In this article, 鶹TVվ’ Abandoned Mine Lands Program Manager Clayton Kirk Roderick discusses Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation. With more than three decades of mining experience, 鶹TVվ understands how to transform abandoned mine lands into safe, sustainable spaces through effective planning, strategic permitting and successful remediation.
Across the Appalachian and Midwestern coal regions, the physical legacy of historic mining remains visible — and consequential. Abandoned highwalls, unstable spoil piles, subsidence features, clogged streams and acid mine drainage (AMD) are not relics of a distant past; they are active risks to public safety, water quality and surrounding ecosystems. Addressing them requires more than remediation. It requires leadership grounded in experience, regional understanding and long‑term accountability.
Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) reclamation is among the most technically complex and publicly consequential forms of environmental restoration. The work sits at the intersection of geology, hydrology, engineering, ecology and regulation. Success depends on understanding how historic mining practices altered landscapes and how those altered systems behave decades later.
Coal powered America’s industrial rise from the late 1800s through the mid‑20th century. Extraction occurred aggressively, often without environmental safeguards. Today, abandoned mine features can impair watersheds, destabilize slopes and threaten communities. Recognizing this history is important; effective reclamation depends on translating that understanding into sound, site‑specific solutions.
鶹TVվ’ AML practice is built on more than 30 years of collective mining and reclamation experience. Our multidisciplinary team of engineers, geologists, scientists and designers works from offices located within the bituminous and anthracite coal basins of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. That proximity matters. It brings deep familiarity with regional geology, hydrologic behavior and regulatory requirements — insight that allows reclamation plans to move efficiently from concept through permitting to construction.
AML sites rarely present a single challenge. A typical project may involve steep and unstable slopes, acid‑producing spoil, degraded streams, complex drainage patterns and abandoned underground mine openings. 鶹TVվ approaches these sites with integrated planning and design services that address risk holistically. Our work includes reclamation plan assessment and development, grading and drainage designs, groundwater and subsurface investigations, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and evaluations of active and passive AMD treatment systems.
Environmental compliance and long‑term performance are central to every project. 鶹TVվ supports AML programs with environmental assessments, stream and wetland delineations, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation and permitting services. During construction, our teams provide quality assurance and oversight to support that approved reclamation procedures are implemented correctly. Post‑reclamation monitoring and operation support help confirm that treatment systems and restored landscapes continue to perform as intended.
This integrated approach has been applied across a wide range of AML projects in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. 鶹TVվ has led reclamation designs for sites featuring vertical abandoned highwalls exceeding 80 feet in height, extensive spoil and coal refuse areas, stream restoration / reconstruction, closure of underground mine openings and AMD‑impacted waterways. Some solutions have included highwall reclamation by backfilling using existing mine spoil, grading and revegetation to reduce infiltration, acid generation and sediment transport, drainage improvements, AMD treatment systems and the stabilization of landslide‑prone slopes. In some cases, projects have also incorporated habitat features and public amenities while maintaining safety and regulatory compliance.
The value of AML reclamation is measured not only in technical success, but in public benefit. 鶹TVվ’ work has been recognized with multiple Ohio Department of Natural Resources Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards, reflecting outcomes that improve water quality, enhance safety and return land to productive use.
As federal and state investment in AML programs continues, the scale and complexity of remaining legacy sites will demand experienced, trusted partners. Effective reclamation requires more than correcting past impacts — it requires restoring confidence in the land itself. Through disciplined engineering, environmental stewardship and sustained oversight, AML reclamation can protect communities, stabilize landscapes and support healthier, more resilient futures.
Learn more about 鶹TVվ’ Abandoned Mine Lands solutions.
Clayton Kirk Roderick
Abandoned Mine Lands Program Manager
Clayton Kirk Roderick serves as 鶹TVվ’ Abandoned Mine Lands Program Manager. Kirk joined 鶹TVվ in 2022 and brings more than 26 years of experience in project coordination and supervision of coal and non-coal exploration projects, coal and non-coal surface and underground mine permitting, gas well permitting, gas line permitting, hydrologic studies and geologic reserve evaluations. He has extensive knowledge in mining permits where he has compiled and interpreted information for the completion of environmental permits in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has represented clients at Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and West Virginia DEP meetings and public meetings, conducted field reconnaissance of sites and conducted various geologic and hydrologic studies.
Kirk will be sharing his insights at the upcoming West Virginia Construction & Design Expo, held on March 25-26 where he will be presenting on the Remediation of Landslides; Slope Stabilization and Abatement of Associated Mine Waters along the New River Gorge.