OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING

EDITOR'S NOTE:                              Jerry Childress (202) 208-2719
Embargoed For Release until October 13, 1998           jchildre@osmre.gov  

                INTERIOR SECRETARY BABBITT ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF
                EXCELLENCE IN SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AWARDS

      Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced that coal mine operators in
Arizona, Kentucky, Montana, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington are winners of
1998 Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation Awards.  

     "The winners of this year's competition have all gone beyond the established
standards to ensure that the surface mining law works as intended," Babbitt said.  I am
delighted with their accomplishments, and they  should be extremely proud of their
efforts to reclaim the land and protect the environment."  

            The awards are sponsored each year by Interior's Office of Surface Mining
(OSM), the agency responsible for regulating the environmental impacts of coal
production. Nominations from coal mine operators were first screened by state coal
mining regulatory agencies, and OSM Field Offices, who forwarded state-level winners
to OSM Headquarters for final judging.  The final judging was completed by a panel of
experts from OSM, and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Abandoned Mine Land
Program. 

     OSM Director Kathy Karpan will present the 1998 awards during ceremonies at
the National Mining Association's annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 13,
1998.     "Reclamation of coal mines has dramatically improved since the Surface Mining
Law was passed in 1977," Karpan said.  "These projects show the kind of quality
reclamation the coal industry can achieve." 


     Jamieson Construction Company, Miller Branch Mine, near Bimble,
Kentucky, won the prestigious OSM Director's Award for 1998.  The focus of the award
changes each year; for 1998, it was for exemplary reclamation resulting in higher or
better post-mining land use. 
                                 
     Reclamation at the 53-acre Miller Branch Mine site resulted in high quality hay
and pasture land.  In addition, the flat land created during reclamation has greatly
increased property values for the development of home sites.  Today, two years after
mining, the reclaimed site is a small Kentucky valley that holds all the attributes of the
surrounding natural landscape.

     Other winners include:

        Peabody Western Coal Company, Black Mesa and Kayenta Mines,
Navajo County, Arizona, for reclamation at the mine sites on the Navajo and Hopi
Indian reservations which resulted in planting vegetation that restores plants significant
to the tribal cultures.  The reclaimed land will provide long-term benefits to the Navajo
and Hopi people who retain traditional values.

        Western Energy Company, Rosebud Mine, Colstrip, Montana, for using
special mining and reclamation techniques to save a local landmark located in the
middle of the mine site, known as Eagle Rock, which was a camp site for ancient native
peoples. A plan was developed to mine around the large sandstone outcrop rather than
mining through the area and destroying it.

       Northhampton Fuel Supply Company, Inc., Kaminski Bank #14, Wilkes
Barre, Pennsylvania, for reclaiming 80 to 100-foot-high piles of anthracite coal waste at
an underground mine site which ultimately provided fuel to generate electricity,
eliminated an abandoned mine hazard near a populated area, and stopped
environmental degradation, while providing a valuable property which can now be
returned to beneficial and productive use.

       Texas Utilities Mining Company, Big Brown Mine, Fairfield, Texas, for
reclaiming a two-and-one-half-mile section of Prairie Creek, which runs through the
mine site, from an eroded, narrow, steep-sided channel, into a natural stream
configuration integrated into the surrounding wildlife habitat of trees, grasses, and
wetlands.

       Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), Sandow Mine, Rockdale,
Texas, for reclaiming a lignite coal mine site using native vegetation which has
improved the quality of a wildlife habitat and provided a richly diverse plant community
which will continue to grow and enhance the reclaimed Texas landscape.


       Centralia Mining Company, Centralia Mine, Centralia, Washington, for
reclamation of a large mine site which will eventually involve over 14,000 acres, by
replanting native Douglas fir, red alder, and other native trees.  A special benefit of the
reclamation is development of diverse wildlife habitats that range from upland forests to
wetlands.           

     The OSM Excellence in Surface Mining Reclamation awards program was
started in 1986 and is designed to publicly recognize outstanding active coal mine 
reclamation and publicize exemplary reclamation techniques.  A brochure announcing
the 1999 program, with complete details about how to nominate a project is available
from State regulatory agencies, OSM Headquarters, Regional and Field Offices, and
from the OSM homepage at: (www.osmre.gov).
 

                                                  -DOI-