NEWS
U.S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary
For Immediate Release: July 31, 1997

Contact: John Wright-202/208-6416
         Jerry Childress-202/208-2719




Interior Department Marks 20th Anniversary of Surface Mining Law
   Secretary Babbitt Announce Winners of National Surface Mining Awards

    Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt commemorated the Twentieth Anniversary of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) today by announcing the winners of the
Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Awards, National Abandoned Mine Land
Reclamation Awards, and the recently established Citizens Awards program, all sponsored by
Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM).

    August 3 is the anniversary of SMCRA, the federal law which controls surface mining
environmental abuses. The legislation establishing the Act was signed into law by President
Jimmy Carter August 3, 1977 and was considered by many as one of the pioneer bills in the era
of environmental action. Before enactment in 1977, the legislation suffered congressional delays,
two vetoes, in 1974 and 1975.

    "Twenty years ago, the architects of the surface mining law could only dream of the day when
coal production in America included environmental protection and quality restoration of the
landscape as built-in components of mining operations, "Babbitt said. "Today, thanks to the
efforts of citizens, states. and coal operators alike, that dream is a reality and we have the results
to show for it."

    The OSM awards are presented to companies, organizations and citizens that have
demonstrated exemplary performance in restoration of the land after the coal is mined and
protecting the environment for future generations to enjoy.

    "I am extremely pleased to honor the work and accomplishments of the winners of this year's
competition"said Babbitt. "The high standards set by active coal mine operators, state abandoned
mine reclamation programs, and individual citizens, and citizen organizations, all of whom have
gone beyond the established standards to ensure that the surface mining law works as intended,
should be proud of their efforts to reclaim the land and protect the environment."

    This year's award winners are from 13 states, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

    The Coteau Properties Company Freedom Mine in Beulah, North Dakota, won the prestigious
OSM Director's Award for exemplary reclamation and commitment that resulted in benefits to
the local community by working in partnership with farmers to return mined land to full
agricultural production most expeditiously.

Other winners of the Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Awards are:

-- Buffalo Coal Company, Buffalo Mine, Davis, West Virginia, for exemplary reclamation that
redirected Pendleton Creek from a subsidence crater to its natural course, resulting in enhanced
wetland and wildlife habitat in the area.

-- Bellaire Corporation, Indian Head Mine, Beulah, North Dakota, this year's winner of the "Best
of the Best" award as 1997's top example of surface mine reclamation, for complete reclamation
of the mine site into cropland and native grassland for cattle grazing.

-- Triton Coal Company, Buckskin Mine, Gillette, Wyoming, for reclamation of an alluvial
valley floor in the Powder River Basin area, including reconstruction of the floodplain and
replacing 26 inches of topsoil on the valley floor to reestablish the valley floor's environment
following mining.

-- Peabody Coal Company, Gibraltar Mine, Central City, Kentucky, for using experimental
practices to reclaim three coal slurry impoundments into an outstanding wetland habitat, prized
by local hunters, fishermen, and nature observers.

-- Drummond Company Kellerman Mine, Brookwood, Alabama, for mining and reclamation that
eliminated both surface and underground abandoned mine problems, including acid mine
drainage, saving the National Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund approximately $700,000.

    Cumberland River Coal Company, Ridgeline Mine, Decoy, Kentucky, for its "Zero Impact
Mining" plan designed to alleviate disturbance to areas outside and adjacent to the coal reserve,
which ultimately protected area watersheds.

    To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Surface Mining Law, a special group of awards,
the Reclamation Hall of Fame Awards, are being presented to seven mining operations which
have won a national award in previous years. The one-time award recognizes the most
outstanding past winners whose reclamation has withstood the test of time. Hall of Fame winners
are:

-- Coal-Mac, Inc, and the Rifle Coal Company, Debord, Kentucky, a 1991 winner for exemplary
reclamation of a mountaintop removal operation which resulted in the creation of an outstanding
wildlife habitat.

-- Solar Sources, Inc., Lynnville Mine, Lynnville, Indiana, a winner in 1992 for reclamation that
included replacement of county roads, a creek, and replacement of all disturbed soil to prime
farmland depths.

