Because coal mining can have a number of significant impacts on the
surrounding environment and miners, coal producers are required to go
through a complicated process for obtaining local, sate, and federal
permits to mine.
Coal mining is one of the most extensively regulated industries in
the United States. Before one shovel of earth can be turned, or one
ton of coal removed from the ground, a company must comply with literally
hundreds of laws and thousands of regulations. Meeting all the requirements
is arduous and time-consuming, even for the most efficient and well-managed
companies. As long as 10 years can elapse between the start of planning
a mine and mining the first ton of coal.
The process begins with a mining company providing detailed information
about such activities as how the coal will be mined, and the land reclaimed;
the quality and quantity of surface and underground sources of water
and how mining activities will affect them; and how the coal will be
transported from the mine and how that will affect the area.
Surface mining operators also must consider the soil and prevailing
climatological conditions prior to mining, because the land has to be
returned to approximately the same physical contour, and to a state
of productivity equal to or better than the pre-mining condition. Wildlife
habitats cannot be permanently disrupted, and archeological resources
must be protected. The principal federal surface mining law sets forth
25 reclamation requirements for operators to meet. These include public
hearings and procedures for obtaining permits. To make certain that
lands being mined will be restored, the law requires companies to post
bonds, as high as $10,000 per acre, to cover reclamation.
Concern for the environment was not always a high priority for the
coal industry or our society as a whole. Consequently, in some areas
of the country abandoned mines dot the landscape. Their operators simply
stopped mining because the coal seam was exhausted, they were bankrupt,
or for some other reason they no longer could or would mine coal. To
restore these "orphan lands," and eliminate unsightly and
unsafe conditions, today's coal producers pay a special tax on every
ton of coal they produce. The money, which goes into the federal Abandoned
Mine Lands Fund, provides financing for reclamation projects initiated
by state agencies.
Coal mining companies work hard to maintain the environment. The law
requires it, but they also understand that the right to remove coal
carries with it a great responsibility. Based on Office of Surface Mining
data, it is estimated that mined lands totaling an area greater than
the size of the state of Delaware have been reclaimed since 1977. Over
time, as today's coal producers pay for the shortsightedness of their
predecessors with their tax contributions to the Abandoned Mine Lands
Fund, the percentage of lands reclaimed will rise.
Regulation of Surface Mining.
As long ago as the 1930s some states had reclamation laws on their books.
But in the late 1970s, when there was significant energy development
activity in the West, Congress enacted the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act (SMCRA), which mandated strict regulation of surface
mining. It because the first comprehensive national surface mining law,
and a tough one.
The most extensive regulations affecting surface mining are a consequence
of SMCRA. Under the law, individual states which establish federally
approved enforcement programs have the primary responsibility for enforcing
mining regulations in their jurisdictions. Where no such programs exist,
the federal law is implemented by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement in the Department of Interior.
Other federal laws with significant impact are the Clean Air Act, the
Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. In addition,
each state where surface mining occurs has its own set of laws and regulations.
Beyond the specific requirements of the federal laws already noted, many
other legislative acts affect some or all surface mining in this country: