**Statement of Brent Wahlquist**

**Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement**

**U.S. Department of the Interior**

**before the**

**Committee on Energy and Natural Resources**

**of the**

**United States Senate**

**November 13, 2007**

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity
to appear before you today to share the perspective of the Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement as we look back on 30 years
of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was signed into
law on August 3, 1977, after 5 years of Congressional debate and two
Presidential vetoes. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM) was created to implement the law. More recently, on
December 20, 2006, SMCRA was amended by the Tax Relief and Health Care
Act of 2006, Public Law 109-432 (2006 Amendments).

One of the purposes of SMCRA is "to assure that the coal supply
essential to the Nation's energy requirements, and to its economic and
social well-being is provided and strike a balance between protection of
the environment and agricultural productivity and the Nation's need for
coal as an essential source of energy." This balance between
environmental protection and energy production is embodied in our logo
and serves as a guiding principle in our implementation of SMCRA.

Another fundamental principle embodied in SMCRA is the concept of State
primacy. For express reasons, Congress clearly intended that States
would and should be the primary regulators under SMCRA. Of the nearly
2,400 government employees directly involved with implementing the
regulatory and restoration programs of SMCRA on a daily basis, less than
25 percent work for OSM. The rest are State and Tribal employees who
permit and regulate 97 percent of the Nation's coal production and use
90 percent of the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) project funds. OSM's task
is to provide the regulatory and policy framework, oversight,
assistance, training and technical tools needed to maintain stable and
effective regulatory and AML programs of the highest quality.

The first years after SMCRA's passage were filled with controversy,
contention, litigation, and uncertainty. OSM faced the challenge of
striking the proper balance between oversight, direct enforcement, and
assistance, in order to promote both quality State programs and achieve
a high level of industry compliance. Through the years, efforts to
clarify OSM's oversight role, increase cooperation with States, develop
a training program, provide technical tools, and promote technology
transfer have largely eliminated the highly contentious relationship
with States and other interested parties that existed during the early
years of SMCRA. We believe that OSM has succeeded in its efforts to
develop and implement a stable regulatory structure that achieves the
desired balance between environmental protection and energy production,
while respecting the role of States as the primary regulators.

Since SMCRA was passed 30 years ago, domestic coal production has
increased by 67 percent and has gone from third place in United States
domestic energy production, behind oil and natural gas, to a solid first
place. At the same time, unlike oil or natural gas, coal is cheaper
today than it was 30 years ago. Coal is now the fuel providing more than
half of the Nation's electricity that is so essential to the economy and
our daily life. Further, 97 percent of that coal production is regulated
by States under primacy programs approved by the Secretary.

The coal industry has changed over the past 30 years. At the time SMCRA
was passed, coal production occurred mainly in the eastern United
States, and small operators and privately-held companies produced much
of our Nation's coal. Since that time, many of those small operations
have been replaced by larger, publically-held operators. Most of the
increase in coal production has largely occurred in the West, while
total production in the rest of the country has remained relatively
constant.

Under SMCRA's regulatory program, hundreds of thousands of acres have
been successfully mined and reclaimed. In addition, numerous AML
problems, including hundreds of miles of abandoned highwalls and
numerous refuse piles, culm banks, and acid-mine-drainage sources, have
been eliminated during remining of previously mined areas, substantially
reducing the extent of AML problems that must be addressed through the
AML fund.

Under the AML program, enormous progress has been made in addressing the
200 year legacy of hazards and environmental degradation from past coal
mining. The AML Program has reclaimed almost 240,000 acres of hazardous
high-priority coal-related problems. Safety and environmental hazards
have been eliminated on almost 315,000 acres containing coal or non-coal
problems. Since 1977, OSM has provided \$4.06 billion in grants to its
partners in 24 States and three Indian Tribes to clean up dangerous
abandoned mine sites. Since 1999, OSM has funded 161 Watershed
Cooperative Agreements with local non-profit watershed organizations
totaling \$14.1 million. This funding has been leveraged with other
resources by these organizations to undertake projects valued at over
\$45 million. Almost 8,000 emergencies have also been addressed.

