Nature-Based Solutions Needed to Combat Appalachia’s Growing Flood Risks

By Brendan Muckian-Bates

This blog is part of a series detailing the flood resilience policy roadmap for Appalachia, released by ReImagine Appalachia, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and the National Wildlife Federation

Boone County was once West Virginia’s premier coal producing county. Coal extraction in Boone increased from 6 million tons in 1950 to more than 32 million tons in 2000. But in 2003, devastation hit: Flood waters rushed down a mountaintop removal site, trapping a family in their home when their private bridge washed away. State officials blamed logging for the sudden rush of water, while federal regulators blamed the mine’s redesigned waste site that increased risks for minor flooding. It’s just one example of the impacts of natural resource extraction. 

Extensive logging and mining has left visible scars throughout Appalachia, but those scars have never fully healed. Patterns of development in the region – with many residents living alongside rivers and streams – combined with this history of extraction, and increasing climate impacts, make Appalachia uniquely vulnerable to flooding. 

Companies are required to reclaim surface and underground coal mine sites permitted before 1977. But conventional reclamation has repeatedly shown to be ineffective at returning mine lands to their original ecologic and hydrologic functionality. Reclaimed soils are thinner, reducing the ability of the land to absorb and store water. Instead of native vegetation, mining companies often plant hardy conifers or grassland plants. Modeling suggests that reclamation can result in an almost “impervious” surface similar to a city.

Logging, too, plays a role in Appalachia’s flood risk. Tree roots and a tree’s ability to soak up water from the soil help stabilize steep slopes in mountainous regions like Appalachia. When a slope is heavily logged, the soil is much more prone to destabilization and landslides. Landslides can occur up to 9 times more frequently in logged areas compared to non-logged. Yet throughout Appalachia, few states currently have Best Management Practices in place for logging to help reduce landslides.

Agricultural practices also play an important role in flood resilience efforts. Nearly thirty percent of land in Appalachia is devoted to agriculture. Organic matter in soils has been shown to play a significant role in absorbing floodwaters from small- and medium-sized storm events, with estimations that for every percent increase in soil organic matter, soil can hold an additional 20,000 gallons of rainfall per storm event. Several USDA programs provide financial and technical assistance for farmers for sustainable practices, such as the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). These cost-effective ways of protecting water quality and improving soil health directly increase water retention and reduce the severity of floods.

Investments in nature-based solutions are needed to restore and protect Appalachia’s landscape – and to better protect Appalachian communities and build long-term climate resilience. Earlier this year, NWF, the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, and ReImagine Appalachia released a flood resilience policy roadmap for Appalachia. The platform highlights the unique flooding challenges the entire region faces, and details four sets of policy recommendations to improve flood resilience and recovery for Appalachia. Recommendations related to nature-based hazard mitigation include: 

• Invest in the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI), a cooperative effort between the public and private sector to facilitate ecologically appropriate mine land reclamation. Despite a record of success – ARRI has reclaimed over 60,000 acres of mine lands and planted more than 20 million trees – the initiative has never had dedicated federal funding. 
• Reform the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act to ensure more timely and adequate reclamation.
• The US Forest Service should become a land stewardship leader by adopting landslide-reduction Best Management Practices (BMPs) that meet or exceed state BMPs related to landslides, sedimentation, and watershed protection.
• Increase funding for popular, oversubscribed conservation programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such as the Conservation Stewardship Program. Agricultural practices play an important role in flood resilience efforts: Nearly 30 percent of land in Appalachia is devoted to agriculture, largely small-scale family farms. Supporting climate-smart agriculture not only helps farmers and wildlife, it can protect water quality and reduce the severity of floods.
• Incentivize nature-based hazard mitigation projects, including by requiring states to consider nature-based solutions as potential mitigation techniques in state hazard mitigation plans, and setting aside a portion of funding in the federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program for nature-based hazard mitigation projects.  

Learn more about the flood resilience policy roadmap for Appalachia here. 

Join a webinar with NWF, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, and ReImagine Appalachia to learn more about our coalition’s flood resilience priorities for Appalachia on December 12 from 12-1 p.m. ET. Register here.