Update-Reclaiming Mine Lands In Alaska ? Introduction

The mining of coal in Alaska receives special treatment in the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1977 (PL95-87). Section 708 of the Act required that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) perform a study of "Surface Coal Mining Conditions in the State of Alaska, In Order to Determine Which, If Any, of the Provisions of the Act Should be Modified with respect to Surface Coal Mining Operations in Alaska'. The special committee on Alaskan Coal Mining and Reclamation of NAS completed their study in 1980 and prepared their report (NAS, 1980). At this time, the Secretary of the Interior and the Congress have taken no special action with regard to either special regulations geared specifically to Alaska or to submitting special draft legislation to the Congress requesting amendment of PL95-87. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has drafted legislation which was submitted to and passed by the 1982 session of the State Legislature. The State regulatory agency has also drafted the requisite regulations necessitated by the amendments to the State's Basic Coal Mining Act. It is expected that by mid 1983 DNR will have applied for "primacy" to the office of Surface Mining, U.S. Department of the Interior (OSM). They will be submitting the amended State Law, the revised State Regulations and an operational plan as called for by OSM regulations. The presumption is that primacy will be granted to the State of Alaska under PL95-87. The Usibelli Coal Mine continues to be the only operational commercial mine for coal in the State of Alaska. It produced 7.26 x 10 kg (8 x 10 " T) of coal during 1981. The current mine was started in 1920 by Captain Lathrop, an early developer and pioneer in Alaska. It was continued by Emil Usibelli and was taken over after the death of E. Usibelli (in the 1964 earthquake) by his son Joseph Usibelli who is the current President of, the firm3 Their latest improvement is a 27.5 m (36 yd. )Bucyrus-Erie Dragline which handles most of the overburden removal. The coal is removed by a loader-truck combination. They are currently starting up the use of a unit train loading facility which handles forty cars every two hours. This loading system was a development necessitated by the Sun Eel Export contract. The Alaskan Railroad was a major cooperator in the development of the first unit train loading facility in Alaska.