OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION & ENFORCEMENT
For Release June 18, 1993
Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719

INTERIOR SECRETARY BABBITT ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF OSM'S NATIONAL
SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AWARDS

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced that coal
mine operators In eight states are winners of the seventh annual
ExcellenCe In Surface Mining and Reclamation Awards competition.

The awards are sponsored by the Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM). the Interior Department bureau
responsible for regulating the environmental impacts of coal
mining. Nominations from coal operators are first Judged by state
mining and reclamation agencies. State-level winners are then
Judged at the national level by a panel of experts from the Office
of Surface Mining. the Bureau of Mines. and the U.S. Geological
Survey.

This year's prize-winning operations are in Illinois. Indiana.
Kentucky. Montana. North Dakota. Ohio. Texas. and West Virginia.

R & F Coal Company's Hart Mine. near Newcomerstown. Ohio. won the
prestigious Office of Surface Mining Director's Award for exemplary
reclamation for outstanding achievement with pasture or grazing as
a post-mining land use.

Before mining. the site was of limited agricultural value, but R &
F Coats reclamation efforts have created 800 acres of productive
pasture which yielded nearly 3.5 tons of forage per acre in 1992.
During the summer grazing period, the land supports nearly 400 head
of cattle. and has greatly increased the income of small farms in
the area.

Other 1992 winners are:

--Arch of Illinois. Inc.. Denmark Mine. Percy. Illinois. selected
by the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals. for its
innovative restoration of Pipestone Creek. During mining, Pipestone
Creek was diverted around the mining area. and a computer
model.'based on the creek's original characteristics. was designed
so that the creek could be restored to a similar configuration when
the mined area was reclaimed.

Bellaire Corp., Indian Head Mine, Zap, North Dakota, selected by
the North Dakota Public Service Commission. for innovative
reclamation of "wooded draws." Bellaire "mined around" the wooded
draws at the mine site, rather than mining through them and
attempting to re-establish them after mining. This approach
resulted in economic resource recovery, successful reclamation of
the site, and the preservation of undisturbed wooded draws within
the mine permit area.

--Catenary Coal Company. Benham, Kentucky. selected by the Kentucky
Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, for
exemplary reclamation of pre-existing underground mine refuse.  
Before Catenary's reclamation operation, the site was a classic
example of land abused by past mining. During the 1950s. coat waste
was dumped over the slope and allowed to flow into the valley floor
below. Today, two years after reclamation. revegetation efforts
have produced 98 percent ground cover, including grasses, legumes,
shrubs. and' trees.

--Charolais Coal Corp, Grapevine Mine, Hopkins County. Kentucky.
selected by the Kentucky Department for Surface Mining Reclamation
and Enforcement, for reclaiming a 60-acre pre- 1977 abandoned mine
site. Reclamation has established excellent vegetation and
transformed a highly visible past problem of burning gob (waste).
open shafts, and toxic impoundments into a landscape that is
difficult to distinguish from the surrounding countryside.

--CONSOL. Inc., Mahoning Valley Mine, Fairpoint, Ohio. selected by
the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Division of Reclamation,
for its outstanding reclamation efforts which eliminated more than
five miles of standing highwalls. Reclamation has turned the area
into productive pasture land and improved a state highway in the
area.

--The Coteau Properties Company, Beulah, North Dakota, selected by
the North Dakota Public Service Commission, for exemplary
reclamation achieved under arid Western conditions.  Coteau
Properties created wetlands and more productive farm and range
lands, as well as shelterbelts to prevent erosion, boost moisture
retention, and provide additional wildlife habitat.

--Leeco, Inc., Jeff, Kentucky, selected by the Kentucky Department
for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. commended for
reclaiming a site in the steep, mountainous terrain of eastern
Kentucky. Leeco received the award for the innovative design and
operation of a preparation plant and refuse disposal area. A unique
feature of the refuse disposal system is a 400-foot-high earthen
dam constructed from excess spoil from the mountaintop removal at
the site.

--Mingo Logan Coal Company. Black Bear Preparation Plant.
Wharncliffe. West Virginia, selected by the West Virginia Division
of Environmental Protection, for innovative design of a preparation
plant Located in steep Appalachian terrain, the preparation plant
was constructed within a box-cut on a multi-seam contour mine. A
complex network of roadways and drainage channels was

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