The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States.
Sign at Indian Head Mine, near Beulah, ND. Photo: Chuck Meyers, OSM.
Blasting a coal seam in Gillette, Wyoming. Photo: Chuck Meyers, OSM.
Surface mining
Videos
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed, in contrast to u
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
…and reclamation efforts, and to ensure consistency among state regulatory programs. SMCRA grew out of a concern about the environmental effects of strip mining. Coal had been mined in the United States since the 1740s, but surface mining did not become widespread until the 1930s. At the end of that decade…
The Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex, an open-pit mine owned by Yara International, in Siilinjärvi, Finland
Coal strip mine in Wyoming
The Bagger 288 is a bucket-wheel excavator used in strip mining.
Strip mining at Garzweiler surface mine in Germany. The lignite being extracted is at left, the removed overburden being placed at right. Note that it is a largely flat mine for a horizontal mineral.