Resources of the Interior Region and Coal Development

Surface and under-ground mining of coal in the Interior Region is encountering new problems - environmental, legal, and economic. USDA economists are undertaking an integrated assessment of how alternative patterns of coal development and use might affect agriculture, rural people and communities, and the availability of land and water. This report, one of a series, is primarily descriptive, laying groundwork for analysis to be reported subsequently. Twenty-four Coal Producing Areas (CPA's) are delineated, which together contain all the commercially recoverable coal reserves of the Region, or about 24 percent of the nation's total. The CPA's are mostly non-metro in character, with a total population of about 7.6 million. Population growth has been moderate but steady. In some CPA's, especially those in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky, where the coal industry is a major employer, inmigration rates have been large and population has increased. The Interior Region has about 24 percent of the nation's coal reserves, and usually accounts for from one fifth to one fourth of the total production. Since 1972 coal production has increased substantially in the United States but the Interior Region has not fully shared in the in- crease. Surface mining has been increasing and about 62 percent of the total production now comes from surface mines. The coal is generally high in sulfur content so there are serious problems of air quality associated with its use. Most of the CPA's are rich in agricultural resources, with a favorable climate and highly productive land, nearly all of which is in private ownership. However, many of the surface mines are in the less favorable agricultural areas of the Region. State and Federal laws now require that all strip mined land be reclaimed, so that the loss in agricultural production is temporary on the reclaimed portion. On land used for permanent structure, however, the loss is permanent. Based on 1974 relationships the average annual gross farm income is equivalent to $93 per acre of land area. It is estimated that the average annual value of farm production lost to strip mining in the next 25 years would be about $17 million for the Region, which would represent about one fourth of 1 percent of the total production capacity of the CPA's. Coal development would affect the quality of water, mainly as a result of thermal pollution and acid mine drainage downstream from power plants and mines. Ample supplies of water are available in most locations so that water shortages are not expected to result from increased coal development -- at least not to the extent anticipated in the western regions.