Land reclamation - what is it? Legal issues arising from land reclamation Reclamation definition

The development of mankind is accompanied by an increase in the areas of disturbed lands and a reduction in the number of natural ecosystems, a decrease in their restorative capacity, and resistance to anthropogenic factors. Significant damage to natural landscapes is caused by the placement of mining waste on the surface.

Technological processes in the mining and processing industry are inextricably linked with consumption natural resources and the formation of various wastes accumulating in the natural environment.

Mining waste products are unused products of mining and processing of mineral raw materials, isolated from the mass of the mined mineral during the development of the deposit, during the enrichment and chemical and metallurgical processing of raw materials.

The classification of mining waste is carried out according to the phase composition and production cycles on which they are formed (Table 1). The formation of waste is affected manufacturing process, the nature of raw materials, the content of extractable components in the original product, etc. .

Table 1.

Classification of mining and enrichment waste

Phase characteristic of waste	Mining technology			Enrichment
	drilling	open	underground
Solid	Sludge	overburden rocks	mine rock	Tails
Liquid (solutions and suspensions)	Washing liquids	—	mine water	Rinsing water, sludge, pulp liquid phase
gaseous	—	Dust	Ventilation air	sucking

Despite the high environmental hazard, to date, the dominant method of disposal of enrichment waste remains land-based placement using storage sites in the form of tailings, dumps and sludge reservoirs, which occupy large areas of land devoid of natural vegetation.

Plots of land taken for the storage of mining waste must be used in permitted ways in accordance with the intended purpose of this category of land, which should not harm natural objects, including degradation, pollution, littering of land, poisoning, damage, destruction of the fertile layer soil and other negative (harmful) impacts arising in the process of mining production.

An integral part of the measures to protect the lithosphere is the work on the reclamation of lands taken for the storage of mining waste.
Reclamation is considered as a complex problem of restoration of productivity and reconstruction of landscapes disturbed by industry as a whole. Thus, reclamation should be defined as a set of works aimed at restoring the productivity and economic value of disturbed lands, as well as improving conditions environment.

The traditional reclamation process is divided into the following stages, carried out either mainly by technical methods (mining and technical reclamation) or by biological methods (biological reclamation). The technical stage includes planning, slope formation, removal, transportation and application of soils to recultivated lands. At the biological stage, a complex of agrotechnical and phytomeliorative measures is carried out aimed at improving the agrophysical, agrochemical, biochemical and other properties of the soil.

Disturbed territories as a result economic activity divided into two groups:

1. Land damaged by bulk soil, dumps, hydraulic dumps, waste heaps, cavaliers and landfills;
2. Territories damaged by excavation, open pits mining, extraction of local building materials and peat, dips and deflections at the site of underground mining, reserves and trenches during the construction of linear structures.

Depending on the impact industrial facilities and the resulting violations of the natural landscape, within the specified stages, the technology of reclamation is determined:

Reclamation and arrangement of quarries of non-metallic materials during dry and watered excavation of soil represented by deposits of phosphorites, apatites, potash and rock salts, limestones, marls, sandstones, sulfur and also graphite, asbestos, mica, marble, quartz, fluorspar, etc.

As a result of the extraction of minerals and mineral raw materials, lands are disturbed by quarry workings reaching a depth of more than 100 m. Depending on the position of the bottom of the quarry relative to the occurrence of groundwater, it is flooded or dry.

Reclamation of dry pits is carried out in 3 stages:

1. Transportation from the warehouse and application of the soil-vegetative layer;
2. Reclamation and sowing of grasses in the prepared area.

The reclamation of the flooded quarry is carried out in 2 stages:

1. Planning work aimed at forming the surface;
2. Filling the quarry with water.

Flooded quarry excavations after the termination of their operation are used for water bodies a lot. designated purpose, dry under construction sites, arable land, pastures, forest plantations, etc. .

Before the mass development of the soil, the fertile soil layer is removed for the purpose of its further use on unproductive lands and reclaimed lands. The norms for the removal of the fertile soil layer during earthworks are determined by the requirements set forth in GOCT 17.5.3.06-85.

According to the suitability classification, rocky soils and conglomerates are considered unsuitable for biological reclamation according to physical properties. In the process of stone mining, embankments are formed from the overburden layer of soil unsuitable for industrial purposes. This soil can be divided into topsoil and parent rock or weathered rock removed during stripping.

The bottom of the goaf in rock quarries, as well as production and storage sites compacted as a result of the movement of vehicles, are unsuitable for direct landscaping without prior reclamation work.

In accordance with these conditions, the reclamation of rock quarries is carried out in the following order:

1. Planning work aimed at forming the surface;
2. Backfilling of loose overburden and soil soil with a thickness of at least 1 meter;
3. Sowing seeds on the formed soil;
4. Recultivation of developed areas of peat deposits.

The possibility of using depleted peatlands after reclamation depends on the method of peat extraction, water regime, age of development, degree of turfing, etc. Peat is mined by milling, hydraulic, machine-formed and carved methods.

Technical reclamation of depleted peat deposits, as a rule, is carried out in three stages:

1. Creation of a drainage and humidification system that ensures rapid removal of water from areas during wet periods and moistening of the root layer of soil during dry periods, as well as ensuring moistening of the root layer of soil by locking during the growing season;
2. Carrying out cultural - technical and planning works. In parallel with the reclamation work, roads are being built in the fields, and during the reclamation of peat quarries, roads are built only after planning work has been completed;
3. Execution of culture - technical work. Their main task is to clear the area from trees and shrubs. Clearing usually consists of uprooting, cutting, milling and ploughing.

Biological reclamation of depleted peat deposits is carried out after technical reclamation. It includes:

1. Primary tillage;
2. Selection of pre-crops for sowing;
3. Application of chemical ameliorants and fertilizers.

Dumps are called earthen embankments that do not have a business purpose and are formed as a result of backfilling of soil developed in any excavation.

The sequence of measures for the implementation of the mining and biological stage of reclamation:

1. Removal of the soil and vegetation layer at the site of the future dump, transport and storage in convenient places for subsequent use;
2. Formation of slopes of the dump;
3. Planning work on formed surfaces;
4. Transportation from the warehouse and application of the soil-vegetative layer on the formed and planned surfaces;
5. Construction of special-purpose roads, land reclamation;
6. Devices of special hydraulic structures, if necessary;
7. Sowing seeds.