-- R&F Coal Company, Cheslock-Hendershot Mine, St. Clairsville, Ohio, which won in 1990 for
reclaiming a 400-acre site that improved farmland yields, established a wildlife habitat with
ponds and vegetation, and provided athletic fields for the St. Clairsville sports complex, as well
as sites for new homes.

-- W.H. Bowlin Coal Company, Whitley County, Kentucky, a 1993 winner for reclamation
which changed a pre-1977 mining site from an area of coal spoil ridges to a wildlife habitat and
rolling pasture terrain for cattle grazing.

-- Bellaire Corporation, Indian Head Mine, Beulah, North Dakota, winner in 1992 for its
reclamation plan for preservation of wooded draws, a natural part of North Dakota's northern
plains environment. Bellaire preserved the draws by mining around them, rather than through
them.

-- Kerr-McGee Corp., Jacobs Ranch Mine, Wright, Wyoming, a winner in both 1988 and 1993
for its ongoing reclamation activities which have reclaimed thousands of acres of land in the
Wyoming Powder River Basin, site of the nation's largest and longest-operating surface coal
mines.

-- Western Energy Company's Rosebud Mine, Colstrip, Montana, which won in 1990 for
establishment of native rangeland that provides both excellent wildlife habitat and livestock
grazing areas, and in 1992 for preservation of historical artifacts prior to mining.

    Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Award winners representing each of OSM's three regions,
with one selected the national winner as best in the nation, are:

-- NATIONAL AND EASTERN REGION -- Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine
Reclamation's Upper Leigh Project, Foster Township, Pennsylvania, which reclaimed an
abandoned anthracite mining site containing dangerous underground mine openings, highwalls,
water pits, and large spoil banks that posed a threat to citizens of the surrounding area.

-- WESTERN REGION -- Utah Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program's Silver Reef Project, for
reclaiming the historic mining district covering 800 acres with more than 500 mine openings.
Reclamation included installation of grates which preserve the habitat of a large colony of
Townsend's big-eared bats.

-- MID-CONTINENT REGION -- Texas Surface Mining and Reclamation Division ALCOA
Project, which has reclaimed more than 1,000 acres of mine spoil and dangerous impoundments
into valuable land that today is a prime source of hay for local livestock.

    In addition to the traditional on-the-ground reclamation awards, OSM this year established a
program of Citizen Awards to recognize outstanding contributions by coalfield citizens and
grassroots organizations to the implementation of the 1977 Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

    "Citizen participation is at the heart of the surface mining program," Kay Henry, acting
director of OSM said. "The surface mining law could not have come into being without the
sustained efforts of coalfield citizens crusading to end the environmental abuses of the past and
shift the country to new ways of mining coal with built-in safeguards for people and the
environment. At the 20-year-mark it is only fitting for those whose contributions have meant the
most to receive public recognition for their efforts to protect both the environment and the
citizens of the coalfields from potentially damaging effects of coal mining."

Winners of the 20th .Anniversary Citizens Awards are:

-- Lifetime Achievement, L. Thomas Galloway -- An attorney who was an early proponent of
national surface mining legislation, and who helped shape SMCRA during the years of
congressional debate leading up to its enactment, Galloway continued the crusade for effective
surface coal mine regulation after SMCRA was on the books. As a courtroom advocate on behalf
of coalfield citizens as well as national and regional environmental organizations, he played a
leading role in obtaining key judicial rulings and agreements that have guided surface mining
regulation ever since. Today he teaches environmental law on the faculty of the University of
Colorado School of Law.

-- Regional Awards:

      (Appalachian Region), Thomas J. Fitzgerald -- As Director of the Kentucky Resources
Council, Fitzgerald is recognized as a leading environmental advocate in Kentucky and
throughout Appalachia, who is dedicated to not only making SMCRA work better, but also to
involving himself in all aspects of protecting the citizens of the coalfields and their environment.

