Law Commons^™

Surface Mining In Kentucky, Carolyn S. Bratt

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In 1977, Congress enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The Act, designed to protect the environment and society from the adverse effects of surface coal mining and to insure uniform minimum nationwide regulatory standards, established a comprehensive regulatory scheme for surface mining and reclamation operations of both federal and non-federal lands within the United States.

The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation within the Department of the Interior, is charged with administering and implementing the Act. Implementation is divided into two stages. During the initial, or interim phase, all surface mining …

Reclaiming Coal Surface Mines In Central Appalachia: A Case Study Of The Benefits And Costs, Richard C. Ausness, Alan Randall, Oren Grunewald, Sue Johnson, Angelos Pagoulatos

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Regulatory alternatives for the surface mining industry have come under intense public and political scrutiny in recent years. Recent studies have found that the impacts of federal surface mine reclamation regulations' will be noticeable, but perhaps not as substantial as some had expected. Nationwide, coal production from surface mines would be reduced by about five percent, with a similar increase in underground coal production. The federal reclamation legislation, depending on the regulations eventually adopted for its implementation, is unlikely to be a major disruptive influence in the coal industry or a substantial impediment to the long-run national goal of increased …