煤炭与环境coal environment(2003)

环境煤炭与环境古希腊人认为世界上的一切都是由土、气、水、火四种元素的某种组合构成的。这四个要素仍然定义着我们今天的环境。因此，它们为加拿大煤炭工业正在处理的环境问题提供了一个框架。在全国范围内，针对土地利用、废物、空气和水质、野生动物甚至噪音问题的行动正在实施。加拿大的煤炭行业正在积极寻求在三个方面解决环境问题的方法。第一种是在矿场，采矿和加工方法的目的是尽量减少当地空气、水、土地和社区的影响。第二种是在发电厂，改进的燃煤技术已经减少了排放，而先进的技术有望进一步减少排放。第三方面是应对全球合作的挑战，以最大限度地减少煤炭对全球环境的影响。在所有这些方面，煤炭行业正在与政府、社区和其他利益相关者合作，以确保解决环境问题。开始时干净，结束时干净把地表用途的土地用于采矿，然后再用回来围垦是一个长期的过程，它结合了社会科学、经济学、生物学和自然栖息地的研究。“回收”一词可能意味着一种活动只在矿山关闭后发生，但事实上，回收早在采矿实际开始之前就开始了，然后在矿山的整个生命周期和以后继续进行。在开矿前几年，规划首先要进行环境影响评估、公众咨询和管理机构的彻底审查。环境专家首先对现有生态系统进行全面研究*，以确定敏感性和潜在影响。他们建立了地表水和地下水、土壤、气候、当地土地利用和现有社会和经济条件的基线信息。这些信息被用来选择矿山的最佳地点，并制定该地区的环境保护和开垦计划。作为规划过程的一部分，就采矿对周围地区的土地利用、交通系统和生活质量的预期影响征求当地社区的意见。进行公众谘询，以取得本地居民有意义的意见，从而在制订最终填海计划时解决他们的意见和关注。每个省政府都有部门负责保护空气质量、地表水、土地、鱼类和野生动物。联邦政府还可以介入其管辖范围内的领域，如渔业、有毒物质和跨界影响。这些管理机构评估每一个填海计划，考虑基线环境信息和那些可能直接受到采矿项目影响的人的长期利益。根据严格的土地复垦、野生动物保护、空气和水质管理等环境标准，公司获得许可后才能进行实际开采。在整个采矿过程中定期检查，确保公司遵守政府标准。由于开采的暂时性，公司实际上只是“借用”土地来满足开采煤炭的时间。之后，土地被归还给先前的农业、林业、野生动物或娱乐用途。正在进行的研究项目提供的信息，以确认开垦实践正在取得预期的结果。这些研究还确定了需要纠正的地方或存在改进机会的地方，以便采取进一步的行动。

ENVIRONMENT

COAL AND OUR ENVIRONMENT 

The Ancient Greeks believed that everything in the world was composed of some combination of the four elements: earth, air, water and fire. These four elements still define our environment today.  As such, they provide a framework for the environmental issues being tackled by Canada’s coal industry. Initiatives to address land use, waste, air and water quality, wildlife and even noise concerns are currently being implemented in coal-related activities across the country.
Canada’s coal industry is actively seeking ways to address environmental concerns on three fronts. The first is at the mine site where mining and processing methods are designed to minimize local air, water, land and community impacts. The second is at power plants where improved coal-burning technologies have reduced emissions and advanced technologies are promising even greater reductions. The third front addresses the challenges of global cooperation in order to minimize coal’s environmental impact around the world. On all of these fronts, the coal industry is working cooperatively with government, communities and other stakeholders to ensure environmental initiatives are addressed.

START CLEAN, END CLEAN

BRINGING LAND FROM SURFACE USES TO MINING AND BACK AGAIN 

Reclamation* is a long-term process that combines social sciences, economics, biology and natural habitat* studies. The word “reclamation” may suggest an activity that only happens after a mine is closed but, in fact, reclamation begins long before mining actually starts and then continues throughout the life of the mine and beyond.
Several years before a mine starts, planning begins with environmental impact assessments, public consultations and thorough reviews by regulatory agencies. Environmental specialists start the process by performing comprehensive studies of existing ecosystems* to identify sensitivities and potential impacts. They establish baseline information for surface and ground water, soils, climate, local land use and existing social and economic conditions. This information is used to choose the best site for the mine and to develop environmental protection and reclamation plans for the area.
As part of the planning process, local communities are consulted about the anticipated impact of mining on land use, transportation systems and the quality of life in the surrounding area. Public consultation is undertaken to obtain meaningful input from local residents so that their ideas and concerns can be addressed when developing final reclamation plans.

Every provincial government has departments that work to protect air quality, ground and surface water, land, fish and wildlife. The Federal government can also get involved in areas where it has jurisdiction such as fisheries, toxic substances and trans-boundary impacts. These regulatory agencies evaluate every reclamation plan, considering the baseline environmental information and the long-term interests of those likely to be directly affected by the mining project.  Actual mining cannot proceed until the company receives permits based on strict environmental standards for land reclamation, protection of wildlife and management of air and water quality. Regular inspections throughout the entire mining process ensure companies adhere to government standards.
Because of the temporary nature of mining, companies actually just “borrow” land for the time it takes to mine the coal.  Afterwards, lands are returned to their prior agricultural, forestry, wildlife or recreational use. Ongoing research programs provide information to confirm that reclamation practices are having the desired results. These studies also identify areas where corrections need to be made or where opportunities exist for improvement, so further action can be taken.