    ( Mid-Continent Region), Shirley Zell -- From West Lafayette, Indiana, Zell is a leading
advocate for proper blasting procedures at coal mine sites, and has assisted countless Indiana
residents whose homes, other property, and personal safety were threatened by improper blasting
particularly in the Blanford, Indiana, area.

    (Western Region), Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC) -- Based in Billings, Montana,
NPRC is recognized as a cornerstone group responsible for promoting the drafting and passage of
the Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act in 1973, recognized as an early
model for the national Surface Mining Act. NPRC continues to be a leading advocate for
SMCRA 20 years after passage of the Act.

-- Partnership Awards:

    (Science and Technology), The Virginia Nature Conservancy -- Long a leader in bringing
together diversified groups in Virginia with interest in coal mining and reclamation in the Old
Dominion, the Conservancy plays a non-advocate role to help bring about the resolution of issues
between citizens, industry, and regulators.

    (Community Involvement), Hazel King -- A Harlan County, Kentucky, resident, King has been
a citizen activist in the coalfields since earliest days of SMCRA. Her citizen complaint filed in
May of 1978 against a mine operator in Harlan County led to the first issuance of a federal
imminent harm cessation order after SMCRA went into effect. King's contribution to her
community and the environment earned national recognition for going far beyond the norm.

    (Community Involvement), Doris E. Haws -- Recognized for her involvement with individual
citizens throughout northeastern Oklahoma's coal mining regions, particularly those in her home
Craig County area, Haws has been a staunch advocate for SMCRA enforcement from the
beginning, assisting neighbors in their contacts with regulators and coal operators, and helping
coalfield citizens interpret and understand their rights under the Surface Mining Law.

    (Resource Protection), Dr. Roy DeMotte -- A veterinarian in Indiana's Amish country,
DeMotte worked with state agencies, Congress, and OSM to amend Title IV of SMCRA so that
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Funds could be used to restore post-1977 abandoned mine
sites on which the mandatory reclamation bonds were written by surety companies that went
bankrupt, leaving zero bond proceeds to pay for reclamation. The abandoned surface mines were
adversely affecting the productivity of Amish farmland in the area of ()don, Indiana.

    (Education), Blacklick Creek Watershed Association -- Recognized for its efforts as an
all-volunteer group of individuals, public and private groups, and industry, the Association
represents an outstanding example of people working together to help restore a watershed long
impacted by acid mine drainage, as part of the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative.

    (Public Participation), Loyalhanna Watershed Association -- The Ligonier, Pennsylvania,
organization has been actively involved in attempts to protect the Loyalhanna watershed from
acid mine drainage and other pollutants for 26 years.

    (Public Participation), West Virginia Highlands Conservancy -- Active in West Virginia
Mining communities for more than 30 years, the Conservancy is recognized for its diligent
efforts to educate citizens about the value and need for their participation in the development of
state programs, permit decisions, and protection of sensitive resources by petitioning to have
fragile lands declared unsuitable for mining.

    (Communication), George E. Fraley -- Former director of the Rogers County, Oklahoma,
Conservation District, Fraley is recognized for his efforts to bring about reclamation of
abandoned mine sites in Rogers County, working to prioritize the sites, and assisting state
abandoned mine reclamation and Rural Abandoned Mine Program directors in obtaining
reclamation funds.

    (Grassroots Organization), Emery County Public Lands Council -- Created as a forum to
discuss issues relating to mining activity and its impact on the water supply in the Huntington
Canyon area in the western portion of Utah's Wasatch Plateau coalfield, the council first met in
February 1996 and has become an important venue for citizens to work in partnership with
federal and state agencies on policies regarding public lands in Emery County.

    "These winners have set extraordinary examples of excellence for reclaiming coal mine sites
all across the country," said Babbitt. "I applaud their efforts to preserve the environment for
future generations, and their support for making the surface mining law work better."

    The OSM awards program was started in 1986, and has been held every year since, except
1996, due to the lack of available funds. Winners of this year's competition were selected by a
panel of judges from OSM, state reclamation agencies, and the Interstate Mining Compact
Commission.

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