The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977: an analysis

Environmental problems that characterize surface mining techniques are surveyed. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 was designed to alleviate these problems while allowing a continually increasing reliance on coal instead of oil. The act strengthens the standards of most state surface mining programs, creates a program for reclaiming previously mined and inadequately reclaimed land, provides a mechanism for delineating unsuitable land areas for surface mining, and encourages mining and reclamation research. Sections of the act describing these and other goals are reviewed. Enforcement and implementation provisions of the act are modeled after other environmental legislation and may encounter many of the same problems other acts encountered, particularly since a complex system of joint federal-state responsibility is involved. The inspection system and the performance bond provision are enforcement mechanisms that will be vital to the Act's success. (numerous references)