As a result of their activities, enterprises of the forestry, paper, mining, chemical and energy industries generate fairly large volumes of waste, called sludge (ash, slag, gas cleaning waste, tailings of mining and processing plants, soda, salt and other waste chemical enterprises). These wastes are removed in most cases with water in the form of pulp into special sedimentation tanks, called sludge collectors and tailings. Dumps formed by the alluvial method are called hydraulic dumps.

The sequence of measures for the reclamation of hydraulic dumps:

1. Before laying the stored material in hydraulic dumps, washed along a certain profile, they remove the fertile soil layer and the layer of potentially fertile soil from the surface of the area allocated for the dump;
2. They design the arrangement of structures for the removal of surface water coming from the surface of the catchment area in the process of performing work on the formation of a hydraulic dump.

After completion of the work on the hydraulic spoil dump, the external slopes of the dams are reclaimed
embankment, for this:

1. A fertile layer of soil with a thickness of about 0.1 - 0.15 m is poured onto the outer slopes of embankment dams and intermediate berms. In order to prevent water erosion - formed slope rollers, intermediate berms are given a slight transverse slope towards the foot of the slopes.
2. Sod-forming grasses are sown on the slopes, and along the edges of the berms, trees and shrubs are planted at a distance of 5–6 m from each other.
3. Reclamation of the beach area is underway.

The reclamation of the beach part and the settling pond is carried out taking into account the subsequent integrated use of the alluvial area: agricultural, environmental and water management purposes.

The sedimentation pond is converted into a reservoir. To do this, the spillway well will be retrofitted into a mine spillway. Replenish the reservoir with fresh water due to the inflow of surface water collected from the catchment area of ​​the hydraulic dump.

Materials washed into ash dumps, sludge ponds and tailings are usually toxic. Therefore, the reclamation of such dumps is primarily necessary from a sanitary and hygienic point of view. Water and wind erosion of these deposits leads to environmental pollution. After filling the tailings to the design volume, the washed-up material is dehydrated, emptying the settling pond from water, leveling the embankment dam. The crest of the tailing dump is given a slight slope from the middle to the edges to ensure a smooth removal of surface water.

Such dumps self-overgrow extremely slowly, which is due to the limited nitrogen and the instability of the water regime, therefore, reclamation is carried out according to the following technology, depending on the type of disturbance:

1. A fertile layer of soil with a thickness of 0.1 ... 0.5 m is applied to the surface of the ash dump of thermal power plants with the introduction of large doses of fertilizers to obtain high crop yields;
2. Due to the content of toxic compounds, sludge collectors of metallurgical plants and tailings of enrichment plants are first screened with a layer of potentially fertile soil 1 ... 1.5 m thick, and then a fertile soil layer 0.4 ... 0.5 m thick is applied on top of the screen.

External slopes of embankment dams are recultivated according to the generally accepted scheme of greening slopes and planting trees and shrubs.

Serious environmental damage to the environment is caused by the so-called dumps and landfills, artificial geological formations formed due to human activities. Depending on the direction of the subsequent use of the territories occupied by landfills and landfills, certain technical solutions are adopted for their reclamation:

1. Before starting work, engineering and geological surveys are carried out, on the basis of which they make up a grid of soil profiles of the landfill and the underlying soil layers of the base, they determine the thickness of the layer of landfill soil, the structure of the underlying layers, their degree of contamination and the level of groundwater;
2. Landfill soils are removed to landfills for the neutralization and disposal of waste;
3. Import of mineral soil. The imported soil must be standard clean in terms of bacteriological, chemical and radiometric indicators;
4. Rolling up the fertile soil layer and sowing seeds.

When recultivating landfills and landfills without removing the landfill soil, measures and work are envisaged for degassing, the installation of a protective screen along the top of the landfill soil, as well as the fencing of the reclaimed area to prevent its secondary pollution.

Protective screens, arranged on top of the landfill soil, are the main elements that provide the main environmental function. The design of protective screens is a combination of insulating and filtering elements that allow the collection and removal of seeping surface water and precipitation.

The technology of reclamation works of landfills and landfills is as follows:

1. Leveling of individual irregularities on the surface of the landfill is carried out, after which a general layout of the entire surface is performed, giving it a slight slope;
2. Backfilling with a leveling layer - at least 0.5 m thick, from cleaned construction debris, with a fraction diameter of 4 ... 32 mm. In the presence of gas formation in the thickness of the landfill, a layer of gas-conducting material is arranged on top of the leveling layer, for example, with a thickness of 0.3 m;
3. Then, on top of the gas-conducting layer, an impervious screen is made, consisting of two layers of clay 0.25 m thick each and a layer of synthetic roll insulation with a thickness of at least 2.5 mm. Clay is used to construct an impervious screen;
4. On top of the synthetic insulation, a drainage layer is laid in the form of formation drainage with a thickness of at least 0.3 m from mineral soil;
5. Next, a layer of potentially fertile soil with a thickness of 0.7 ... 0.85 m is poured, on top of which a fertile soil layer with a thickness of 15 ... 0.3 m is applied.

In order to protect groundwater from pollution by landfill condensate and infiltrate, it is possible to use the method of soil silicification at the base of the landfill, based on the injection of gel-forming materials through injectors into the base of the landfill. Aluminum sulphate, oxalic acid and liquid glass are used as gel-forming materials. The gel screen formed at the same time at the base of the landfill helps to strengthen the lower layers of the landfill soil and the top of the base rocks and reduces its water permeability, and also acts as a geochemical barrier to the spread of pollutants into underground horizons.

During the extraction of minerals, the lands are disturbed not only due to the creation of rock dumps, sludge storages and tailing dumps on them, but also the formation, as a result of underground mining of the deposit, of negative landforms in the form of dips, deflections, funnels, relief depressions, etc.

During the development of reservoir deposits of small and medium thickness of horizontal and wavy occurrence of a gentle dip with roof collapse, trough troughs up to 1.5 m deep are formed. To backfill depressions, loose deposits, bedrock mined in special quarries or obtained during overburden work, as well as rock issued from mines, can be used.

