24 MINING and the ENVIR ONMENT habitat to p remining or better conditions with an eye toward longterm sustainability 4 Fostering constructive dialogue and interac tion with individuals and groups who have a positive interest in the companys environ mental stewardship 5 Ensuring protection of signifcant archaeolog ical and historic resources S ome major areas where environmental eforts are focused generally include R eclamation o f A ctively M ined L and This means restoring land and environmental val ues at an operating or recently operated mining site whether surface or underground after the coal or minerals have been extracted R est or ation is as much a part of the modern mining process as the actual removal of the resource that will be processed into raw materials products or energy Detailed r est or ation plans must be approved by government ofcials and permitting agencies before mining begins and activities are closely monitored by federal state and local ofcials once underway M ining companies must provide fnan cial insurance called bonding to guarantee that r est or ation will take place at surf ac e mines With out it mine s will not receive the necessary permits to begin operations In general r est or ation steps include the contouring of afected soil the place ment of topsoil or an approved substitute on the graded area reseeding with native vegetation crops andor trees and years of careful monitoring to assure success Ultimately r est or ed sites are returned to many productive uses including wild life habitat parks wetlands recreation areas and commercial development Abandoned M ine L ands AML Although modern mining practices and federal and state regulatory programs preclude abandoning mines in an unsafe or unr est or ed condition some lands that were mined in bygone eras were abandoned with out adequate r est or ation Sinc e 199 7 the mining industry has operated a major program to address some of the problems of the past The Abandoned Mine Land Initiative launched by the Western Governors Association and the National Min ing Association is a voluntary efort focusing on reporting highpriority AML sites and identifying measuring and reporting on the progress of current cleanup programs on an annual basis Coal min ing companies pay taxes into the Abandoned Mine Land F und established by the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act T hat money is used to reclaim old surface mines restore stream beds treat mine subsidence damage cover refuse piles and prevent or control erosion from abandoned mine areas Overall US mining is committed to addressing issues raised by abandoned mines by developing strategies to reclaim abandoned sites that have no identifable owner and will not be cleaned up under a state or federal regulatory pro gram Water Q uality O perations must under law meet standards for protecting surface and ground waters from contamination including acid mine drainage Typically this involve s mitigating any contaminated drainage assuring that any dis charges to surface waters meet legal standards and protecting wetlands The fve principal technolo gies used to control water fow at mine sites are diversion systems containment ponds ground water pumping systems subsurface drainage sys tems and subsurface barriers The end result of these activities can be a radical improvement in downstream water quality including rehabilita tion or enhancement of public sport fsheries and increased viability of local species habitats Care is also taken to minimize erosion and excessive runof where ground cover has been temporarily removed Special food control and sediment control such as the construction of settling ponds are utilized to