OSM News
U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Surface Mining

For release: August 21, 2001                 Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719

           INTERIOR SECRETARY NORTON ANNOUNCES 2001   
          ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION AWARD WINNERS

     Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today announced that abandoned mine
land (AML) reclamation projects in Maryland, Arkansas, and Utah are winners of this
year's National Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation awards.

     "I commend our national winners for the good work they've done in reclaiming
our precious landscapes," said Norton.  "Their efforts and dedication to restoring the
land demonstrate that we can meet our nation's energy needs, and at the same time,
conserve a pristine and healthy environment." 

     Each year the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM), sponsor of the competition, honors the best examples of
abandoned mine land reclamation.  Winners were selected by judges from each OSM
Field Office and State and Tribal AML Office.  Three regional winners and one national
winner  were selected.  The regional winner with the best score in the judging is the
national winner.

     Gene Krueger, administrator of OSM's AML reclamation program will present the
year 2001 awards during ceremonies at the National Association of  Abandoned Mine
Land Programs annual meeting in Athens, Ohio, on August 21, 2001. Abandoned Mine
Land Reclamation Award winners representing each of OSM's three regions, and one
selected as best in the nation, are:

     National Abandoned Mine Land & Appalachian Region Awards   The 
Maryland Department of Environment Water Management Administration Mining
Program's Vindex Reclamation Project in Garrett County, Maryland for reclaiming a site
along the North Fork of the Potomac River.  In addition to serious acid mine drainage
problems which threatened fish migrations into the upper Potomac River, the site
contained unstable refuse piles, and dangerous highwalls near a county road.
                                 

     The project is Maryland's single most complex, time consuming, and costly AML
reclamation project to date.  It required over 55,000 man hours of work, cost more than
twice Maryland's total annual AML grant allocation, and took three years to complete.     
                              

     Mid-Continent Region Award   The Arkansas Department of Environmental
Quality's Surface Mining and Reclamation Division's West Huntington Joint
Reclamation Project in Huntington, Arkansas, which joined with the Natural Resources
Conservation Service to reclaim dangerous, unstable refuse piles and highwalls, and
control acid mine drainage problems.  Reclamation at the site eliminated many health
and safety hazards.  The public is no longer in danger and the open site is being
integrated back into the natural Arkansas landscape.  

     Western Region & People's Choice Awards  The Utah Division of Oil, Gas,
and Mining Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program's Sunnyside Project, near
Sunnyside, Utah, for reclaiming nearly 200 acres of surface disturbance at the site. 
Reclamation included eliminating nine hazardous mine shafts, and 48 hazardous
portals.   Additionally, a 1/4-mile stretch of creek was restored, and 600 trees and
shrubs were planted.  (Note: The public selects one reclamation project they think is
best.  The project receiving the most votes becomes the winner of the People's Choice
Award.) 

     The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards Program was started in 1992,
to publicly recognize outstanding abandoned mine land reclamation and publicize
exemplary reclamation techniques.  A brochure announcing the year 2002 program,
with complete details about how to nominate a project is available from the OSM
website at: (www.osmre.gov/awards.htm).  

                              -OSM-