Building a site to store Southwest Virginia farmers’ specialty grains is seen as a crucial part of a larger effort to boost the agricultural industry and supply ingredients to craft beverage makers.
Abandoned mine lands are supposed to be properly reclaimed stabilized and reforested to preserve water quality and prevent erosion. But hundreds of thousands of acres of old strip mines remain unclaimed, and many mines that shuttered before 1977 were reclaimed in an antiquated style that doesn’t reflect today’s best practices.