How a Century of Mining Shaped our Land, Water, Air, and Future
For more than a hundred years, coal fueled America’s growth. But behind the prosperity lay a stark reality: the environmental cost of extracting, transporting, and burning coal has been immense. Across coalfield communities, residents are still living with polluted rivers, destabilized landscapes, toxic waste, and the long-term consequences of industry decisions made decades ago.
Coal’s environmental legacy is not history, it is present-day lived experience.
From abandoned mine lands that leak acid mine drainage, to methane emissions from longwall mines fueling climate change, the impacts continue long after mining stops.
Citizens Coal Council works to shine a light on this legacy, hold responsible parties accountable, and fight for clean, healthy, and just coalfield communities.
Landscape Scars That Last for Generations
Abandoned Mine Lands (AML)
Tens of thousands of abandoned mines still scar coalfield regions. These legacy sites, left by companies with no requirement to clean up, pose ongoing threats to safety and environmental health.
Common AML problems include:
- Open mine portals and collapsing structures
- Dangerous highwalls
- Unstable spoil piles and landslide risks
- Unreclaimed pits and disturbed soil
- Persistent erosion and sediment runoff
Even with federal reclamation funding, many sites remain unaddressed due to the sheer scale of the problem.
In many coalfield communities, abandoned mines are not relics. They’re neighbors.
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)
One of the most visible legacies of coal mining is orange-stained streams caused by acid mine drainage. When sulfide minerals exposed during mining react with air and water, they create sulfuric acid that dissolves metals into waterways.
AMD can:
- Kill aquatic life and destroy habitat
- Render streams unfit for recreation
- Make water treatment costly or impossible
- Contaminate private wells
Mine Discharges & Toxic Runoff
Modern mining is still contributing to polluted waterways. Outdated or unenforced permits allow heavy metals such as iron, manganese, selenium, and arsenic to flow into rivers and streams.
Communities often discover the problem only after wells turn cloudy, fish disappear, or livestock fall ill.
Over 12,000 miles of U.S. streams impacted by mine drainage
Thousands of coal-related water violations issued annually
More than 100,000 abandoned mines still unreclaimed nationwide
Air Pollution: From Coal Dust to Methane
Coal Dust & Particulates
Open coal storage piles, haul roads, and preparation plants release fine particulate matter that can aggravate respiratory problems, particularly in communities located just yards from mining operations.
Smokestack Pollution
While many coal-fired power plants have shut down, remaining facilities still emit:
- Sulfur dioxide (SO₂)
- Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ)
- Mercury
- Fine particulates
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
These pollutants contribute to asthma, heart disease, neurological damage, and premature death.
Methane from Underground Mining
Longwall mines vent methane- an extremely potent greenhouse gas- directly into the atmosphere. This is one of the least regulated, least understood contributors to climate change from the coal sector.
Land Subsidence: The Hidden Collapse Under Our Feet
Underground mining, particularly longwall mining, can cause the ground above to sag or collapse. Subsidence can:
- Destroy homes
- Crack foundations
- Damage roads and bridges
- Disrupt agricultural land
- Alter water tables and drain ponds or wetlands
Though companies are supposed to compensate homeowners, many face delays, denials, or lowball offers that fail to cover repairs.
Subsidence is not an accident. It is a predictable outcome of certain mining methods.
Coal Ash: The Toxic Waste No One Planned For
Burning coal creates millions of tons of coal ash each year- a powdery waste filled with heavy metals like arsenic, chromium, lead, and mercury. Improperly lined or unregulated ash ponds can leak contaminants into groundwater or burst catastrophically, as seen in the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee disaster.
Communities living near ash storage sites face risks of:
- Cancer
- Neurological damage
- Reproductive harm
- Long-term soil contamination
- Drinking water pollution
Although coal ash regulations improved in recent years, many sites remain exempt or only partially controlled.
Mine Fires: A Smoldering Threat
Coal seam and gob pile fires can burn for decades underground, releasing toxic gases and making land unusable. Some fires, like Centralia, Pennsylvania, have displaced entire communities.
Climate Impacts That Stretch Far Beyond Coal Country
Coal’s legacy is not confined to extraction sites. Burning coal for electricity is one of the largest historical contributors to climate change in the U.S. The cumulative emissions remain in the atmosphere for centuries, fueling:
- Extreme weather
- Sea level rise
- Droughts and floods
- Heatwaves
- Worsening air quality
- Expanding health risks for vulnerable populations
Far from being a local issue, the coal legacy is global and interconnected.
Community Consequences: Health, Safety, and Livelihoods
Environmental impacts inevitably spill into social and economic life:
- Lost access to clean water
- Declining property values
- Chronic respiratory and cardiovascular issues
- Limited economic development
- Degraded farmland and forests
- Reduced quality of life for families and children
For many coalfield residents, these issues compound over generations.
A Path Forward: Accountability and Restoration
While the legacy of coal is vast, it is not immutable.
CCC advocates for:
- Stronger enforcement of mine reclamation laws
- Full cleanup of abandoned mines and polluted waterways
- Accurate monitoring and reporting of methane emissions
- Better bonding rules to prevent companies from walking away
- Protecting communities from subsidence and toxic waste
- Transparent regulatory processes and public participation
- Investments in recovery, restoration, and economic transition
Cleaning up coal’s legacy is essential to building healthier, safer, more resilient coalfield communities.
We cannot build a just future without confronting the past.
Join Us in Restoring What Was Lost
CCC works with communities, scientists, advocates, and policymakers to ensure that coal’s environmental legacy is addressed- not ignored. Together, we can ensure that coalfield families are protected, informed, and equipped to advocate for meaningful change.