U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Surface Mining
News Release
June 26, 2003				                        Mike Gauldin
							(202) 208-2565

OSM 2002 Annual Report Released

Jeff Jarrett, Director of the Interior Department's Office of Surface
Mining (OSM), today released the agency's Fiscal Year 2002 Annual Report.

The 93-page report, which describes OSM operations for the period
October 1, 2001, through September 30,2002, (Fiscal Year 2002)  combines
OSM's Annual Report to Congress with its Annual Financial Accountability Report. This
marks the ninth year OSM has combined the two reports to provide its
customers a better understanding of the agency's operations, according to
Jarrett.

Jarrett said the 2002 annual report is presented in two formats, printed
and electronic, making it more accessible to the general public. "In addition to
reducing costs, the electronic version of the report, available at the OSM
Web site (www.osmre.gov), was created in response to public
requests for electronic computer-readable information detailing
implementation of the Surface Mining Law and about OSM," Jarrett said.

Included in the report is information about activities carried out under
several parts of Surface Mining Law, including: Title IV, abandoned mine reclamation;
Title V, control of the environmental impacts of surface mining; and Title VII,
administrative and miscellaneous provisions.

Jarrett noted that the 2002 Annual Report contains updates to tabular
data found in OSM annual reports since 1988. "This facilitates comparison of
statistics from year to year," he said. Jarrett added "The CD version of the report 
contains all OSM Annual Reports, 1978-2002, a movie describing the 2002 
award-winning coal mine reclamation, three short movies showing the 25th Anniversary
award winning reclamation, a brief overview of the Office of Surface Mining, and a 
25th Anniversary Report on the protection and restoration of the Nation's land and
water resources under the Surface Mining Law."

The report is organized in chapters that correspond to the principal activities of the 
Office of Surface Mining: Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation, Regulation of Active 
Coal Mines; Technology Development and Transfer, and Financial Management.
The financial statements and footnotes information, which is presented in a format
similar to that of a traditional corporate annual report, is contained in a separate
financial section. "The independent auditor's statement, which gives
OSM a  clean  audit opinion on financial reporting for 2002, is included at
the end of the financial section," Jarrett said. "This marks the 12th year in a row
OSM received a  clean  audit."

Copies of the annual report will be distributed to the public upon request.
They may be ordered electronically via Internet at www.osmre.gov/orderl.htm, or
conventionally by contacting: Office of Communications, Office of Surface
Mining, 1951 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240, Telephone 202-208-2565