NEWS
U.S. Department of the Interior
     
EDITORS NOTE:                      Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719
Release Embargoed                       John Wright (202) 208-6416
Until 7:00 p.m. MDT September 25, 2000  
                                        
     
        INTERIOR SECRETARY BABBITT ANNOUNCES YEAR 2000   
          ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION AWARD WINNERS

     Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced that abandoned mine land (AML)
reclamation projects in Indiana, Kentucky, and on the Navajo Indian Reservation are winners of
this year's National Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation awards.

     "I commend our  national winners for the good work they've done in reclaiming our
precious landscapes," said Babbitt.  "Their efforts and dedication to restoring the land
demonstrate that we don't have to sacrifice a strong economy for a clean, healthy environment ." 

     Each year the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM), sponsor of the competition, honors the best examples of abandoned mine
land reclamation.  Winners were selected by judges from each OSM Field Office and State and
Tribal AML Office.  Three regional winners and one national winner  were selected.  The
regional winner with the best score in the judging is the national winner.

     OSM Acting Director Kathrine L. Henry will present the year 2000 awards during
ceremonies at the National Association of  Abandoned Mine Land Programs annual meeting in
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on September 25, 2000.  Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation
Award winners representing each of OSM's three regions, and one selected as best in the nation,
are:

     National Abandoned Mine Land Award & Appalachian Region   The Kentucky
Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's Pleasant View Mine Project
near the city of Madisonville in western Kentucky for reclaiming a 250-acre site which was
discharging acid mine drainage from a large impoundment pit (known locally as "Ketchup Lake"
due to the deep red color of the water) into Grassy Creek, one of Kentucky's largest wetlands
systems.

     With reclamation completed Grassy Creek, once little more than a conduit for acid mine
drainage from "Ketchup Lake", has been restored.  Today, the stream is healthy, acquatic life is
returning, and the water is no longer polluting the wetlands.  
                                 
     Mid-Continent Region   The Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Midwestern
Reclamation Project near Authur, Indiana, which reclaimed the 270-acre   site by eliminating
4,400 feet of dangerous highwalls, coal refuse and spoil, plus  30 million gallons of acid water
from slurry ponds.  Coal combustion by-products were used to enhance the quality of water
discharged from the site.  Continuous monitoring of the water quality shows significant
improvement.  The large abandoned mine site is a showcase of outstanding reclamation and is
now an integral part of the southern Indiana landscape.

     Western Region   The Navajo Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation's Carrizo 1
Reclamation Project in Apache County, Arizona, and San Juan County, New Mexico, for
reclaiming a number of hazardous, highly toxic abandoned uranium mines, which posed extreme
danger to the local Navajo people and their livestock.  After the uranium mining boom in the
1950's, the mines were shut down leaving open portals and radioactive mine waste piles.  Today,
with reclamation complete, hazards have been eliminated, and the land is once again integrated
into the Navajo landscape.    

     The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards Program was started in 1992, to
publicly recognize outstanding abandoned mine land reclamation and publicize exemplary
reclamation techniques.  A brochure announcing the year 2001 program, with complete details
about how to nominate a project is available from OSM Regional and Field Offices, OSM
Headquarters and from the OSM website at: (www.osmre.gov/awards.htm).  
                              


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