For release: March 16, 1999                  Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719
                                        Jchildre@osmre.gov


         OSM & WEST VIRGINIA ANNOUNCE PLANS TO STRENGTHEN
        PERMIT REVIEW PROCESS FOR AOC ON MOUNTAINTOP MINES

     Kathy Karpan, Director of the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) , and Michael Miano, Director of the West
Virginia Division of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) today announced plans to test 
new procedures that could be used in the permit review process to more objectively
determine when a mountaintop coal mine plan will achieve approximate original contour
(AOC) and how much material may be placed in valleys. 

     WVDEP will release a detailed explanation of the new procedures and will hold a
series of meetings over the next two weeks to see if further revisions are needed before
full scale implementation.

     WVDEP intends to test the procedures, developed jointly with OSM, to address
concerns raised by OSM and other interested parties on inconsistencies in how AOC
has previously been determined. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of
1977 (SMCRA) and the approved West Virginia regulatory program contain the
requirement that surface coal mines be restored to AOC. 

     AOC requires that the mined land should closely resemble the pre-mining
landscape, after reclamation is completed. The judgement about when a mine plan
achieves AOC has historically been left to individual permit review engineers in working
with specific proposals. WVDEP and OSM intend that the proposal being released
today will be a tool for use by both permit reviewers and applicants.

     Karpan lauded the willingness of WVDEP to pilot the concept.  " Mike Miano's
willingness to take the lead in piloting these new procedures will provide timely
achievement of positive results. We will work closely with West Virginia in this effort.
OSM  anticipates continuing to provide West Virginia technical assistance on various
aspects of the permitting process in the future."

     "OSM came to us with a proposal that we have developed further, and which we
believe can be implemented in West Virginia. We're going to proceed cautiously as we
seek input from industry and environmental representatives, but we are optimistic that
this technical guidance will be helpful in achieving more consistent determinations of
AOC," Miano said.

     Surface mining in steep slope mountains creates spoil material (broken rock )
that cannot be completely put back where it came from because it swells in volume
during the mining process, and because of other features like stability and access roads
that must be considered . The portion of the spoil that cannot be safely returned to the
mined area is termed "excess spoil " and is typically placed in valleys adjacent to the
mined area. The proposed technical guidance uses the performance standards in
SMCRA and the approved State program to organize the mine engineering data to
show what portion of the spoil material is excess and what portion of the material must
be returned to the mined area to achieve AOC. 

     SMCRA and the West Virginia program also provide that surface coal mines can
receive a variance from AOC - if flat or gently rolling terrain is needed to achieve a
specific postmining land use that provides benefit to the citizens in the mining
community. Both Karpan and Miano indicated that they are continuing to review the
criteria for granting AOC  variances, and expect to announce additional guidance on the
subject at a later date.

Copies of the AOC review proposal may be obtained from the West Virginia Division of
Environmental Protection in Nitro, West Virginia or by calling Lewis Halstead at (304)
759-0515.

                              -OSM-