OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING
     RECLAMATION & ENFORCEMENT

For Release August 23, 1995              Alan Cole (202) 208-2719

           URAM OUTLINES IMPACT OF APPROPRIATION CUTS
             ON MINE RECLAMATION STAFFING & PROGRAMS

     Robert J. Uram, Director of the Interior Department's Office
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), today said
damaging budget cuts voted by the House and Senate will force OSM
to cut 38 percent of its staff, jeopardizing the agency's ability
to work with coal states and Indian tribes to protect citizens
and their environment from the adverse effects of coal mining.
     Uram said the "deep, severe budget cuts proposed by Congress
will force changes far more pervasive and fundamental than any we
have seen to date." 
     "According to the most precise estimate we have been able to
develop so far, OSM's staff will be cut by 335, leaving 607
employees nationwide," Uram said. "Based on the Senate and House
appropriations bills, that's the number we are using for planning
purposes, though we will work on refining the numbers as we
continue to go through the process." The President's budget
provides for 951 employees.
     Uram noted that through reinvention and reorganization, OSM
had already down-sized and streamlined prior to appropriations
action in Congress. At the end of 1992, OSM had 1,180 employees
plus contract staff of 63, for a total of 1,243. By contrast, the
corresponding figures today are 942 employees and 66 contractors.
     "Even though it is clear that Congressional budget action
will severely curtail portions of our prevention priority, we
have a responsibility to fulfill as much of our mission in that
area as resources will allow," Uram said. "Unfortunately, no
segment of OSM is untouched by the cuts."  He cited major
impacts, including:

 -   Closing field offices (Kansas City, Mo., and Springfield,
     Ill.) and area offices (Logan, W. Va., and Norris, Tenn.),
     and downsizing the area office in Madisonville, Ky.

 -   Cancelling office opening in Grand Junction, Colo.

 -   A near-moratorium on technical training for state and tribal
     personnel.

 -   Loss of AML revenue due to weakened fee collection and
     compliance programs (loss of $10-12 million per year).

 -   Reduced emergency AML reclamation capability.

 -   Reduced quality and quantity of Title V & Title IV
     oversight.

 -   Reduced financial controls over grants, accounts, and other
     activities.

 -   Degradation of TIPS capability; less TIPS assistance to
     states. (TIPS = Technical Information Processing System)
 
 -   Elimination of Coalex data service funding for the
     Interstate Mining Compact Commission.

 -   Postponement of general advisory board.

 -   Reduction in AVS customer service standards.

 -   Undermining of the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative.

 -   Delayed or shelved regulations.

 -   Reduced communication activities, including termination of
     awards programs (Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation
     awards, Abandoned Mine Reclamation awards, & Morris K. Udall
     "best practices" awards).

     "I am working with Secretary Babbitt and other Interior
officials to restore as much as possible of the funding requested
in the President's budget," Uram said. "We have not given up."
     "Secretary Babbitt agrees that the present bills would have
unacceptable consequences for coalfield citizens and the
environment," Uram said. "We are hoping and working for the best,
while planning for the worst."

                              -DOI-