The Kentucky Reforestation Initiative began in 1995 as a cooperative effort between the Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (DSMRE), the University of Kentucky and the Environmental Quality Commission to promote reforestation by requiring the planting of high-value hardwood species on mined lands. The DSMRE changed its name to the Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement (DMRE) in 2004.
In early 1995, the DSMRE revised the revegetation standards in 405 KAR 16:200; specifically, the tree and shrub stocking requirements found in Section 6. While these regulation changes reduced the total number of stems planted per acre, they also incorporated Technical Reclamation Memorandum (TRM) #21 that requires the planting of high-value hardwood species, which have had little success on mined land. In the summer of 1995, the commissioner’s office concluded that the Kentucky coal industry was apparently unaware of the recent regulation changes. A member of the commissioner’s staff and personnel from the University of Kentucky (UK) held public meetings in both the east and west Kentucky coal fields to inform the industry of the regulation changes and promote reforestation on mined lands. As a result of this activity and the public feedback received, the Kentucky Reforestation Initiative was started.
The Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission (EQC), at the urging of Commissioner Carl Campbell, became involved in this matter in the fall of 1995. After conducting public hearings, the EQC issued a Common Sense Resolution in the spring of 1996 that advocated the reforestation of mined lands. Studies had determined that eliminating or reducing compaction during the grading process was key to the establishment, survival and proper development of productive forests on mined land. In an effort to develop proper guidance techniques on reforestation, the DSMRE put together a working group comprised of numerous state and federal agencies, university personnel, representatives from the coal and forest industries and environmental groups. The specific role of the group was to review relevant laws, regulations and current reclamation techniques to assess what changes could be made to promote successful forest establishment as the post-mining land use of choice. The working group, which evolved into a very diverse group with 34 members, met for the first time in June of 1996.
After months of hard work, the reforestation working group submitted a number of recommendations to Commissioner Campbell in December of 1996. These suggestions were subsequently incorporated into Reclamation Advisory Memorandum (RAM) # 124 and released to the public on March 10, 1997. Since issuance of RAM #124, there has been an increase of approximately 15 percent in the number of permit applications which propose a post-mining land use that requires the planting of trees and shrubs. There has been growing interest by other state regulatory agencies about Kentucky’s reforestation initiative; particularly the facilitated or consensus-building techniques used by the work group to develop the RAM. Interestingly, it was the state inspection personnel who initially exhibited the greatest aversion to these changes. As a consequence, the mining industry was not willing to consider this matter, even if it would result in reduced reclamation costs (estimated to be approximately $400 per acre).
However, there has been a growing interest in reforestation within the mining industry. Since December 1997, the DMRE has conducted reforestation presentations for approximately 50 coal companies and numerous land holding companies. The DMRE has worked closely with UK on the development and construction of approximately 50 acres of reforestation test plots on the Starfire Mine in Breathitt County. The emphasis has been on the establishment and growth of desirable hardwood species (white oak, red oak, white ash, black walnut, yellow poplar, royal paulownia and eastern white pine). The ongoing field work has been very successful, and the preliminary results and analysis thoroughly support the guidance contained in RAM # 124. The data indicates that surface-mined lands are very capable of supporting high-value forest if properly reclaimed. UK is currently working on developing mechanical methods that could be used to rectify the compaction problem that exists on previously reclaimed sites.
