Designation: D7384 – 10

Standard Practice for

Minimum Geospatial Data for a Surface Coal Mining
Boundary1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D7384; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope* 2. Referenced Documents

1.1 This practice covers the minimum elements for the 2.1 ASTM Standards:3
accurate location and description of data for defining a surface D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained
coal mining permit boundary. Fluids
1.1.1 This practice addresses coal mining geospatial bound- D5254 Practice for Minimum Set of Data Elements to
ary data relative to the Surface Mining Control and Reclama- Identify a Ground-Water Site
tion Act of 1977 (SMCRA).2 This geospatial data shall be D5911 Practice for Minimum Set of Data Elements to
obtained from each state or federal, or both, coal mining Identify a Soil Sampling Site
regulatory authority (RA) authorized under SMCRA to regu- 2.2 ANSI Standards:4
late surface coal mining operations (SCMO). Each RA shall be ANSI INCITS 61-1986 (R2002) Geographic Point Loca-
the authoritative data source (ADS) for coal mining geospatial tions for Information Interchange, Representation of (for-
data. merly ANSI X3.61-1986 (R1997))
1.1.2 As used in this practice, a surface coal mining permit ANSI INCITS 320-1998 (R2003) Information
boundary represents an area where coal removal and reclama- technology—Spatial Data Transfer
tion and related supporting activities have occurred, is occur- 2.3 Federal Geographic Data Committee Standards5
ring, or is planned and authorized by the RA within a defined FGDC-STD-001 Content Standard for Digital Geospatial
SCMO. Metadata
1.2 This practice is limited to surface coal mining opera- Project 1574-D Information Technology—Geographic In-
tions after passage of SMCRA. formation Framework Data Content Standard, Part 5:
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the Governmental Unit and Other Geographic Area Bound-
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the aries
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- 2.4 Code of Federal Regulations:6
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- 30 CFR Part 700 et seq.
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
1.4 This practice offers a set of instructions for performing 3. Terminology
one or more specific operations. This document cannot replace 3.1 Except as listed or noted below, all definitions are in
education or experience and should be used in conjunction with accordance with Terminology D653.
professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be 3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not 3.2.1 The terms defined here are consistent with those
intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which defined in 30 CFR Part 700 though not verbatim.
the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, 3.2.2 active SCMO—a SCMO that has ongoing coal pro-
nor should this document be applied without consideration of duction and/or reclamation activities.
a project’s many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the
title of this document means only that the document has been
3
approved through the ASTM consensus process. For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
1
This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D18 on Soil and the ASTM website.
4
Rock and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D18.01 on Surface and Available from American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St.,
Subsurface Characterization. 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org.
5
Current edition approved May 15, 2010. Published June 2010. Originally Available from Federal Geographic Data Committee, 590 National Center,
approved in 2007. Last previous edition approved in 2009 as D7384–09. DOI: Reston, VA 20192, www.fgdc.gov.
6
10.1520/D7384-10. Available from U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents,
2
Public Law 95-87, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 732 N. Capitol St., NW, Mail Stop: SDE, Washington, DC 20401, http://
(SMCRA), passed August 3, 1977, as amended. www.access.gpo.gov.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard.