The technology of backfilling depressions of the earth's surface and the design of the relief are performed for each specific case separately, depending on the material used.
When filling the negative landforms of the earth's surface formed as a result of underground mining with rocks, their chemical properties should also be taken into account. Rocks with toxic properties are placed in the lower part of the dips, followed by their overlapping with potentially fertile rocks with a thickness of at least 2 ... 2.5 m. carrying out works on radical chemical reclamation of the backfilled rocks and their obligatory overlapping with potentially fertile rocks with a thickness of at least 0.5.

When using the filling of the failure of rocks unsuitable for biological reclamation, after the completion of planning work, the laid rock mass is covered first with a layer of potentially fertile rocks, and then with a fertile soil layer.
Reclamation of disturbed lands, flooded or swamped as a result of subsidence of the earth's surface, includes work on their preliminary drainage. For this:

1. First, a drainage system of open or closed drainage is built in order to drain excess water from the reclaimed area;
2. Next, from the surface of the drained area, first, a fertile soil layer is removed and moved to a temporary dump, and then a layer of potentially fertile soil and also moved to a temporary dump;
3. After that, a capital planning of the disturbed territory is carried out with layer-by-layer backfilling of negative landforms with mine rock delivered from rock dumps;
4. A layer of potentially fertile soil is poured over the top of the planned surface with mine rock, and then a layer of fertile soil is applied with its uniform distribution over the entire area.

Main pipelines and branches from them, iron and car roads, channels are referred to as so-called linear structures.
The construction and operation of linear structures have a significant impact on the state of the environment by damaging or destroying the natural elements of the landscape.

During the construction and operation of linear structures, reclamation is carried out in the following stages:

1. Backfilling linear structures;
2. General layout of the right of way;
3. Cleaning up construction debris;
4. Sodding of the surface by sowing grasses.

Restoration of tree and shrub vegetation in the right of way for the construction of the pipeline is not allowed due to difficulties arising during its operation.

Directions for the use of disturbed lands after reclamation work
In accordance with GOST 17.5.1.0285, disturbed lands are distinguished according to the directions of reclamation, depending on the type of subsequent use.

Reclaimed territories can be used in the following areas:

• Agricultural - land can be used for arable land, hayfields, pastures and perennial plantations;
• Forestry - under afforestation of general economic and field protection purposes, forest nurseries;
• Water management - arrange reservoirs for household and industrial needs, irrigation and fish farming;
• Recreational - to create recreation and sports areas, for parks and forest parks, reservoirs for recreational purposes, hunting grounds, tourist camps and sports facilities;
• Environmental and sanitary-hygienic - for the creation of areas of anti-erosion afforestation, grassed or watered, fixed or lawned using technical means, a site for self-overgrowing not specially landscaped for the purpose of subsequent use for economic or recreational purposes;
• Construction - for industrial, civil and other construction and other purposes.

Conclusion

Technogenic landscapes have a negative impact on the environment, they, in turn, are the objects of close study of the rate of restoration of the soil cover, the rate of elementary soil processes.

Currently, work is underway to reduce the harmful effects on the environment of tailings, dumps, quarries, landfills and sludge reservoirs, which occupy vast areas, pollute the soil, water and air with toxic compounds.

Based on the analysis of existing methods of reclamation, it can be concluded that the existing problem of restoring disturbed lands can only be partially solved. This is due to the fact that most of the reclamation methods used often do not take into account the specifics of the territories and do not provide the specified reduction in the negative impact of technogenically disturbed territories on natural ecosystems.

UDC: 502.65

Post-graduate student National Mineral Resources University of Mines Ecology Faculty

Annotation: Every year, all over the world, industrial human activity acquires an increasing danger to the natural environment, which manifests itself mainly in places where minerals, building materials and peat are mined, as well as in places of their enrichment, processing and further storage of waste.
Despite the high environmental hazard, land-based disposal with the use of storage sites in the form of tailings remains the dominant method of disposal of enrichment waste to date.
The paper analyzes the existing technical approaches to the reclamation of lands disturbed by mining. The classification of mining waste is given. The stages and directions of reclamation work in the areas of production waste storage are described. Methods for reclamation of quarries of non-metallic materials, quarries for the extraction of stone, peat deposits, dumps, dumps, landfills and lands disturbed during underground mining are described in detail. Methods of reclamation of tailings are considered in detail. The most optimal method of reclamation of tailings was chosen.

Keywords: reclamation, mining, tailings.

abstract: Every year around the world are a great danger to the environment becomes human industrial activity, which manifests itself mainly in the areas of mining fossil, construction materials and peat, as well as in their places enrichment, further processing and storage of waste.
Despite the high environmental hazard, thus far the dominant method of waste disposal remains enrichment ground occupancy with storage sites in the form of tailings.
The analysis of existing technological approaches to reclamation of land disturbed by mining operations. The classification of the waste processing industry. Stages and directions of remediation in the areas of storage of waste products. Painted in detail methods of reclaiming aggregates quarries, stone quarries, peat deposits, dumps, dumps, landfills and land disturbed by underground mining. More Ways reclamation of tailings.

key words: reclamation, mining, tailing.

