evaluation
  Potential environmental impacts from site evaluation and exploration (pre-mining) activities
• Construction and Mining
  Potential environmental impacts from construction and mining activities
• Decommissioning/Site Reclamation
  Potential environmental impacts from decommissioning and site reclamation activities