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

1
 D7384 – 10
3.2.3 attribute—a defined characteristic of a feature type
(for example, an attribute of Permit Status feature type =
active).
3.2.4 authoritative data source—a recognized source as
defined in SMCRA.
3.2.5 attribute value—a specific quality or quantity as-
signed to an attribute for a specific feature instance.
3.2.6 contact—jurisdictional regulatory authority respon-
sible for issuance and compliance of a coal-mining permit.
3.2.7 data status—date when state and tribal data, or fea-
ture, was edited in national SCMO permit dataset.
3.2.8 domain—a finite list (or range) of permissible values
for a specified attribute. Included are tables of: units of
measure, types, styles, status, names, methods, materials,
dispositions, sources, dimensions, data, classes, etc. (for ex-
ample, active, inactive, NA).
3.2.9 feature class—a logical group of related feature types
(for example, grouping of water system components feature
types such as water hydrant, water line, water pump, water
reservoir, water tank, etc., into a water system feature class).
3.2.10 feature instance—real-world spatial phenomenon
about which data is collected, maintained, and disseminated.
(for example, the McMillan Water Reservoir). Feature in-
stances are the geospatial objects that are graphically delin-
eated in a spatial database.
3.2.11 feature type—definition and description of a set
(class of real world phenomena) into which similar feature
instances are classified (for example, water reservoir).
3.2.12 inactive SCMO—a SCMO that has no coal extraction
or reclamation activity taking place.
3.2.13 national ID—permit ID assigned to SCMO by RA,
prefixed with state or tribal abbreviation.
3.2.14 line segment—a direct line between two points.
3.2.15 permit—written authorization to conduct surface
coal mining and reclamation operations issued by a RA to a
permittee.
3.2.16 permit area—the area of land, indicated on the latest
map approved by the RA, upon which the permittee may
conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations.
3.2.17 permit boundary—the border of the area of land
upon which the permittee may conduct surface coal mining and
reclamation operations indicated on the latest map approved by
the RA.
3.2.18 permit ID—unique identifier assigned by the RA for
administrative purposes.
3.2.19 permit status—to distinguish between active and
inactive SCMO.
3.2.20 permittee—an entity to whom a permit has been
issued by a RA to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation
operations.
3.2.21 point—a zero-dimensional geometric object that
specifies geographic location.
3.2.22 polygon—a two-dimensional closed geometric shape
that specifies a geographic area.
3.2.23 reclamation—those actions taken to restore mined
land to the post-mining land use approved by the RA.
2
3.2.24 Regulatory Authority—government entity with ex-
clusive jurisdiction over the regulation of surface coal mining
and reclamation operations under a program approved by the
Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
3.3 Acronyms:
3.3.1 ADS—authoritative data source.
3.3.2 CFR—Code of Federal Regulations.
3.3.3 FGDC—Federal Geodetic Data Committee.
3.3.4 GIO—Geospatial Information Officer within OSM,
oversees compilation of SMCRA-related data.
3.3.5 GIS—Geographic information system.
3.3.6 NAD—North American Datum.
3.3.7 OSMRE—Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Interior.
3.3.8 RA—Regulatory Authority.
3.3.9 SCMO—surface coal mining operation(s).
3.3.10 SI—International system of units.
3.3.11 SMCRA—Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Act of 1977 as amended.
3.3.12 TOJ—termination of jurisdiction.
3.3.13 WGS—World Geodetic System.
4. Significance and Use
4.1 This practice addresses coal mining geospatial boundary
data relative to the SMCRA and 30 CFR Part 700 et seq. This
practice is significant to the coal mining community because it
provides uniformity of geospatial data pertaining to surface
coal mining boundaries throughout the United States. The
surface coal mining boundary is the first of the coal mining
geospatial data standards to be developed for use by a RA.
Within its area of exclusive jurisdiction, each RA is the
authoritative data source (ADS) for coal mining spatial data
that it creates and uses to implement SMCRA. These standards
will help ensure uniformity of coal mining geospatial data used
in internal business practices, exchanged among business
partners within the coal mining community, and contributed by
each ADS in future efforts to create national datasets describing
surface coal mining in the United States.
NOTE 1—Currently, not all RAs have established datasets for coal
mining geospatial data. Of those RAs that have coal mining geospatial
datasets, each organizes their data in a different method, using their own
coordinate system, and their own naming conventions and terminology.
By establishing national data standards, RAs will have uniform guidance
for the creation and management of coal mining geospatial data. In effect,
this practice creates an easier and more efficient way to utilize and share
surface coal mining boundary geospatial data among affected parties.
4.2 Surface coal mining geospatial data shall be obtained
from State and Federal regulatory authorities for SCMO. The
coal mining community encompasses all entities directly and
indirectly affected by coal mining activities, including industry,
environmental groups, the general public, and the government
at all levels within the United States. Use of this standard will
help create consistent maps and increase understanding of
SCMO sites throughout the United States. This standard
promotes the creation of well organized and easily accessible
surface coal mining data, and it will facilitate better commu-
nication between state and federal offices, the public, industry
and environmental groups.
 D7384 – 10
4.3 In addition to defining a permit boundary, use of this
standard over time will allow identification of changes in the
boundary as the mined area changes.
4.4 Among a few coal-producing states, some attributes of
the surface coal mining boundaries will not have values. A
national dataset of surface coal mining boundaries will appear
to be incomplete for certain states. In some situations, surface
coal mining geospatial data may not have been collected for
those states. In others, it is not applicable.
4.5 This standard conforms to the definition of a Data
Content Standard as promulgated by the U.S. Federal Geo-
graphic Data Committee (FGDC). Terminology and definitions
for identifying geographical features and describing the data
model has been adopted from the FGDC Spatial Data Transfer
Standard (ANSI INCITS 320-1998 (R2003)) and the FGDC
Framework Data Content Standard (FGDC Project 1574-D)
Information Technology—Geographic Information Framework
Data Content Standard, Part 5: Governmental Unit and Other
Geographic Area Boundaries.
4.6 Although this standard is written specifically for the
surface coal mining industry, its general purpose and content
are applicable to other surface mining operations.
5. Procedure
5.1 Introduction—The list of Surface Coal Mining Bound-
ary individual location characteristics (also known as at-
tributes) represent the minimum data elements necessary to
develop and maintain a nationwide geospatial data set depict-
ing surface coal mining locations. The data set may be served
as a layer in The National Map (http://nationalmap.gov), an
online, interactive map service sponsored by a consortium of
US Federal, State, and local partners and hosted by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS).7 The National Map provides a
consistent framework for high-quality, geospatial data and
information from multiple partners to enhance America’s
ability to access, integrate, and apply current, accurate, and
nationally consistent digital data at global, national, and local
scales.
5.2 Coordinates and Related Data—Coordinates and re-
lated geospatial data allow surface coal mining boundaries to
be accurately positioned on the earth’s surface in a variety of
recognized datum, grid systems, and geographic projections.
The surface coal mining boundaries are compiled from various
SMCRA state and tribal data resources that utilize different
datum, coordinate, and projection systems. All data will have
identified datum, coordinate, and projection systems with
associated precision values, accuracy values, or both, and will
be re-projected to match the spatial reference parameters
utilized in The National Map. The North American Datum of
1983 (NAD 83) should be used as the datum. Many states have
legislated the use of NAD 83. ANSI INCITS 61-1986 (R2002)
provides guidance on representation of coordinates.
5.3 OSMRE will coordinate with the National Map Data
Steward (NMDS) to make available a service containing access
to a national dataset of surface coal mining boundaries. This
national dataset will have the minimum attributes specified in
Table 1. Extraneous attributes or fields will be removed. The
NMDS will perform a format check to determine if the
7
USGS National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192,
www.usgs.gov.