List of used literature

1. Chemezov V.V., Kovryzhnikov V.L. Land use and reclamation of disturbed land in the mining of gold and diamonds: Aid for the development of land reclamation projects. - Irkutsk: Publishing of "Irgiredmed", 2007 - 330 p.
2. Galperin A.M., Forester W., Chief H.U. Anthropogenic the solid and protection of natural resources, Part 1, Bulk and alluvial the solid, M., 2006 - 586 p.
3. Shcherbakov E.P. Geological and Environmental assessment of technogenic alluvial mining waste storage arrays, 2000 - 156 p.
4. Atroschenko F.G., Gorbatov U.P. Multiple use of reclaimed tailings arrays in the development of diamond deposits in Yakutia, 2006 - 214 p.
5. Mironova S.I. Problems of biological reclamation of disturbed lands by mining companies in Yakutia: current state and prospects, 2012 - 325 p.
6. Androkhanov V.A. Problems of reclamation of the northern territories, 2012 - 4 p.
7. Lukina N.V., Chibric T.S. Glazyrina M.A., Filimonov E.I. Biological monitoring and remediation of disturbed land by industry, 2008 - 156 p.
8. State Standard 17.5.1.03-86. Protection of nature. Earth. Classification of overburden and host rocks for biological reclamation of land.
9. State Standard 17.5.3.04-83. Protection of nature. Earth. General requirements for land reclamation.
10. State Standard 17.5.3.05-84. Protection of nature. Land reclamation. General requirements for earth mulching.
11. State Standard 17.5.4.01-84. Protection of nature. Land reclamation. Method for determination of pH of aqueous extract of overburden and host rocks.
12. State Standard 25100-95. Interstate standard. soils. classification.
13. State Standard 17.4.3.01-83. Protection of nature. soils. General requirements for sampling.
14. State Standard 17.5.1.02-85. Protection of nature. Classification for reclamation of disturbed lands.
15. Smetanin V.I., Restoration and improvement of disturbed lands. 2000 - 96 p.
16. Pashkevich M.A., Industrial arrays and their impact on the environment. - SBR: SPMI (TU), 2000. - 230 rubles.
17. Pashkevich M.A. Industrial arrays and their impact on the environment. -Brian Bowman, Doug Baker MINE RECLAMATION PLANNING IN THE CANADIAN NORTH, 1998-75 p.

Many types of management - construction, mining, repair or survey work - significantly destroy the soil cover, therefore, to restore it, reclamation of disturbed lands is carried out. For introduction into circulation, a huge amount of the fertile soil layer is restored by special measures, which will be discussed in this article.

Dictionary

What are disturbed lands? These are those that have lost their economic value or, moreover, have a negative impact on the environment due to disturbed soil cover or when a technogenic relief is formed after a certain production activity.

What is land reclamation? This is a whole range of actions aimed at restoring the economic value of devastated soils, restoring their productivity, and improving the conditions of the entire environment. Technical and biological reclamation of disturbed lands is being carried out. To do this, they first need to be inventoried - to identify, take into account and map, determine the area and set the quality level.

Directions of reclamation of disturbed lands - their restoration for one or another targeted use. For example, the agricultural direction provides for the creation of new agricultural land on disturbed soils.

Works on the removal of the fertile layer, its transportation and the application of a new one - earthing. It can significantly improve even unproductive lands and potentially fertile breeds. The object of reclamation is called land plot with a disturbed fertile layer, which is subject to restoration. The upper part of the soil cover, humus and supplied with all the physical, chemical and agrochemical properties favorable for plants, is called the fertile layer.

Decree

In modern conditions, actions to organize the work of agriculture and restore all disturbed lands are very relevant. Territories where the reclamation of such lands has already taken place should be under special control.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 1994 defines General requirements to perform work on the reclamation of damaged soil cover. They are obligatory for all legal entities, officials and individuals. Reclamation of disturbed lands returns recreational, forestry and agricultural lands to operation for further use for their intended purpose. There are two stages for soil restoration - biological and technical.

When the reclamation of disturbed lands passes the technical stage, planning is carried out, slopes are formed, a fertile layer of soil is removed and applied, reclamation and hydraulic structures are arranged, toxic rocks removed by the opening are buried, various works are organized to create conditions for the second stage of activities.

Biological intervention restores soil fertility: agrotechnical, phytomeliorative measures that improve agrochemical, agrophysical, biochemical properties, as well as other indicators of fertility.

Types of reclamation

There are incredibly many disturbed lands on the planet. Reclamation is necessary in many cases. So, it is necessary to eliminate the consequences:

• field development open way or underground;
• laying pipelines, carrying out land reclamation, construction, logging and some other works that are associated with damage to the soil cover;
• liquidation of military, industrial, any other structures and facilities;
• storage or disposal of household, industrial or other waste;
• elimination of the consequences of soil pollution, when the condition for restoration is the removal of the fertile top layer.

The norms for such removal are established by the project for the reclamation of disturbed lands, depending on how much the level of fertility of a given area has fallen. The removed layer of soil usually also goes into action - it is recultivated, after which it improves unproductive lands.

Objectives not related to agriculture or forestry are usually not pursued, as this is not economically viable. The exception is cases where there is no possibility of using the removed soil layer for the forest fund or improving land for agriculture. On the territory of each region there are organizations for the transfer or acceptance of reclaimed land. Other issues related to the disturbance of soil cover and their restoration are also considered there.

The Permanent Commissions include land management, environmental protection, water management, forestry, agricultural, architectural and construction, sanitary, financial and credit and many other bodies, under whose supervision all stages of disturbed land reclamation are carried out.

The documents

Acceptance (transfer) of all reclaimed lands must be carried out within one month after the submission to the Permanent Commission of the notification of completed soil restoration activities. The reclamation of disturbed lands requires the following materials to be attached to the documents:

• Permission to carry out such work (copies), that is, a document certifying the right to use subsoil and land.
• A copy of the land use plan showing the boundaries of all restored areas.
• Disturbed land reclamation project.
• Survey data - soil and others, which are necessary for carrying out similar work related to both the violation of the fertile layer and the elimination of the consequences of this.
• Working drawings - project documentation for anti-erosion, reclamation, hydrotechnical and other facilities, agrotechnical, forest reclamation and other measures that were provided for by the project.
• Materials of inspections, which reflect the implementation of work on soil restoration, information on measures taken to eliminate the identified violations.
• Information on the procedure for removing, storing, using, transferring the fertile layer, relevant documents confirming this.

This list of papers in each case is supplemented and specified by the Standing Committee. Changes and additions are dictated by the nature of the violation of land and their use in the future.

Acceptance

Reclaimed sites are accepted by a special commission with a mandatory visit to the site. It is approved by the chairman or deputy of the Permanent Commission within ten days after the submission of an application by legal entities or individuals who lease land.

Usually, the working commission consists of representatives of municipal and state bodies interested in land use, as well as members of the Permanent Commission itself. Persons renting and accepting reclaimed areas, representatives of design and contracting organizations, specialists and experts also take part in the acceptance of reclaimed areas. The procedure for reclamation of disturbed lands is checked after consideration of all the required documents.

