National Coal Mining Geospatial Committee (NCMGC)

The NCMGC is supporting the Coal Mining Spatial Data Standards ASTM Task Group, a multi-disciplinary team composed of state and federal SMCRA personnel jointly led by Tom Galya of CHFO and Daniel Kestner of VA DMME.  The Task Group has developed spatial data standards of coal surface mining boundaries for use by all SMCRA entities.  A meeting with FGDC is scheduled for February 27 to discuss FGDC recognition of the ASTM standard.  A second standard is in progress for coal underground mining boundaries; the task group will meet the week of January 28 in Tampa, FL to continue work on this standard, and we hope it will be completed soon.  The NCMGC is also working with a Spatial Data Infrastructure Team, an informal working group exploring geospatial technology to access geospatial data services in a state organization through the Internet, download selected datasets such as current permit boundaries, and combine them with similar data from other state and federal sources to assemble accurate and timely spatial descriptions of the nation’s coal mining activities.  The NCMGC is also supporting the advanced training of selected Geospatial Data Stewards in the state and federal SMCRA organizations in the development and use of enterprise geospatial technology for implementing SMCRA.

The Coal Mining Spatial Data Standards ASTM Task Group has now completed ASTM standards for the coal surface mining boundary (approved September 1, 2007) and a coal underground mining boundary (approved April 1, 2008).  Negotiations are continuing for FGDC recognition of these two ASTM standards.  The Task Group now has 10 Title 5 and 4 Title 4 datasets for which standards are to be developed in the near future.

Events

2008 Geospatial Conference and 2nd National Meeting of SMCRA Geospational Data Stewards 2006 National Coal Mining Geospatial Data Stewards Meeting
2004 Geospatial Conference

Electronic Permitting

Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME)
Division of Mined Land Reclamation (DMLR)

Mobile  Computing

http://www.tips.osmre.gov/tips_html/mobile_computing.aspy

GIS

AutoDESK
Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI)

GPS

Trimble
Garmin