Strip Mine Regulations

If Alexander Cockburn had called me before writing his off-the-mark Column Left (July 16) about coal strip mines about to gouge “thousand-acre scoops 100 feet deep” out of Tennessee’s Cumberland Mountains, I could have told him that nobody is proposing any coal mining there. In fact, there’s been no active coal mining in the area in over 17 years. Plus, if there are any future permit applications, the Interior Department has proposed environmental scrutiny far beyond the ordinary permit review process, calling instead for a full-scale environmental impact analysis.

Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, interested parties may petition Interior’s Office of Surface Mining to designate an area unsuitable for surface coal mining, for any number of reasons, including its effect on fragile or historic lands or parks. Petitioners have asked OSM to declare the watershed of the Fall Creek Falls State Park unsuitable for surface coal mining.

OSM has issued a draft environmental impact statement analyzing the issues the petitioners raised. We will not make a final decision on the petition until all public comments have been considered. Whether through the petition process, or via review and analysis of individual permit applications, this agency is committed to ensuring environmental protection for Fall Creek Falls State Park.

KATHY KARPAN, Dir.

Office of Surface Mining

Department of Interior

Washington