U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Surface Mining
June 14, 2002					Contact:  Jerry Childress 
For Immediate Release				               (202) 208-7941

OSM Says Coal Reclamation Fees Can Be Paid On-Line
Starting with July 2002 Filing

The Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining (OSM) today 
announced that coal companies can pay their quarterly coal reclamation fees to 
OSM using the internet beginning with the July 2002 filing.   

In April 2002, OSM, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and 3 
coal companies successfully conducted a pilot program to accept on-line 
payments for reclamation fees. Companies schedule their payments using 
OSM's Electronic Filing system and Treasury's Pay.gov system.  Pay.gov is a 
tool developed by Treasury for Government-wide use.  It's a free service that'll be 
available for all Electronic Filing companies for the second quarter filing in July 
2002.  

The automated payment option is the latest enhancement to Electronic 
Filing. Coal companies have been asking for on-line payments since E-Filing 
began.  The 3 pilot companies thought paying on-line was an excellent 
enhancement.  One of the companies commented:  "This will save so much time 
doing payments."  

OSM's Electronic Filing system is a web site that makes it easier for coal 
companies to report coal production and file their quarterly Coal Reclamation Fee 
Report (OSM-1) through the Internet.  Electronic Filing began in April 2001 and 
it's now been in use for five calendar quarters. Currently, 178 companies are 
signed up to file electronically and more than 56% of the total reclamation fees 
collected are reported electronically.

The benefits include:

o	Saving money -- the computer calculates a lower fee using the more 
advantageous technical moisture equation, if the company has moisture 
adjustments. 
o	Reduced paperwork- saves processing time, postage and labor costs for 
coal companies and OSM.
o	It's more accurate. 
o	Provides on-line permit history reports for companies. 
o	Provides e-mail notification and reminders of OSM-1 filing due dates.
o	Provides an e-mailed receipt.
o	Provides security through encryption.
o	Allows the companies to work on their report incrementally.
o	Maintains the status of company filings and amendments.
o	Provides an On-Line Payment option. 

For more information, or to view a Filing Example demonstration visit our web 
site at http://ismdfmnt5.osmre.gov .  
Contact:  Kathleen Cranford 303/236-0330 Ext 232

-OSM-