Pesticide pollution

Pesticides are inorganic and organic compounds that are used to control diseases and pests of plants, weeds, and also to accelerate the maturation of a number of crops that are subjected to machine harvesting. Despite the fact that only about three hundred grams of such substances are applied per hectare, soils become significantly clogged over time, so sooner or later they are subject to mandatory reclamation. The main task is to activate the processes of decomposition of residual forms of harmful substances. Directions for reclamation of disturbed lands can be very different according to the project, which provides for percentage data on the composition of soil pollution.

Biodestructors are used that decompose certain compounds, soils are irradiated with ultraviolet light, fertilizers are applied - mineral and organic, agro-reclamation and agrotechnical measures are carried out. To reduce the decomposition time of pesticides, chemical ameliorants are used that form non-toxic compounds; artificial or natural sorbents and lime are introduced into the soil. Then those crops are introduced into the crop rotation that are able to assimilate harmful compounds and process them: corn, lupine, rapeseed. In this way, soils are cleared of atrazine and linuron, as well as many other compounds.

Oil pollution

Taking into account the criteria for assessing the state of the environmental situation, appropriate measures are being taken, first of all, technical reclamation of disturbed lands, after which - biological. There are three distinct levels of soil pollution: background, elevated, and high pollution. The first is up to fifty milligrams of oil content per kilogram of dry soil. The second - up to a thousand milligrams, the third - up to five thousand. It is the third level that involves the appointment of reclamation of both soil and groundwater. The second level should alert the responsible persons responsible for monitoring.

The development of a project for the reclamation of disturbed lands contaminated by oil and its products, according to an equalized scheme, is being organized. Initial actions are aimed at activating microorganisms in the soil so that they degrade hydrocarbons. Also, the soil is loosened, lime, gypsum, high doses of mineral and organic organisms are introduced into it, then all this is plowed up. A mulched surface is created, consisting of nutrient mixtures, increased rates of oil-tolerant crops are sown. White bent grass, timothy grass, red fescue, awnless brome, perennial lupine, eastern beckmania, canary grass, horned bird's foot, alfalfa and clover are grown. Plants grown on polluted soil and fed to animals are strictly controlled because they accumulate carcinogens and aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons.

ecological system

Land restoration depends on how the disturbed land reclamation project is drawn up, as well as in accordance with the level of emergency of the environmental disaster situation. This is a range of activities engineering system ecology. Petroleum products are extremely mobile in the geosystem components. If soils have been clogged for a long time and large areas of bound and free oil products have formed in the section between aeration zones and groundwater, then the fight against them will be serious. This usually happens near oil depots, fuel depots and oil refineries.

The engineering and environmental system must implement the tasks of removing mobile oil products, protecting rivers, water intakes, as well as recultivating all damaged soils. The sources of pollution must be localized. The basis of the engineering system of ecology is made up of structures: embankment dams, walls in the ground, vertical and horizontal drainage, injection and production wells. There are also many other measures that are provided for by the technical reclamation of disturbed lands.

Pit dumps

Twenty percent of the total area of ​​the territory of mining enterprises is allocated to quarry dumps, 13% - to waste storage facilities for processing plants, 5% - to dumps and mine waste, and 3% - completely unusable land due to subsidence and surface failures. The volume of mining is increasing every year, and now about ten to fifteen hectares are dumped each year. Landscape complexes and soil cover are being disturbed. Engineering communications and their construction also require significant areas. The reclamation of lands disturbed by mining in our country has been carried out systematically since 1959.

Comprehensive remediation schemes may include a wide range of activities, depending on the degree of pollution and its chemical composition. For example, these:

• First year- loosening for soil degassing and stimulation of all biochemical processes.
• Second year- regulation of the water and nutrient regimes of the soil by biodestructors.
• Third year and all subsequent- cultivation of sustainable crops until the moment of growth of quality products.

A high level of pollution can force a complete change of the fertile topsoil, which is removed and sent for processing. Overburden stored in the form of an embankment (external dumps) are used only if they are radioactive and non-toxic.

Excavations and artificially created cavities are mainly recultivated using consumption and production waste, that is, they are, in fact, their burial place, and this is a licensed type of activity. Quarry excavations and various kinds of dumps are used in the extraction of minerals and building materials in an open way.

Stages of reclamation

This is a very complex multicomponent system of activities, closely related to each other, structured by the level of tasks to be solved and technological performance. The preparatory stage is the justification of measures from the investment side and the development of working documentation. The technical stage is the implementation of the project in its engineering part.

Biological - the final stage, including landscaping, biological cleaning of the soil, forest construction, phyto-recultivation and agro-reclamation measures, which are aimed at the complete restoration of soil-forming processes. The first two stages can take place over a long time - up to several decades, when complex environmental problems are solved.

M.Kh. Vakhaev, candidate of legal sciences.

The development of the land market in our country raises the question of distinguishing between ordinary market transactions and transactions, the terms of which are not determined by the parties, but are dictated by law. In the literature they are called normative transactions.<*>. It seems that contractual transactions in the process of development of the land market may go beyond their recognized range and push the scope of regulatory transactions. This can be seen in the example of such an institution as land reclamation, in which almost all the rights and obligations of the parties are predetermined by law. Since the legal relations of the parties in land reclamation are predetermined by special regulations, these relations cannot be considered contractual. But this may not always be their advantage.

<*>See: Gorokhov D.B. Civil-law and land-legal content of transactions with land // Legislation and Economics. 1995. N 15, 16. S. 38 - 46.

It is customary to call reclamation work to restore the fertility of productive lands that have lost it as a result of forced disturbance of the soil cover. Typically, such a violation accompanies all kinds of earthworks that are carried out in mining, construction, geological surveys, peat extraction, etc. The purpose of reclamation is to "save" the fertile vegetation layer. It is also called the soil layer, without the removal and subsequent preservation of which it is difficult or even impossible to cultivate disturbed lands when restoration work is carried out on them. Reclamation may not be carried out immediately after the soil is removed. During this time, the removed vegetative layer should be kept waiting for it to be put to good use. In order not to create unnecessary difficulties with the storage of the removed soil, the law allows it to be used not only in the former, but also in neighboring plots, where it is possible to increase the fertility of the land with its help.

