ABSTRACT
Final covers employing water balance principles are being considered with increasing frequency for closure of mine waste facilities. Covers employing water balance principles rely on the ability of fine-textured soils to retain infiltrating water with minimal drainage and evapotranspiration to remove the stored water during the growing season. Various names are used to describe these covers, including store-and-release covers, evapotranspirative covers, water balance covers, and alternative covers. The “alternative cover” nomenclature is used herein because of its common application in US practice.
