RRC’s Abandoned Mine Program Helps Landowner Reclaim Pastureland
February 07, 2025AUSTIN – A Central Texas landowner is breathing a sigh of relief thanks to an RRC program that restored her property to its natural state.
The RRC’s Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program recently completed a project restoring land that was at an abandoned mine site in Rockdale, about 50 miles east of Austin. The extensive work over the course of a couple of months involved earthwork, erosion control, repairing more than 450 sinkholes, and revegetation.
The sinkholes had been fatal for some of the cattle on the property when they became trapped in the holes in the ground hidden by brush.
Pre-reclamation sinkhole
Reclaimed landAML has now completed more than 105 projects since 1977 with a distinct high-tech aspect added to the RRC’s decades of expertise.
“We’ve been leveraging modern technology for our AML projects as the years have progressed, and the Rockdale project is a great example,” said Joe Parks, RRC Surface Mining and Reclamation Division Director. “We used drones and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to examine the land and properly identify sinkholes and previous mining. A LiDAR created detailed 3D maps of surfaces using laser pulses measuring depth and distances.”
Watch video of Linda Hicks, the property owner, talking about how grateful she is for the work the RRC did restoring her land: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhzt4ib2gjw.
About the Railroad Commission:
Our mission is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans. The Commission has a long and proud history of service to both Texas and to the nation, including more than 100 years regulating the oil and gas industry. The Commission also has jurisdiction over alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining and intrastate pipelines. Established in 1891, the Railroad Commission of Texas is the oldest regulatory agency in the state. To learn more, please visit https://www.rrc.texas.gov/about-us/.