NEWS  MEDIA  ADVISORY

For Release Tuesday, October 22, 1996Contact:  Alan Cole (202) 208-2719

            MONDAY CREEK CLEAN-UP PROJECT ANNOUNCED

     Kathrine Henry, Acting Director of the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement  (OSM), today joined with federal, state, and local government
representatives, plus industry, environmental groups, and citizens, in support of a project to clean
up acid mine drainage (AMD) at Monday Creek.

     At a special announcement ceremony, Henry said that the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources, Division of Mines and Reclamation, will receive a total of $650,000 as part of OSM's
Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative to seed Ohio's efforts to improve the water quality in
Monday Creek, Captina Creek, and other polluted streams within Ohio's coal bearing regions.

     OSM's Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative was launched in 1994 to build a federal,
state, and local government and public-private shared commitment to clean up waters polluted by
AMD.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified AMD as the most pervasive
water quality problem in the region.

     Henry said that for Fiscal Year 1997, Congress for the first time has appropriated money
from the billion-dollar Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund for cleaning up acid mine drainage. 
The 1997 Appropriations Act includes $4 million for 13 Clean Streams projects, she said.

      Monday Creek, a tributary of the Hocking river, is a highly polluted watershed, full of
sulfuric acid mine drainage.  The creek meanders for 27 miles, through Perry, Hocking, and
Athens Counties.   There are 3,200 acres of abandoned mine land and 15,000 acres of
underground mines in the area around Monday Creek.  Prior to mining in this area, Monday
Creek was a rich aquatic environment.  Streams in the area were once abundant with a diverse
assortment of life.  Captina Creek flows for 38.6 miles through Belmont County and portions of
the stream are also adversely impacted by AMD.

     Henry said, "We are excited about the Clean Streams partnership and the positive joint
effort it represents.  Federal, state, and local agencies, industry, environmental groups, local
colleges, and private citizens are working together to restore water resources that have been
adversely impacted by mining.  This event gives us a chance to highlight the positive efforts
underway to correct the pollution caused by past mining practices, including acid drainage that
has damaged many miles of Monday Creek."

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