Legislation rather vaguely defines the persons who are responsible for land reclamation. According to Art. 13 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation - these are the owners and other title owners of the land. They are also obliged to remove, store and use the fertile soil layer when carrying out work related to land disturbance. In the first complex legal act on land reclamation adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1976<*>, it was said about "enterprises, organizations, institutions" that carry out work that violates the earth's surface. This concerned, in particular, construction contractors. Approximately the same list of obligated persons contains a similar regulatory act of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 23, 1994 "On land reclamation, removal, conservation and rational use of the fertile soil layer"<**>.

<*>SP USSR. 1976. N 11. Art. 52.
<**>SAP RF. 1994. N 10. Art. 779.

But if we are talking about earthworks performed for purposes, for example, construction, then they involve not only contractors who rent machines and mechanisms from other specialized organizations and resort to the services of their machine operators. The work of contractors is directed and paid by the customers. The latter use documents that constitute design organizations. The question is, who is responsible for the reclamation of disturbed lands?

Practice gives an unambiguous answer to this: on the customer of the work that leads to the violation of the soil layer. This answer also covers land relations. If the work was ordered by the owner of the land, he is also responsible for its reclamation. But if he must allow on his land the performers of work carried out under a project that he did not order, then the responsibility for reclamation is borne by the customer of these works. The obligation to recultivate the land falls on its tenant, if the initiative to carry out the work came from him, etc.

From an economic point of view, the costs that are incurred for reclamation should increase the value of the land compared to its state in which it was before reclamation. In market calculations, the following relationship must also be observed: the increase in land value as a result of reclamation work must exceed the costs incurred for this. But this last rule is not absolute. Reclamation sometimes has to be carried out not so much for the sake of increasing the value of the land where it is carried out, but in order to protect neighboring lands from destruction (and depreciation). So, uncultivated rock dumps of mining should be put in order not so much for their own sake, but in order to protect neighboring lands from them, where harmful chemicals enter with dust, mud flows are carried out after showers. But if we ignore such cases, then reclamation should be approached in the same way as land reclamation, namely: the costs incurred should pay off in increasing the value of the land on which the work to cultivate it is planned.

However, neither the 1976 Government Decree nor the 1994 Decree put forward this latter requirement. From the point of view of law, the case looks like that reclamation is required to be carried out at any cost, regardless of the ratio of costs incurred and benefits acquired.

Land reclamation in agriculture. Experience shows that the greatest costs are required to restore land for agricultural use. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure not only a sufficiently high fertility of the newly created soils, but also a leveled relief - a condition without which the productive work of agricultural machines is impossible. Reclamation for land use in forestry, as well as in fisheries is much cheaper.<*>.

<*>The use of restored land for the creation of hunting farms, recreational areas, testing and training grounds, underground structures are also possible directions for reclamation projects. However, so far these opportunities have been little used.

If the soil cover is disturbed in a sparsely populated area, where, moreover, the fertility of the land is low (respectively, the value of the land is low), then after the completion of mining or other industrial work, the site can be left under the so-called natural overgrowth; in other words, nature is left to heal the wounds inflicted on it by its own efforts. This option is allowed by law, if the interested local authorities and the state land management service do not object to it. When land is allotted for mining and other temporary needs, the nature of future reclamation is determined even before the allotment. As a rule, the applicant for land must submit a reclamation project in advance - only in this case his application for land acquisition can be granted. Such projects are made up of institutions with experience in land cultivation, including those included in the system of the federal agency Rosnedvizhimost.

The existence of remediation projects is a known guarantee that future cost-effectiveness will not be ignored. Design institutes have a useful tradition of balancing projected costs with expected benefits, so their involvement in land reclamation facilitates the selection of options that ensure the effectiveness of projected costs. However, this does not give a full guarantee, since it is possible that government agency authorizing land acquisition may require an unnecessarily expensive land restoration option; in any case, the law does not put barriers to such requirements.

Useful practice State Institute land resources of the Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR (GIZR), which compiled a list of soils, in case of violation of which the initiator of the work had to take care of the removal and preservation of the vegetation layer. For other soils, this was not required. Thus, the unlimited requirement of the law to save the lost vegetation layer was actually weakened. Such clarifications to the law were dictated by the fact that mechanized methods of cutting the vegetation layer do not justify themselves in cases where the thickness of this layer is small - less than 15 cm. In addition, thin soils contain, as a rule, little humus, and their fertility is low.

It is clear that GIZR was not and is not a legislator in the field of land management. Nevertheless, his intervention in the regulation of recultivation was symptomatic. It testified that the practice sought to amend the "uncompromising" requirements of the law, which do not take into account economic realities.

In the practice of land reclamation, an unwritten rule has also developed, according to which the obligated organization cannot be required to transfer the cut vegetation layer to another site if the removal distance exceeds 10 km.

On the other hand, interdepartmental agreements have developed a number of additional useful requirements for organizations conducting reclamation work. This includes, for example, the creation of a so-called screen (aquiclude) in the backfill, which should help retain moisture in the upper layers of the bulk soil. In addition, a reliable overlap of rocks containing sulfur compounds is required, since otherwise the oxidation process will develop with the formation of sulfuric acid. Access roads must be built to the reclaimed lands, the correctness of the work performed is checked by a special commission, etc.

Thus, interdepartmental contacts in the field of land reclamation introduced many new rules in addition to legislative requirements. These innovations should be taken into account when improving legislation. One of its additional areas should be mandatory economic evaluation reclamation projects. Without this condition, reclamation may be divorced from the real interests of society.

Legislation on land reclamation does not take into account cases when an "invading" organization facilitates the subsequent development of the land disturbed by it. This applies, for example, to the process of extracting peat on the lands of the State Forest Fund, reserves, etc. During the development of deposits, peat enterprises drain the land, clear it of undergrowth and shrubs, and build roads. During mining, buried stumps are removed from the peat layer. After the completion of the work, the area is prepared for forestry or agriculture to a much greater extent than it was before. In the Moscow region and other regions, developed peatlands are successfully developed by gardening associations, to which such areas are often transferred. True, during the development of peat, its accumulated volume is reduced, but according to the established rules, peat enterprises are obliged to leave in place the so-called added layer of peat with a thickness of at least 50 cm. Usually this is enough for the initial cultivation of soils if they are used in agriculture.