TABLE 1 Surface Coal Mining Boundary Attributes

Surface Coal Definition Example Data Type Preferred Clarification
Mining Boundary Domain
Attribute
Permittee To whom the ACME Coal Text
permit is issued Mining Co., Inc.
Permit ID Unique identifier 1201834 Text
Permit Status Status of mine Active Text Active, inactive, Status of mine
permit revoked, according to the permit
interim
Inspectable UnitA Active Text Active, inactive, Use terms as defined
Status abandoned by the approved RA,
Status of mine
pre- SMCRA
Calculated Area System calculated area 23, 200 Numeric For comparison
of surface coal mine with reported value
boundary or permit
area (acres)
Surface Coal Status of the surface Not Permitted, Active Text Active, inactive, Status of the surface coal
Mine Boundary coal mine boundary abandoned, bootleg, mine boundary area
Status area wildcat
Reported Area Reported area of 23, 300 Numeric For comparison
Surface coal mine with calculated value
boundary or permit
area (acres)
Contact Regulatory Authority 23 600 Numeric
for permit
National ID State/tribal abbrev. + permit ID Virginia Department of Text
Mines, Minerals,
and Energy
Comment Any additional Text
comments as reported
by the RA
A
As per OSM’s Directive REG-8, Table 2, Inspectable unit is a mine site or related facility.

