The branch examines a site's characteristics and its mining history to determine if it is eligible to be reclaimed by the AML program.
Reclamation is the process of restoring a site to a safe and environmentally stable condition.
A site's eligibility is based in part on whether mining occurred at the site before 1982. If so, the site may be eligible for AML reclamation. The severity of these problems helps determine the priority given to cleaning up the site. The branch also does eligibility checks on sites reclaimed under the federal OSM's Emergency Program.