Beneficial use structures are disclosed that include coal combustion residuals (CCR) mixed with water and a binder to form a structural material and adapted to be compacted for use in the formation of the beneficial use structure. Various structures having beneficial uses described, including survival bunkers, composting pits, mine reclamation encapsulation and carbon sequestration facilities, water storage facilities, compressed air storage facilities, carbon sequestration/mineral carbonation facilities and a pumped hydroelectric facility adapted for use with a lock system of a waterway.

A reinforced support mat includes a plurality of vertically oriented individual wood members adhesively bonded to each other, and having wide faces oriented parallel to a direction of an applied load. A plurality of corrugated protective edge members is positioned against, and attached to, each opposing wide face of the reinforced support mat, and a resilient belting corner member is mounted to opposing wide face of the reinforced support mat adjacent the longitudinal ends of the corrugated protective edge members. A plurality of rigid fasteners extending through and connecting pairs of the corrugated protective edge members on opposite sides of the reinforced support mat, and inboard ends of pairs of the resilient edge members, to the wide faces of the support mat. A lag bolt attaches an outboard end of each resilient belting corner member to a wide face of the support mat.

A ventilated structural panel comprising a first sheet, having a long axis defining a length and a perpendicular short axis defining a width, a plurality of spacing structural elements, fixedly attached to the first sheet such that the yield strength of the panel is greater than the individual yield strength of the first sheet, and the plurality of spacing structural elements being formed such that a plurality of unobstructed pathways are created for air to move from at least one edge of the panel to at least one of an opposite and an adjacent edge of the panel, wherein the first sheet is the only sheet in the panel.