At quarrying peat, artificial lakes are formed, which, as a result of their cultivation (in particular, after the introduction of lime), are suitable for creating fish or hunting farms. The developed peatlands are sometimes claimed by the peat enterprises themselves, if they need space for the creation of subsidiary farms or garden associations. Thus, the industrial extraction of peat, followed by the cultivation of soils, often leads to the creation of more valuable lands than the former peat bogs.<*>.

<*>Krayushkina E.G. Legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on the restoration of land plots disturbed during the development of subsoil // Legislation and Economics. 1996. N 9, 10; She is. Restoration of disturbed lands - a requirement of the law // Legislation and Economics. 1999. No. 5.

This increase in the value of peat fields has so far "passed" the peat industry. A comprehensive account of the pros and cons of the impact on the value of land organizations invading these lands would be to the benefit of the country's land economy.

Prospects for the development of legislation on land reclamation. Reclamation carried out according to the rules of the economy will not necessarily ensure the full restoration of the former potential of fertility and profitability of depleted land. In other words, its value may not recover. This is especially true in farmland. Organizations destroying them, as a rule, do not repay their debt to agriculture even after they have carried out reclamation. They try to fight this result by obliging the invading organization to contribute the amount necessary to create equivalent agricultural land elsewhere.<*>. But this method cannot be considered adequate for the following reasons.

<*>In particular, such requirements are stipulated by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 28, 1993 N 77 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Procedure for Compensation for Losses to Land Owners, Landowners, Land Users, Tenants and Agricultural Production Losses" // SAP RF. 1993. N 6. Art. 483.

1. It only applies to agricultural land. All other categories of land remain incompletely compensated.
2. Compensation calculations do not take into account the loss of the benefits that were previously brought by the lands involved in Agriculture to replace those lost.
3. The plots again involved in agriculture will not necessarily be qualitatively equivalent to the lands that were lost.
4. The paying organization, whose funds are used to compensate for the lost land, does not receive ownership of the land it disturbed, although it would seem that it compensated for the loss in kind.
5. Finally, there is no guarantee that the funds invested in in-kind compensation are used efficiently enough, in other words, the benefits obtained may not justify the costs incurred. Thus, the compensation operation itself is controversial from the standpoint of a market economy.

It seems that if the invading organization does not restore disturbed land to a level that ensures its former profitability, it should be required to pay the monetary difference between the new land valuation and the previous one. In this case, it can be expected that the organization itself will be interested in performing the maximum (economically justified) amount of work on the reclamation of the land disturbed by it in order to reduce the amount that it must pay on account of this difference in favor of the land owner. Such a "market" solution requires the revision of legislation on land reclamation.

The development of monetary settlements in the land economy makes it possible to apply additional cost instruments in land reclamation. One of such tools could be the complete purchase of land, which was required by a mining or other organization that violates the soil cover and vegetation. At the same time, its obligation to recultivate is not destroyed. But, securing damaged land for itself, such an organization will have a full-fledged incentive for recultivation with its high quality. The creation of such an incentive is an important additional condition for the conscientious implementation of restoration work.

Another possible technique (used, for example, in the USA and Canada) is the collection of special security deposits from the initiator of mining and other works, which would ensure the implementation of reclamation in the event of insolvency or other inability on the part of the temporary land user. If the latter fulfills the conditions set before him for the reclamation of disturbed land, the deposit is returned.

Both money and reliable securities can appear as collateral. The deposit is paid in full before the start of work, but more often it happens that the obligated organization replenishes it evenly as the mineral deposit is mined or other earthworks are performed.

In the domestic legislation on land reclamation, there is an idea to minimize the time for carrying out these works in order not to leave "industrial wastelands" for an indefinitely long time. But this trend is fraught with a certain danger. An organization that has completed the prescribed work on the reclamation of disturbed lands in a short time can consider itself free from further claims. Meanwhile, the results of biological reclamation, for example, when planting a forest, may not be felt so soon. In England, cases were noted when, after all the work on planting a forest, it turned out that almost half of the planted trees did not take root. Obviously, in such situations, it is necessary either to require the organization conducting the reclamation to pay a deposit as insurance for the failure of the work performed by it, or to transfer funds for the performance of these works to a specialized organization responsible for the final result.

Legislation and by-laws on land reclamation were developed at a time when all land belonged to the state. Under these conditions, the state had the right to dictate its terms to anyone who intended to disturb the soil and vegetation cover, change the terrain and make other changes to the landscape.

Now the situation has changed. In addition to federal lands, lands belonging to the subjects of the Federation appear, and municipal ownership of many types of lands began to take shape. In addition, a significant part of agricultural land was in private ownership. Let's leave aside the problems associated with the delimitation of land ownership, and ask only one question: do the previously adopted rules for reclamation continue to apply to all these lands?

It seems that the norms on land reclamation were adopted by the state mainly as their owner, and not as an authority. But this does not exclude the possibility that in some cases such norms meant not the land-economic interests and income of the state, but its concern for the interests of society - from nature protection to the desire to preserve the beauty of landscapes. For such cases, the rules on mandatory land reclamation should be in force in all territories, regardless of who owns them. In particular, these rules should apply to all public lands, even if they belong to municipalities or subjects of the Federation - at least until the latter accept their regulations on this subject.

As for private sector lands, the all-Russian (as well as regional) rules related to land reclamation, if they are aimed at protecting public interests, should also apply to these lands. In the latter case, by carrying out earthworks or allowing outsiders to carry them out, the private sector is obliged to ensure the restoration of disturbed soil, and in appropriate cases also vegetation cover, regardless of whether it is interested in the results of reclamation or not. Here, the already mentioned concept of the obligation to include in private contracts conditions that ensure public interests is applicable to the private sector.

But if the issue concerns only the private interests of one or another owner, then a more appropriate method for regulating reclamation is an agreement. Allowing earthworks to be carried out on his land (including those performed by state organizations), the owner may demand payment for the fact that the land belonging to him is temporarily out of his use. At the same time, it does not have a fundamental comment whether the owner was obliged to allow the work to be carried out, or whether such work is carried out by free agreement of the parties. At the same time, he may demand the reclamation of disturbed land after the completion of work and put forward the conditions for such reclamation.

It is clear that when the invasion of an outside organization occurs against the will of the owner, he is interested in the volume of reclamation work being the most complete. But if he himself invites an outside organization to his land and pays it for the work done (for example, laying a road, underground communications), then a different economic situation arises. The more reclamation work the owner needs, the more he will have to pay. Under these conditions, he can limit himself to setting minimum requirements for the reclamation of disturbed lands, planning to eventually restore their fertility on his own.

