March 19, 1997 20th Anniversary Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Awards Rules History and objectives of the program Since passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, land reclamation in the United States has become a built-in component of surface coal mining. In fact, successfully reclaimed land quickly begins to resemble its natural surroundings, with little about its finished appearance to suggest that it was ever mined. The better a coal mine is reclaimed, the less there is to see. To give well-earned public recognition to those responsible for the nation's most out- standing achievements in environmentally sound surface mining and land reclamation, the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)initiated its annual Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation awards in 1986. The awards program is designed so that state and federal regulators can publicly recog- nize the coal mine operators who implement SMCRA in the most exemplary manner. The winners are the coal mine operators who have developed innovative reclamation techniques or who have completed mining and reclamation operations that resulted in outstanding on-the- ground performance. This year four types of awards will be presented: 1. National awards, 2. A Director's Award, 3. A Best-of-the-Best Award, and 4. A special Reclamation Hall of Fame Award. 1. National Awards. These annual awards are presented to coal mining companies for achiev- ing the most exemplary mining and reclamation in the country. The awards recognize on- the-ground achievement of the Surface Mining Law. 2. Director's Award. Each year, one coal mining operation in the country is selected to receive the Director's Award for outstanding achievement in a specific area of reclamation. This year the award will recognize a mine operator whose dedication and commitment has re- suited in reclamation (and post-mining land use) that benefits the local community. 3. Best-of-the-Best Award. One operation will be selected from this year's National Award winners. This special award will recognize the specific individuals (mine manager, reclama- tion specialist, state inspector) who were directly responsible for the outstanding accom- plishment. 4. Reclamation Hall of Fame Award. This 20th anniversary award will be presented to one or more mining operations who have won a national award in the past. This one-time award will recognize the most outstanding past winner(s) after the reclamation has passed the test of time. OSM initiates the annual award process by requesting nominations from mine operators and others knowledgeable about the coal mining industry. Each state regulatory authority selects the best nominations for judging at the national level for the Office of Surface Mining's annual awards. 1 Who is eligible for an award? National, Director's, and Best-of-the-Best Awards: Surface coal mining and reclamation operations that have been conducted under a SMCRA Title V permit (either interim or permanent program) may be nominated for an award. The operation's exemplary performance under a SMCRA permit may be achieved during active mining, during reclamation, following bond release, or throughout the entire process. Although Title IV Abandoned Mine Land reclamation projects are not included in this program, this aspect of reclamation is eligible for an award if it is integrated with Title V permitted opera- tions. " Special Hall of Fame Award(s): Only past National and Director's Award winners are eligible for this award. How to nominate a surface coal mining operation for an award Nominating a surface coal mining operation for an Office of Surface Mining award is the first step in the award selection process. Nominations may be submitted by coal companies, state or federal inspectors, coal associations, public interest groups, or landowners. Company officials and employees may nominate their own operations. National Mining and Reclamation Awards. A surface coal mining operation may be nominated for outstanding achievement in a specific portion of the reclamation (e.g., design and implementation of innovative sedimentation control practices) or for outstanding overall performance in meeting goals of SMCRA. Beginning this year there are two broad award categories for the National Awards. 1. Ongoing mining or reclamation that has achieved excellent results but is unproven because not enough time has passed to verify the long-term effectiveness of the results. This cat- egory allows active mining and reclamation methods that show great promise to be eligible for recognition. Nominations in this category should include on-the-ground results for how- ever long the results have been in place. 2. Reclamation that has achieved bond release, or where enough time has passed to verify the long-term success of the work. Nominations submitted in this category must contain information and/or data that verifies the results. For example, a nomination for increased soil productivity on a reclaimed site would be verified with several years of crop yield data. Director's A ward. The Director's Award for 1997 will be presented for exemplary reclamation that has had a direct benefit to the local community. The nomination should include a description of the reclamation and specific activities or community involvement that resulted. This may be for community benefits of the entire operation or one part of the reclamation. 