Over the past 30 years, there have certainly been some course
corrections. Congress has passed amendments eliminating the two-acre
exemption, and requiring restoration of water supplies damaged by
underground mines and repair or compensation for homes damaged by
subsidence. Congress has also revised and extended the AML program, with
the latest changes contained in the 2006 Amendments to SMCRA passed and
signed into law last December. These changes provide a framework for
completing remaining coal- related reclamation.

OSM has made changes to the regulations implementing SMCRA in response
to identified needs and to issues that arose during litigation. For
example, OSM has developed the Applicant Violator System (AVS) and
corresponding regulations that block those responsible for outstanding
violations from getting new permits. In support of State primacy and to
lift the quality of regulatory and AML programs, OSM:

-   Maintains a highly successful training program addressing regulatory
    and AML issues that now utilizes State/Tribal staff for more than
    half of its instructors;

-   Provides, through our Technical Information and Professional
    Services (TIPS) program, off-the-shelf technical software at
    tremendous savings through license sharing arrangements, training on
    that software, and cutting edge technical tools;

-   Provides technology transfer programs to promote the utilization of
    best practices; and

-   Provides an alternative enforcement framework and supports State
    regulators to help compel reclamation by those with outstanding
    violations, particularly in bankruptcy cases.

Our AML enhancement regulations have been very successful in stretching
the reach of AML funding by allowing and encouraging the sale of coal
encountered during the abatement of AML problems to help offset the cost
of AML remediation.

Another important shift has been promotion of reforestation as a
post-mining land use.

Virtually all of the land that has been surface mined for coal over the
past 30 years in

Appalachia was forested before it was mined. However, the vast majority
of that land has not been returned to forest. Instead, much of it has
been reclaimed to hayland/pasture with smoothly graded (and thus
compacted) surfaces and heavy groundcover unsuitable for growing trees.

Yet, forests moderate temperatures, control runoff, improve water
quality, sequester carbon, and provide enormous biological diversity.
Researchers at several universities have demonstrated that mined land,
if properly reclaimed, can sustain tree survival and growth rates even
greater than average sites on unmined land.

Over the past few years, in partnership with a wide range of State and
Federal agencies, industry groups, environmental organizations, academic
institutions, and individuals, OSM has established the Appalachian
Regional Reforestation Initiative to promote reforestation through use
of a science-based approach. The challenge before us is to completely
change the perception among regulators, mine operators, and landowners,
of what good reclamation looks like, while continuing to foster further
scientific development and understanding of forest restoration.

This problem demonstrates the value of maintaining collaborative
relationships with the academic institutions across the coal fields,
since the problems related to reforestation were known within the
academic institutions for several years before that knowledge began to
work its way into practices accepted by regulators and industry.

In summary, while there are still some areas of controversy, such as
those surrounding mountaintop mining, OSM has made enormous progress in
bringing regulatory stability, based upon State primacy, to the coal
fields in a manner that protects the public and the environment during
mining and assures that land is restored to productive uses following
mining. Emphasis on limiting regulatory changes to areas where greater
clarity is needed, training, technical tools, technology transfer, and
assistance have proven highly cost effective in lifting the quality and
consistency of State programs and encouraging high quality reclamation.
Along the way, we have pioneered partnerships with other Federal
agencies, affected communities, and academic institutions across the
coal fields to promote emerging technologies and practices. We also have
been working with Tribes in implementing those aspects of the 2006
amendments authorizing Tribal primacy.

According to the Energy Information Administration, coal is expected to
remain the primary fuel source for electricity generation over the next
20 years and coal production is forecasted to increase to match demand.
Meeting that demand for coal, while protecting people, land, and water,
will require a stable regulatory environment wherein all parties,
including citizens, industry, landowners, and regulators, can make
informed decisions affecting their interests.

As we look to the future, we will continue our emphasis on regulatory
stability and clarity in a manner that promotes the development and
application of sound science and new technologies so that the coal so
essential to the Nation's well being can be produced while minimizing
environmental impacts.

Thank you for this opportunity to highlight our challenges and
accomplishments during the first 30 years of SMCRA.