In all such cases, it is advisable that the owner negotiate directly with the invading organization, without entrusting the issues of compensation for losses, payments, etc. to officials of local administrations.

Taking into account the fundamental dissimilarity of the relations that arise in violation of the soil cover and vegetation on private and public lands, the legislation should separate these cases. It is also necessary to record cases of mandatory reclamation, together with a set of mandatory works, as well as cases of reclamation, the volume of which is determined by agreement of the parties concerned.

Land reclamation- a set of measures aimed at restoring the productivity of disturbed lands in the process of nature management, as well as at improving environmental conditions.

lands infringement- this is a process that occurs during the extraction of minerals, the performance of geological exploration, surveying, construction and other works and leads to a violation of the soil cover, the hydrological regime of the area, the formation of man-made relief and other qualitative changes in the state of the land.

Reclaimed land- these are disturbed lands where productivity, national economic value has been restored and environmental conditions have been improved.

There are two stages in land reclamation:

1. Technical - land preparation for subsequent intended use

2. Biological - restoration of fertility, carried out after the technical stage and including a set of agrotechnical and phytomeliorative measures aimed at the renewal of the historically established combination of flora, fauna and microorganisms.

The reclamation works include the following stages:

• Design and survey work (soil and other field surveys, laboratory analyzes, mapping)
• Determination of the characteristics of the cleaned object: engineering and geological indicators, qualitative and quantitative indicators of pollution, microbiological and agrochemical indicators of the cleaned soil
• Pollution localization
• Bundling, application of sorbents
• Cleaning the territory from pollution
• Mechanical, sorption and microbiological treatment
• Chemical and microbiological control of the cleaning process
• Acquisition of a fertile layer of soil (if necessary)
• Application of potentially fertile rocks and fertile soil layer to recultivated lands
• Liquidation of industrial sites, transport communications, electrical networks, buildings and structures, other objects (if necessary)
• Cleaning the reclaimed area from industrial waste
• Arrangement of a drainage and drainage network for the subsequent use of reclaimed land (if necessary)
• Acquisition and planting of seedlings
• Preparation of the bottom, arrangement of quarry and other excavations when creating reservoirs in them (if necessary)
• Restoring the fertility of reclaimed lands transferred for agricultural, forestry and other uses (purchase of seeds, fertilizers, ameliorants and their use, etc.).

Causes of disturbed lands and water bodies

Types of human activities, as a result of which there may be a need for reclamation of lands and water bodies:

• economic activity
  • mining, especially open pit mining;
  • deforestation;
  • the occurrence of landfills;
  • city ​​building;
  • creation of hydraulic structures and similar facilities;
• conducting military tests, including tests of nuclear weapons.

Two main stages of reclamation

Reclamation works usually have two main stages - technical and biological. At the technical stage, the landscape is corrected (filling ditches, trenches, pits, depressions, soil failures, leveling and terracing industrial waste heaps), hydraulic and reclamation structures are created, toxic waste is buried, and a fertile soil layer is applied. As a result, the formation of the territory is carried out. At the biological stage, agrotechnical work is carried out, the purpose of which is to improve the properties of the soil.

Areas of land reclamation

Depending on the goals that are set during land reclamation, the following areas of land reclamation are distinguished:

• environmental direction;
• recreational direction;
• agricultural direction;
  • crop direction;
  • hay and pasture direction;
• forestry direction;
• water management direction.

Plants used in reclamation

Among the plants used to improve land quality, first of all, we can name herbaceous representatives of the legume family, which are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. For example, in Australia, Clitoria ternatea (Clitoria ternatea) is used for reclamation of coal mine areas. Another plant actively used in land reclamation is black poplar (Populus nigra).

The reclamation period can last 10 years or more. It includes technical and biological stages.

Technical stage of reclamation(technical reclamation, and when restoring lands disturbed by mining - mining and technical reclamation) includes the following types of work: removal and storage of the fertile soil layer, surface leveling, transportation and application of fertile soils to the reclaimed surface, construction of a drainage and water supply network of canals, installation of anti-erosion structures. The technical stage of reclamation is carried out by mining enterprises.

Biological stage of reclamation(biological reclamation) includes measures to restore the fertility of reclaimed lands and restore flora and fauna. Works at this stage are carried out by enterprises of the forestry or agricultural profile, in the permanent use of which, after the technical reclamation, the land comes.

There are directions or types of reclamation, characterized by specific techniques and methods, depending on the intended use of the reclamation area. The following areas of reclamation are most widespread: agricultural, forestry, fishery, water management, recreational, sanitary and construction.

Land reclamation should be comprehensive, i.e., provide for their various subsequent uses.

Everyone knows that land reclamation is a process of its restoration. And it may require restoration, for example, after the implementation of mining or after the organization of landfills or other anthropogenic impacts of a harmful nature. Land reclamation always involves the conduct of restoration work, which, as a result of their implementation, should increase the fertility of the soil and return it to its former natural qualities.

How is reclamation carried out?

As a rule, land reclamation is carried out in a complex manner. There are two stages of reclamation:

• technical;
• biological.

Both of them are usually performed sequentially. As for the technical stage, it implies the elimination of certain landscape problems, waste disposal, etc. The biological reclamation of affected lands includes a range of agrotechnical works carried out to restore fertility and other soil indicators.

Often, various plantings of leguminous plants are used for this, capable of accumulating atmospheric nitrogen in the ground and making the soil attractive to plants of other species. In addition, biological land reclamation may also involve the planting of new forest plantations to replace the cut down old ones, the planting of shrubs, flowers, and much more.

Depending on the purpose of reclamation, it is divided into several types:

• recreational (to attract the number of tourists);
• environmental;
• building;
• agricultural. It is designed to restore soil fertility. It can be subdivided into: hay-pasture reclamation and crop production;
• forestry;
• fishery;
• water management;
• sanitary and hygienic.

Thanks to the use of comprehensive measures to restore soil types, it is possible to significantly improve the ecological well-being of the region, as well as restore nature after the destructive impact of mankind on it, no matter how significant it may be.