2 Special Hall of Fame Award(s). The description and photos in the nomination should describe the present on-the-ground conditions and land use at the award winning site. A resubmittal of the original nomination package is not necessary. Rules and required information Nominations should be submitted to the state regulatory authority, or in non-primacy states (Tennessee and Washington) to the local Office of Surface Mining field office. Nomination packages must be developed using the following format: A. Cover sheet containing: 1. Company name. 2. Name and location of the nominated mining operation (nearest town). 3. Permit number(s) of site being nominated. 4. Award category. Nominations may be submitted in both the Director's Award and one of the two National Award categories. 5. Name, address, phone number, (and E-mail address if available) of person submitting nomination (and/or a company contact person). 6. Names and titles of individuals directly responsible for on-the-ground reclamation at the nominated site. B. Narrative description of the specific reclamation or environmental control techniques that resulted in exemplary performance under SMCRA. The narrative should be comprehensive; but, not exceed six single-spaced typewritten pages and should describe the mining opera- tion and the specific activity nominated for an award using the following outline: 1. Brief history/background of the mining and reclamation. 2. Description of the nominated activity or reclamation practice, including specific problems, solutions, and unusual circumstances. 3. On-site effectiveness of the work. This should be documented and quantified with data. For example, successful handling of acid materials could be shown with water quality sampling data. 4. Transferability or value of the accomplishment(s) to other mining and reclamation opera- tions. 5. Long-term benefits to the landowner and local or regional community. C. Color photographs (not slides) should accompany the narrative description. The photos should show both the specific activity and the surrounding reclamation. When examined with the narrative description, the photographs should provide a clear understanding of the exemplary accomplishments. Photographs should be 8"x 10" or smaller, and labeled to explain what the photo shows. "Before and after' photos are desirable, but not required. There is no limit to the number of photographs that may be submitted. 3 Each nomination package must contain the required information (described above)in a three- ring, loose-leaf binder, plus five high-quality, stapled machine copies (e.g., Xerox) for use by the judges. Additional supporting information may be submitted with the nomination; however, it must be separate from the required information described above. Materials for nominations judged at the national level will not be returned. Selection of the 20th anniversary award-winning operations Nominations are due to the state regulatory authorities, or the Office of Surface Mining field office in non-primacy states, by April 15, 1997. Nominations will be screened by the regulatory authority, and the best entries (a maximum of four National Awards and one Director's Award candidate from each state) forwarded to the appropriate Office of Surface Mining field offices by May 1, 1997. Field offices will evaluate and forward the nominations to the Office of Sur- face Mining Washington, D.C., Headquarters for judging on May 15, 1997. Selection of winners consists of several steps. A site visit by a field office representative is made to ensure that (1) on-the-ground performance conforms with the permit; (2)information in the nomination accurately reflects current site conditions; and (3) other mining and reclama- tion activities at the site do not detract from the award-winning activity. Each nominee's SMCRA compliance record is examined to ensure that there are no outstand- ing violations and to determine that there is no past record of poor cooperation in abating violations. A panel of judges, composed of representatives of the Office of Surface Mining and other Interior Department bureaus, evaluates the nominations and selects the winners. Scoring is based on the following criteria: Criteria Maximum points . Clarity and completeness of nomination package 5 . Difficulty of achieving reclamation under existing conditions 20 . On-site effectiveness 30 . Transferability of the technique or practice 12 . Increased public awareness of SMCRA 8 . Long-term benefits to the community 15 . Exceeds the spirit and intent of SMCRA 10 Judges' scores are totaled, and winning nominations selected. Based upon the judges' deci- sion, the number of National Awards may vary from year to year. Awards are not limited to one per state. Announcement of the 20th anniversary winners and presentation of awards will be made on August 3, 1997. Address questions regarding nominations or the award program to the Office of Surface Min- ing field offices or to OSM Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Telephone, (202) 208-2719; E-mail, getinfo @ osmre.gov 4