Controlling the Strippers

Every week, some 1,000 acres of America's land are strip-mined. Giant power shovels tear off the topsoil and expose the underlying seams of coal. After the glistening black mineral is loosened by explosives, earth movers gouge it up and dump it into huge waiting trucks. The process is so much cheaper and easier than deep-mining that more than 50% of the U.S.'s coal comes from surface mines. Trouble is, in only about half the strip-mining operations is the ravaged land filled in--and even then it seldom can be returned to productive use for years.

Last week, by an overwhelming 82-8 margin, the Senate voted to halt the environmental excesses of strip-mining. Sponsored by Washington Democrat Henry M. Jackson and Montana Democrat Lee Metcalf, the bill requires the Federal Government to draw up tough minimum standards for surface mining within six months after enactment of the legislation. After that, the states have another 16 months to put the standards into effect; the Federal Government will enforce its regulations in any state that takes inadequate action. Among the Senate's ground rules:

P: Strip-miners must restore the land to its "approximate original contour," thus eliminating all hillside gashes, depressions in or piles of soil on the earth. In addition, the miners can no longer dump debris over hillsides.

P: There can be no strip-mining on homesteaded land (mainly in Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming) where the Federal Government owns the mineral rights but private individuals own surface rights. Under current law, the Government can lease its mineral rights to industry, which can then mine the deposits at will.

P: Surface mining will be allowed only after mine operators issue a statement describing how they will repair the land and post a bond to ensure that their plans will be carried out.

"The bill is a disaster," says Carl Bagge, director of the National Coal Association. Bagge is especially critical of the provision requiring restoration of the land to its original contour: "It precludes us from employing other reclamation techniques that could leave the land suitable for a higher social and economic use [like creating lakes in abandoned pit mines] than it was in its original state." The bill will also raise coal prices; the cost of restoring the land, about 600 per ton of coal, will be passed along to the consumer.

Ironically, the bill does not fully satisfy environmentalists, either. They urge amendments prohibiting strip-mining on steep slopes, as in Appalachia, which are virtually impossible to restore to their original contours. Moreover, complains Louise Dunlap, coordinator of the Washington-based Coalition Against Strip Mining, the legislation fails 1) to protect Indian-reservation land above rich coal deposits; 2) to curb the power of coal companies that own mineral rights to strip-mine then" deposits without the written consent of a surface owner.

Senator Jackson is unfazed by the criticism. He argues that the bill "strikes a balance between strong environmental protection and the need for coal as an energy source." Next step: action by the House, where the Interior Committee is working on similar legislation.

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