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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Office of Surface Mining - State Managed Abandoned Coal Mine Land Reclamation

The program reclaims and restores land and water degraded by coal mining activities conducted pre-1977. Reclamation fees on current coal production fund the program. Twenty-three states and three Indian Tribes carry out the program with oversight from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE).

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Moderately Effective

In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the programs' design or management in order to achieve better results.
  • The program was revised to provide more funding to the reclamation of high priority abandoned coal mine sites. The SMCRA Amendments of 2006 (P.L. 109-432) modified the grant allocation formula for abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation, and extended the coal reclamation fee through 2021, which OSM estimates is long enough to complete the current level of remaining high-priority reclamation work.
  • The program's performance measures address important aspects of AML reclamation. These include the number of acres reclaimed, number of people with reduced exposure potential, percentage of declared emergencies abated within six months, and processing of grant applications. Between 2003 and 2006, OSMRE reclaimed over 75,000 acres and reduced exposure potential for more than 2.7 million people.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Working with States and Tribes to implement the SMCRA Amendments of 2006.
  • Reviewing baseline data and targets for performance measures to reflect the SMCRA Amendments of 2006.

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