3
 D7384 – 10
submittal meets the standard. The NMDS also will conduct a
technical review of the data to assess the accuracy and
characteristics of the data files. If errors are found or questions
about the data arise, interaction between OSMRE and the
NMDS may be needed to resolve issues before the process can
be continued.
5.3.1 X-Coordinate—Universally longitude, however, most
coordinate systems are convertible to longitude (See Practices
D5254 and D5911).
5.3.2 Y-Coordinate—Universally latitude, however, most
coordinate systems are convertible to latitude (See Practices
D5254 and D5911).
5.3.3 Size Measurements—Distance in feet or meters, or
land area in acres or hectares, derived from the X and Y
coordinate positions for length and width of a surface coal
mining boundary.
5.3.4 Character Limitation—Use no special characters or
blanks in the layer name.
5.3.5 Consistent and Unique Naming Conventions:
Use consistent and unique layer names, for example,
consistent—use countyroads and cityroads, as opposed to
roadscounty and cityroads; for example, unique—there can
only be one “counties” layer in the entire database.
5.3.6 Origin of Surface Coal Mining Boundary Geometry—
The feature geometry must originate from the most accurate
data available to the ADS. For surface coal mining boundaries
of post-SMCRA SCMOs, the most recent approved map
contained in the permit application issued by the RA must be
used.
5.3.7 Geometry Type—Required geometry is closed poly-
gon and vector feature type.
5.3.8 Data Type—Data can be provided as a shapefile,
coverage, geodatabase feature class, or xml recordset. RAs are
strongly encouraged to adopt enterprise geodatabase methods
where practicable to maximize efficiency.
5.3.9 Datum and Projection—Datum (for example,
NAD27, NAD83, WGS84) and projection (for example, trans-
verse Mercator) specified in metadata record; provide the
projection file, if available.
5.3.10 Metadata—Metadata documentation meets FGDC
standards such as FGDC-STD-001 and is in .txt, .xml, or .sgml
format. Metadata is generally created in a FGDC text format;
data in shapefile or coverage format can generate metadata
documentation in .xml format.
5.4 SMCRA Entities—State and tribal regulatory entities
established under SMCRA and recognized by a national
governmental agency for the purpose of regulating a land area
upon which coal mining operations are conducted.
5.4.1 Introduction—A description of SMCRA governmental
divisions helps in identification and organization of SCMO
Permit Boundary data.
5.4.2 Offıce of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce-
ment (OSMRE)—OSMRE is a federal government division
within the United States Department of Interior (DOI). The
SMCRA gives primary responsibility for regulating SCMOs to
the States and Native American Tribes. Twenty-four coal
resource states have been granted primary regulatory authority
over SCMOs, also known as “primacy.” On federal lands,
4
some Native American lands, and in the coal producing states
that have not set up regulatory programs of their own (Ten-
nessee and Washington), the OSMRE issues the coal mine
permits, conducts the inspections, and handles the enforcement
responsibilities.
5.4.3 State—This is the first political subdivision below the
federal government. The twenty-four “primacy” states include
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Mis-
souri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyo-
ming.
5.4.4 Tribe—Any Native American tribe, band, group, or
community having a governing body recognized by the DOI
Secretary that has assumed full regulatory authority over the
administration and enforcement of regulation of SCMOs on
Native American lands. The recognized Native American tribes
include Navajo, Hopi, Northern Cheyenne, and Crow.
5.5 Surface Coal Mining Boundary Individual Location
Characteristics—Individual location characteristics, or at-
tributes, are information about a particular polygon. Each
attribute associated with a polygon contributes to the unique
identity of the site and helps in analysis and retrieval of
additional information.
5.5.1 Introduction—The data set is subject to change as a
result of regulatory actions that may change the boundary area
or change feature attribute data. If detailed surface coal mining
boundary information is needed, the appropriate regulatory
entity should be contacted for additional information.
5.5.2 Object ID—A GIS managed value that uniquely
identifies a record or feature geometry.
5.5.3 Permittee—The entity whom a permit has been issued
by the RA to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation
operations.
5.5.4 Permit ID—The unique identifier assigned by the
regulatory entity which issues a coal mining and reclamation
permit; the identifier is usually a number or alphanumeric
combination.
5.5.5 Permit Status—The SMCRA status of the coal mining
and reclamation permit operations; a surface coal mining
boundary has either an active, inactive, interim, revoked,
forfeited, or final bond release status as defined by the RA.
5.5.6 Calculated Area—The area of the surface coal mine
boundary or mine permit as calculated from polygon data.
5.5.7 Reported Area—The area of the surface coal mine
boundary or mine permit as reported by the RA.
5.5.8 Contact—The contact information for the regulatory
entity responsible for overseeing the permitted and nonpermit-
ted pre-SMCRA mining operations and for creating or main-
taining the SCMO spatial data.
5.5.9 National ID—A unique identifier created by combin-
ing the standard state or tribal abbreviation code and the Permit
ID assigned by the regulatory entity; this unique identifier
helps in organization, retrieval, and analysis of individual state
or tribal data combined into the nationwide data set.
5.5.10 Data Status—Represents the last edit date (the last
time the record was updated or changed) for a particular
 D7384 – 10
polygon shape included in the Surface Coal Mining Boundary
data as recorded by the RA.
6. Keywords
6.1 coal mine limits; coal mining permit; coal permit
boundary; surface coal mining boundary; surface coal mining
operation; SMCRA

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee D18 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue, D7384–09,
that may impact the use of this standard. (Approved May 15, 2010)

(1) Removed “Permit” from the title. (3) Added attributes including reported and calculated area of
(2) Added acronyms GIO and TOJ to 3.3; removed NMDS. mine extent in 5.5 and Table 1.
(4) Added inspectable unit status attribute to Table 1.

Committee D18 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue, D7384–07,
that may impact the use of this standard. (Approved July 1, 2009.)

(1) Added reported and calculated area of mine extent as an

attribute in Sections 5.5.6, 5.5.7 and Table 1.

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