Abandoned mine reclamation: restoring Alaska's lands.

AuthorYuille, Brigitte
PositionSPECIAL SECTION: MINING

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The federal government has provided the State of Alaska more than $2 million in funds to help restore abandoned coal mine lands and State reclamation specialists are planning to use it on some long-awaited major projects promoting safety.

"Primarily, we are filling shafts or re-grading dangerous high walls," said Justin Ireys, a State reclamation specialists of the Alaska Abandoned Mine Lands Program. "Or maybe tearing down dilapidated buildings, which are posing risk to the public."

COAL MINING FEES

Alaska is among more than two dozen States and tribes with coal mining communities to receive funding to fix environmental damage from past mining and eliminate any health and safety hazards.

The money for the grant originates from funds from a per ton reclamation fee levied on all coal produced in the United States. States are given funds based upon the amount of coal produced.

Steep and unstable slopes are recovered; water is treated for acid mine drainage, and the water supplies are restored; and jobs are created within local economies which helps create an economic multiplier effect, according to an Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) news release.

NATIONAL RECLAMATION PROGRAM HISTORY

The Abandoned Mine Lands Program (AML) is part of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, also known as "the strip mine bill." President Jimmy Carter signed the Act into law on August 3, 1977.

Congressional members who supported the law considered it necessary since 80 percent of the Western coal at that time was owned by the federal government, and surface coal mines were increasing, according to "The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Requirements and Implementation." a 1978 University of Wyoming law review.

"In 1976, coal, served 17 percent of the nation's total energy consumption and provided 55 percent of its electrical power generation," wrote the review's author Marilyn Kite. "Coal production has increased from 457 million tons in 1953 to 671 million tons in 1976. Even more striking, the percentage of coal produced by surface mining methods has increased from 23.4 percent in 1953 to 55.9 percent in 1976."

The Act created the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The fund is administered by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. It generally required operators of coal mining operations to pay a fee of 35 cents per ton of coal produced by surface mining and 15 cents per ton of coal produced by underground mining or 10 percent of the value of the coal at the mine...

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