State News

 

 

 

Post-Mining Land Use

 

 

There are many examples of positive post-mining land uses some of them as follows.

 

• Pete Dye Golf Course, Bridgeport; Scholar Oaks Golf Course, Putnam County, two premier golf courses in the state
• Mt. View High School - McDowell County built in 1980; mined by Tracy Hylton.
• New Hope Village - McDowell County; built on 20 acres on Tom's Mountain in late 2001. This area provided homes out of the flood plain for 70 families displaces from the flooding in that year
• Knight of Columbus Community Park - Tucker County ; this baseball/softball field hosts everything from t-ball to women's softball in the Thomas area. Built in the 1980's by Buffalo Coal Co.
• Davis Cemetery - the town of Davis ran out of room for their cemetery and worked with Buffalo Coal to provide additional space. This is the only known cemetery in the U.S. among a reclaimed surface mine.
• Robert C. Byrd High School - Harrison County , 70 acres mined in the late 1970's.
• Morgantown Mall - Monongalia County , 69 acres mined in the 1980's
• Logan County Airport - Logan County ; on 75 acres this is the only airport in Logan County
• The FBI complex in Clarksburg, WV (above) provides more than 3,000 West Virginia jobs. Completed in 1995, the complex is located on 986 acres of reclaimed land.
• Mount View High School was built on an area that once was a mountaintop mining site. With McDowell County more than 90 percent hillside, land available for economic development is in short supply.
• Southwest Regional Jail - Logan County, located on corridor G in Logan County the area is part of an industrial complex. The facility opened in April 1998.
• East Pointe Mall Area - Harrison County, Interstate 79 and U.S. 50 interchange is considered one of the busiest interchanges in the state; includes Wal-Mart, post office, numerous retail stores and the Bridgeport City Hall
• Weirton - about 85% of modern day weirton is built on mountaintop mining sites that have been reclaimed and developed in the late 1970's. Weirton's post mining land use includes housing developments and the city's hospital which was built in 1978
• Mt. Olive Correctional Facility - Fayette County, due to the limited supply of accessible, sufficiently large level tracts of land, planters considered building two facilities to replace Moundsville. However, reclaimed surface mine sites have the potential for redevelopment and could provide an acceptable site.
• Anker Sports Complex - Monongalia County, two softball fields and two baseball fields all lighted were completed in April 2000.
• Twisted Gun Golf Course - Mingo County, this is the only golf course in the county and neighboring counties.
• Hilltop Hunting Preserve - Boone County
• Beckley YMCA Soccer Complex, built on 75 acres, plans include eight lighted soccer fields with a center stadium that will seat nearly 2,000 people.
• Hatfield-McCoy Trail currently has about 300 miles of trail with portions on reclaimed mine sites. Scheduled to have 3,000 miles of trail through seven southern counties
• Mountain Greeneries - Fayette County, nursery located on Cannelton Site, growing about 50,000 plants
• Buck Harless Wood Products Center
• West Virginia Aqua Arctic Char raised in underground mine water from nearby Mingo Logan Mine .

 

Kentucky

Post-mining land use changes go hand-in-hand with economic development in Kentucky; especially in many parts of eastern Kentucky where much needed level to gently rolling land for development is still at a premium.

Regional Airports

• Big Sandy Regional Airport Field, Hatcher - Martin County
• Field Airport - Pike County
• Carroll Airport - Breathitt County
• Ford Airport - Perry County
• Ohio County Airport - Ohio County

 

 

Correctional Facilities

• Federal Correctional Institute - Clay and Martin Counties
• East Kentucky Correctional Complex - Morgan County
• Medium Security Prison - Muhlenberg Knot County (in development)
• Otter Creek Correctional Center - Floyd County
• Juvenile Boot Camp - Breathitt County

Government Facilities

• Earle C. Clements Job Corp. Center - Muhlenberg County
• Army National Guard Training Center - Muhlenberg County
• U.S. Postal Service - Laurel County
• County Park - Ohio County
• Madisonville South Bypass - Hopkins County
• Solid Waste Landfills - Daviess, Greenup, Ohio, Hopkins, Perry and Lee Counties
• Hazard Armory - Perry County
• Jail and State Police Barracks - Perry County
• Veterans Nursing Home - Perry County

Fish and Wildlife

• Duck Refuge Areas - Ohio, Perry, Breathitt, Knot, Martin and Muhlenberg Counties
• Catfish Farming - McEan County
• Wildlife Management Area - Muhlenberg, Ohio and Perry Counties
• Wetland Development - Muhlenberg County

Elk are in the mountains of east Kentucky again. Free ranging elk have returned to the mountains of east Kentucky with reclaimed mountaintop removal areas, old reclaimed mine benches and hardwood forests serving as their home once again. The first hunter in more than 150 years to legally kill an elk in Kentucky did so in 2001.

Farms

• Starfire Project - Perry County
• Mapco/Moorehead Agriculture Center - Martin County
• Martin County Coal Corp. Farm - Martin County
• DNR Brangus Farm - Perry County
• Hawk Farm - Hopkins and Knox Counties
• Livestock Feed - Greenup, Harland, Lee, Johnson, Wolfe and Whitley Counties
• Chicken/Broader Houses - Hopkins and Muhlenberg Counties
• Avian Farms - Wayne County
• Agricultural Projects - Pike County

Industrial/Commercial

• Electrical Construction Office and Shop - Hopkins County
• Electric Utility Operations Center - Ohio Daviess and Webster Counties
• Industrial Scrubber Sludge Disposal - Muhlenberg County
• Explosive Manufacturing - Breathitt, Perry and Pike Counties
• Wood Fabrication Plant - Perry and Boyd Counties
• Apparel Manufacturing - Johnson, Hopkins, Knox and Muhlenberg Counties
• Mine - Ohio, Union and Whitley Counties
• Shops/Welding/Machine/Equipment - Muhlenberg and Boyd Counties
• Trucking Company - Butler County
• Truck/Equipment Sales - Perry and Hopkins County
• Explosive Company - Hopkins County
• Farm Equipment - Bell, Butler, Clay, Jackson, Laurel and Pike Counties
• Sawmill/Logs/Lumber - Whitley and Wolfe Counties
• Recycling Facility - Letcher County
• Blacktop/Concrete Facilities - Laurel and Perry Counties
• Oil/Gas Facilities - Clay, Lee and Elliott Counties
• Cabinet Factory - Perry County
• Clay - Leslie Regional Industrial Park - Clay and Leslie County
• Coalfields Regional Industrial Park - Breahitt, Harlan, Leslie and Perry Counties - Corbin Tri-County Industrial Park - Knox County
• East Park Regional Industrial Park - Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, and Lawrence Counties
• Equipment Rental/Sales - Boyd County
• Gateway Regional Business Park - Floyd, Knot, Letcher and Pike Counties
• Honeybranch Regional Business Park - Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin and Pike Counties
• Little Goose Industrial Site - Clay County
• Maggie Mountain Industrial Park - Floyd County
• Paul Coffey Industrial Park - Boyd County
• Pine Mountain Regional Business Park - Bell, Harlan, Knox, Letcher and Whitley Counties
• Retail Outfitters - Clay County
• South McCreary Industrial Park - McCreary County (in development)
• Tooling Company - Clay County
• Uniform Rental Services - Carter County
• Utility - Boyd, Knot and Perry Counties
• Wireless Communications - Carter County
• Plastic Injection Molding Company - Perry County
• Mine/Electronic Supply - Martin County
• Industrial Parkway - Greenup County
• United Parcel Services - Perry and Boyd Counties
• Unified Power Distribution - Martin County

Rails-to-Trails

Old coal haul rails have been removed to make walking trails in Muhlenberg, Union and Webster Counties.

R&R/Sports

• Baseball fields - Boyd County
• Coal Hauler Park - Floyd County
• Elkhorn Educational Recreation Park - Floyd County
• Golf courses - Clay, Laurel, Letcher, Floyd, McClaine and Owsley counties
• Recreational Area (proposed)
• Red Fox Resort - Lee and Greenup Counties
• Stone Crest Golf Course - Knot County (in development)
• Wayland Park - Floyd County
• Golf (drive and putt) - Floyd County
• Recreational area and fishing lake - Webster County
• Athletic facilities - Pike County
• Fairgrounds - Letcher County
• Riding stables and trails - Morgan County
• Campground (proposed) - Muhlenberg and Hopkins Counties

Mountaintop Mining

Mining is only a temporary land use. Mountaintop mining has created several sites for new schools, hospitals, shopping centers, parks, golf courses, housing, airports, industry, agriculture and timber in eastern Kentucky.

Structural Building Sites

• High schools - Pike County
• Elementary school - Boyd County
• Flea market - Perry County
• Athletic complexes - Letcher and Pike Counties
• Appalachian Regional Hospital - Perry County
• Housing developments - Belle, Boyd, Clay, Floyd, Greenup, Harland, Johnson, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, Perry and Pike Counties
• Church day care - Laurel and Perry Counties
• Mobile Home Sales - Laurel County
• Shopping centers - Breathitt, Clay, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Letcher, Pike and Perry Counties
• Cars/Trucks/Equipment Sales - Perry County
• Motel/hotel - Laurel and Perry Counties
• Office complex - Morgan, Martin, Perry and Pike Counties (proposed)
• Storage rental facility - Hopkins and Perry Counties
• Off-track betting - Perry County
• Telecommunications Call Center - Perry County
• Numerous small businesses in eastern Kentucky

Virginia

A listing of post-mining land use was provided by Dula.

• St. Mary's Hospital and Norton Elementary School developed on areas mined in the '70s
• Norton Community Hospital and retail stores developed on areas mined in the '70s
• B.A. Mullican Flooring Plant in Blackwood developed on area mined in the '70s or '80s
• J.W. Adams Elementary School developed on area mined in the '70s
• Wise County Fairgrounds developed on area mined in the '60s
• Lonesome Pine Airport and Veldon Dotson Recreation and Industrial Park developed on area mined in the '70s and '80s
• Coastal Coal Permit near Coeburn, experimental practice site reclaimed as an industrial development site
• Reclaimed mine land in Wise area with various land uses including recreation, residential, Lonesome Pine Airport, etc.
• Buchanan County Park Air Mail projected eliminated 3,200 feet of dangerous highwall and left 21 acres of flat land for recreational use
• Poplar Gap Recreation Area
• Wal-Mart Shopping Center at Norton
• Red Onion Prison, Clintwood
• Wise County Landfill, Blackwood
• Mountaintop Golf, Buchanan County
• Grundy Airport