Q mentions "overburden", which means basically the topsoil and/or whatever combination of 'stuff' was covering the area being dug up to find coal, shale, oil sands...etc.
I have seen attempts to replace this in W. Virginia and Kansas, and anyone can see that they were only marginally successful. It will be even worse in the West, where 'overburden' may only be ½"-2" of 'soil'. The coal or oil, undisturbed where it was created,is seldom a problem, but once dug into and, inevitably, partially mixed with the 'saved' overburden, creates runoff problems as Q notes. You simply cannot DO such mining on a large scale without seriously altering the ways the land can be used in the future.....and farmland & forest are scarce enough already. Even in areas where little or no farming or forests are involved, the aesthetic results are ummmm.. unpleasant

Here is some history of mining in the West

*IF* money and pressure are allowed to convince government to use significant amounts of oil shale and related resources, we merely extend the date when there is no more, and as a side-effect, delay the study of renewable energy sources.