I. Introduction 1

II. Overview of the Louisiana Coal Mining Industry 2

III. Overview of the Public Participation Opportunities in the Oversight Process and the State Program 2

A. Public Participation in OSM's Oversight 2

B. Public Participation in State Processes 2

IV. Major Accomplishments/Issues/Innovations in the Louisiana Program 2

A. Regulatory Program 2

B. Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program 2

V. Success in Achieving the Purposes of SMCRA as Measured by the Number of Observed Off-site Impacts and the Number of Acres Meeting the Performance Standards at the Time of Bond Release 3

A. Off-Site Impacts 3

B. Reclamation Success 3

C. Customer Service 4

VI. OSM Assistance 4

VII. General Oversight Topic Reviews 4

Appendix A: Tabular Summaries of Data 5

TABLE 1 6

TABLE 2 7

TABLE 3 8

TABLE 4 9

TABLE 5 10

TABLE 6 11

TABLE 7 12

TABLE 8 13

Appendix B: State Comments on Report 14

I. Introduction

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 created the Office of Surface Mining in the Department of the Interior. SMCRA provides authority to OSM to oversee the implementation of and provide Federal funding for State regulatory programs that have been approved by OSM as meeting the minimum standards specified by SMCRA. This report contains summary information regarding the Louisiana Program and the effectiveness of the Louisiana program in meeting the applicable purposes of SMCRA as specified in Section 102. The evaluation period covered by this report is October 1, 1997 to September 30, 1998.

In 1998, OSM continued its implementation of its new oversight policy, which was introduced in 1996. The primary focus of the new policy is an on-the-ground results-oriented strategy that evaluates the end result of State program implementation, i.e., the success of the State programs in ensuring that areas off the minesite are protected from impacts during mining, and that areas on the minesite are contemporaneously and successfully reclaimed after mining activities are completed. The new policy emphasizes a shared commitment between OSM and the States to ensure the success of SMCRA through the development and implementation of a performance agreement. Also, the new policy continued to encourage public participation as part of the revised oversight strategy. Besides the primary focus of evaluating end results, the oversight guidance makes clear OSM's responsibility to conduct inspections to monitor the State's effectiveness in ensuring compliance with SMCRA's environmental protection standards.

The new oversight guidance reemphasized that oversight is a continuous and ongoing process. To further the idea of continuous oversight, this annual report is structured to report on OSM's and Louisiana's progress in conducting evaluations and completing oversight activities, and on their accomplishments at the end of the evaluation period. Detailed background information and comprehensive reports for the program elements evaluated during the period are available for review and copying at the Office of Surface Mining, Tulsa Field Office, 5100 E. Skelly Drive, Suite 470, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-6547.

The following acronyms are used in this report:

AMD Acid Mine Drainage

AMLR Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation

AVS Applicant Violator System

EY Evaluation Year

NOV Notice of Violation

OSM Office of Surface Mining

LOC Louisiana Office of Conservation

SMCRA Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

TFO Tulsa Field Office

II. Overview of the Louisiana Coal Mining Industry

Louisiana's estimated 1.0 billion tons of identified coal reserves consist entirely of lignite. The lignite deposits are located in the northwest part of the State, a moist-temperate region with highly erodible soils. Lignite was recognized in Louisiana as early as 1812. The first documented use occurred at the Confederate arsenal near Shreveport during the Civil War. By the late 1800's, the use of lignite by blacksmiths, steamboats, and railroads was common. In September 1985, one surface coal mine began producing and is still in operation. That operation uses a 4.5-mile-long conveyor to transport lignite to the associated mine-mouth power plant. A second surface mine began producing lignite in 1989, transporting its production by truck to the same power plant. In 1998, the two surface mines produced 3.5 million tons employing about 100 people.

III. Overview of the Public Participation Opportunities in the Oversight Process and the State Program

A. Public Participation in OSM's Oversight

No new public participation initiatives were taken in 1998. Past initiatives to seek public participation in oversight have not resulted in significant citizen participation.

B. Public Participation in State Processes

LOC allows public input into the State program through several avenues. Citizens may comment on permit applications and even be parties to the proceedings. The citizens may also comment on amendments to the State program, and may file complaints on current mining operations.

IV. Major Accomplishments/Issues/Innovations in the Louisiana Program

A. Regulatory Program

During 1998, LOC was successful in operating its regulatory program so that there were no significant adverse environmental impacts from coal mining in Louisiana.

B. Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program

There are no abandoned coal mines in Louisiana, therefore, LOC's AMLR activities consisted of administrative functions and field inspections of prospective noncoal AMLR projects. LOC continued to expand and improve its inventory of noncoal abandoned mine sites and will initiate construction projects to reclaim noncoal projects when its AMLR fund accumulates sufficient money.

V. Success in Achieving the Purposes of SMCRA as Measured by the Number of Observed Off-site Impacts and the Number of Acres Meeting the Performance Standards at the Time of Bond Release

To further the concept of reporting end results, the findings from performance standard evaluations are being collected for a national perspective in terms of the number and extent of observed off-site impacts and the number of acres that have been mined and reclaimed and which meet the bond release requirements for the various phases of reclamation. Individual topic reports are available in the Tulsa Field Office which provide additional details on how the following evaluations and measurements were conducted.

A. Off-Site Impacts

Using both LOC and OSM inspections, there were 24 opportunities for observations of off-site impacts. An observation is defined as an inspection, either State or Federal, partial or complete. When a Federal observation led to a State observation, the observation was counted only once; no types of sites were excluded from observations; and all observations were those that resulted in an NOV. The five off-site impacts identified were impacts to water. Four impacts were caused by the failure of the hydrologic controls on one of the mines. The remaining impact was caused by pumping mine effluent through a control structure without adequate detention time at the same mine. Sediment discharged into receiving streams, caused minor to moderate damage.

As a result of the identification of impacts, the mining company was to develop new and/or innovative procedures to keep sediments on the active mine area and prevent them from leaving the permit. The 1999 Performance Agreement will include a study to determine how the new procedures are working, and evaluate whether sedimentation design meets LOC program objectives.

In conclusion, the number of off-site impacts was small, but in comparison with the number of observations, the frequency of occurrence of off-site impacts to hydrology was relatively high.

B. Reclamation Success

Reclamation success is measured or determined by bond release activity. Measurement is in terms of acres released Phase I (approximate original contour restored with topsoil replaced), Phase II (surface stability, vegetation reestablished), and Phase III (post-mining land use/productivity restored). No reclamation bonds were released during the evaluation year. However, reclamation of mined lands was accomplished throughout the year as verified by State and Federal inspections.

C. Customer Service

In 1997, OSM initiated a nationwide study of the customer service provided by States. This item was added to the 1998 performance agreement for LOC.

How LOC managed citizen complaints and administrative and judicial reviews in relationship with public review and participation was evaluated. Other procedures included for EY 98 were permitting actions, bond releases, lands unsuitable petitions, and the AVS. However, there were no major permitting actions requiring public input during the review period, no bond releases, and no lands unsuitable petitions. AVS for LOC is administered by OSM's Applicant Violator System Field Office, Lexington, Kentucky.

LOC management of citizen complaints and administrative and judicial reviews during the evaluation year was satisfactory and complied with LOC's approved program. A separate "Oversight Findings Report" has been prepared and is available for review at OSM's Tulsa Field Office.

VI. OSM Assistance

OSM provided financial assistance to Louisiana in the form of grants, for 50 percent of the operational budget for LOC's activity as the regulatory authority and 100 percent of LOC's activity in abandoned mine land reclamation. LOC has access to and uses equipment provided by OSM for the Technical Information Processing System. During the evaluation period, LOC did not request technical assistance from OSM.

VII. General Oversight Topic Reviews

Each year general oversight topics are selected for review. For EY 98, AMD was selected for review because acid-forming materials were found in the overburden analysis of both Louisiana mines. In 1997, acid conditions in sedimentation ponds and acid discharges were discovered at one of the mines. LOC took action and the company developed procedures to correct the acid condition.. During EY 98, State and Federal inspectors routinely checked effluent discharges to insure that developed procedures continued to work. No AMD was observed in Louisiana during EY 98.

These tables present data pertinent to mining operations and State and Federal regulatory and abandoned mine land activities within Louisiana. They also summarize funding provided by OSM and Louisiana staffing levels. Unless otherwise specified, the reporting period for the data contained in all tables is October 1, 1997, to September 30, 1998. Additional data used by OSM in its evaluation of Louisiana's performance is available for review in the evaluation files maintained by the Tulsa Field Office.