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

For Release: August 23, 1999                 Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719
                                        jchildre@osmre.gov                           
                                                                                                                                                             
           OSM ANNOUNCES YEAR 2000 AML AWARDS PROGRAM  

     Kathy Karpan, Director of the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), today announced the year 2000 call for nominations for
the annual national abandoned mine land reclamation awards.

     "With all the effort that's focused on improving the surface mining program," Karpan
said, "it's equally important to recognize the tremendous reclamation success that's already been
achieved.  The reclamation awards program does that publicly in a highly visible way.  That's
only appropriate, given the total involvement of the state and tribal abandoned mine reclamation
organizations."

     In response to suggestions from the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land
programs and others, a new judging process, using the OSM web site on the Internet, will be used
to select the year 2000 winners, according to Karpan.    

     Nomination of an AML project by a state/tribal AML program is the first step in the
process. Eligible projects are those funded wholly or partly by the Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Fund.  Each state/tribal AML program selects its best project within each state/tribal boundary. 
Nominations must be sent to OSM headquarters in Washington D.C., by March 15, 2000, for
posting on the Internet.

     Using a judging ballot, those most involved in abandoned mine reclamation work, such as
directors of state/tribal programs, and OSM Regional and Field Office personnel will then select
the winning reclamation by ranking all nominations.  Four awards will be presented in 2000 --three regional awards and one national award.  The regional winner with the best score will be
selected the "National Winner."         

     "OSM started the AML awards program in 1992, to give well-earned public recognition
to the people and organizations responsible for the nation's most outstanding achievements in
environmentally-sound abandoned mine land reclamation," Karpan said. "We've also found that
the awards program helps spread the word about exemplary reclamation techniques that work
best under various conditions."

      Winners will be announced and awards presented at the annual meeting of the National
Association of State Abandoned Mine Land Programs which will be held next year in Steamboat
Springs, Colorado.

     A brochure announcing the year 2000 abandoned mine land awards program, with
complete details about how to nominate a project, is available from OSM Headquarters,
Regional, and Field Offices, and from OSM's homepage at: www.osmre.gov/awards.htm.  For
additional information about the awards program, contact Chuck Meyers, telephone (202) 208-7940; e-mail: cmeyers@osmre.gov.   

     The Office of Surface Mining also has Reclamation Awards Programs for active mining
reclamation and rural abandoned mine program reclamation.

                              -OSM-

























                                                                                                                                                                                
OSM news release and other information may be downloaded from OSM's Homepage at: (http://www.osmre.gov.). 
Frequently requested information about OSM is available 24 hours a day by Fax-on-Demand at: (202) 219-1703.