Conclusions and Recommendations - Coal Waste Impoundments: Risks, Responses, and Alternatives - page 157

effluents will change with time as the coal and associated minerals including
sulfides gradually oxidize. The committee recommends that research be
performed to identify the chemical constituents contained in the liquid and
solid fractions of coal waste, and to characterize the hydrogeologic
conditions around impoundments. Information obtained from such research
would have value for monitoring impoundments as well as for analyzing
environmental impacts.
The committee also heard numerous comments indicating citizens'
concern about emergency response and evacuation plans, which the operator of
a coal waste impoundment must prepare to obtain a permit to build the
impoundment. The committee recognizes the importance of the manner in
which emergency and evacuation plans are developed, communicated with
communities close to an impoundment, and coordinated with local emergency
response authorities. Better communication among the companies operating
impoundments, local emergency response authorities, and local citizens would
allow the authorities and the citizens to understand the risks, the steps taken to
mitigate them, and the appropriate responses in case of an accident.
SUMMARY
The conclusions and recommendations offered above reflect the
committee's judgments concerning ways to improve the design process for coal
waste impoundments, ways to improve mapping of mines and the
characterization of sites of existing and future impoundments, and ways to
improve the assessment and mitigation of risks associated with impoundments.
The committee believes that implementation of those recommendations will
substantially reduce the potential for uncontrolled release of coal slurry from
impoundments, particularly through the mechanism of breakthrough into nearby
underground mine workings. In addition, the committee believes that an
appropriate way to balance alternatives for creating, handling, and disposing of
wastes and to understand and mitigate the impacts of failure of any element of
those systems is to view the designs of embankment and basins, as well as the
entire process of handling and burning coal, as systems of interlinked
components that operate together. The safe operation of these systems depends
on effective engineering design, construction, and operation of facilities in
addition to appropriate monitoring. With the recommended improvements in
each of these areas, the potential for incidents like that at Inez, Kentucky, can
be reduced.