Surface mining has also become a dominant driver of land - use change and water pollution in certain regions of the world, where mountaintop
removal, coal and tar sands exploitation, and other open pit mining methods strip land surfaces of forests and topsoils, produce vast quantities of toxic sludge and solid waste, and
often fill valleys, rivers, and streams with the resulting waste and
debris [81].
Lastly, the cost for demolition and
debris removal is a very important inclusion in the valuation, as this is
often the very first amount to be taken out of a policy when there is a claim.