OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING
     RECLAMATION & ENFORCEMENT

For Release September 19, 1995               Alan Cole (202)
						208-2719

              FEDERAL COURT VICTORY UPHOLDS SURFACE MINE
                      OWNERSHIP & CONTROL RULES 

     Rules blocking issuance of surface mine permits to
applicants linked by ownership and control to coal mines with
uncorrected violations of the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act (SMCRA) have been upheld in federal court.

     Robert J. Uram, Director of the Interior Department's Office
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), said the
August 31 ruling is "a clear-cut and unambiguous legal victory
that is extremely gratifying.  It means that OSM and state
surface mining regulators can continue relying on these
regulations as highly effective tools for bringing about required
reclamation and for keeping irresponsible operators out of the
coal mining business."

     "The ownership and control rules have been in effect since
1988," Uram said.  "Their purpose is to make sure people or
companies that are in violation of the surface mining law do not
get new permits.  The rules work.  They protect citizens who live
near coal mines.  They thwart violators scheming to set up new
companies in friends' and relatives' names or dreaming up other
ways of getting around their reclamation obligations.  They are
enforcement tools that we can't do without."

     "This is a huge victory for OSM and the public," Uram added. 

 U.S. District Judge Aubrey E. Robinson Jr.'s ruling notes that
"...the Secretary [of the Interior] has defined in a clear and
concise manner the meaning of 'ownership and control' to the
industry, Plaintiffs and other regulated parties."

     "...the court finds no infringement of due process rights. 
First, the private interest of a member of the coal mining
industry at stake in the permit application process is merely an
expectation that mining permit may be issued....Second, the
ownership and control regulations contain adequate safeguards to
protect against erroneous deprivation of the interest of the coal
mining industry....Finally, the government has a substantial
interest in preventing individuals responsible for outstanding
violations of SMCRA from engaging in mining operations at new
sites, in part because of the tremendous environmental,
financial, and health and safety consequences of mining
operations...."

     The ruling also upholds related OSM regulations for
correcting permits issued erroneously because of ownership and
control links to uncorrected violations, as well as rules
governing information that permit applicants must provide about
their SMCRA compliance records and their ownership and control
relationships.

                               -DOI-