Private and Social Costs of Surface Mine Reforestation Performance Criteria |
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Authors: | Jay Sullivan Gregory S Amacher |
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Institution: | (1) Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Forestry, 310 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA |
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Abstract: | We study the potentially unnecessary costs imposed by strict performance standards for forest restoration of surface coal
mines in the Appalachian region under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) that can vary widely
across states. Both the unnecessary private costs to the mine operator and costs to society (social costs) are reported for
two performance standards, a ground cover requirement, and a seedling survival target. These standards are examined using
numerical analyses under a range of site productivity class and market conditions. We show that a strict (90%) ground cover
standard may produce an unnecessary private cost of more than 700/ha and a social cost ranging from700/ha and a social cost ranging from 428/ha to 710/ha, as compared with a 70 standard, may produce an unnecessary private cost of approximately710/ha, as
compared with a 70% standard. A strict tree survival standard of 1235 trees/ha, as compared with the more typical 1087 trees/ha
standard, may produce an unnecessary private cost of approximately 200/ha, and a social cost in the range of 120 to120 to 208/ha.
We conclude that strict performance standards may impose substantial unnecessary private costs and social costs, that strict
performance standards may be discouraging the choice of forestry as a post-mining land use, and that opportunities exist for
reform of reforestation performance standards. Our study provides a basis for evaluating tradeoffs between regulatory efficiency
and optimal reforestation effort. |
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