The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, now know simply as the Office of Surface Mining or OSM, is charged with balancing the nation’s need for continued domestic coal production with protection of the environment.

Congress created OSM 1n 1977 when they enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. OSM works with state and Indian tribes to ensure that citizens and the environment are protected during coal mining and that the land is restored to beneficial use when mining is finished. OSM and its partners are also responsible for reclaiming and restoring lands and water degraded by mining operations before 1977.

In the last 29 years, OSM has provided more that $1 billion in matching grants to the states and tribes to assist in funding the regulation of active coal mines.

OSM has also provided more than $3 billion to its partners to clean up dangerous mine sites. The Abandoned Mine Land Program has eliminated safety and environmental hazards on 314,108 acres since 1977, including all high-priority coal problems in 27 states and on the lands of three Indian tribes.

In its beginning, OSM directly enforced mining laws and arranged cleanup of abandoned mine lands. Today most coal states have developed their own programs to do those jobs themselves as Congress envisioned. OSM focuses on overseeing the state programs and developing new tools to help the states and tribes get the job done.

OSM works with colleges and universities and other state and federal agencies to further the science of reclaiming mined lands and protecting the environment – including initiatives to promote planting more trees and establishing much-needed wildlife habitat. Each year OSM trains hundreds of state and tribal professionals in a broad range of needed skills.

Although a small agency, OSM has achieved big results by working closely with those closest to the problem – the states, tribes, local groups, the coal industry and communities.  OSM’s strong, productive partnerships and down-to-earth way of getting things done led Governing magazine in 1999 to nickname OSM’s professionals “the Feds Who Get It.”

Source:  OSM's 2006 Annual Report to the President. For the full report, go to: http://www.osmre.gov/annualreports/annualreport06.htm