USDA-NRCS's Role for Soils Information in the Surface Mining Control And Reclamation Act of 1977(Public Law 95-87)

Abstract

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-87) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to implement a regulatory program to control the environmental impacts of mining operations. The Secretary of Interior administers this program through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) with assistance from state and other federal agencies as specified in the law. All functions and responsibilities assigned to USDA by Public Law 95-87 were delegated by the Secretary of Agriculture to the Chief of USDA-NRCS (formerly the SCS), except those that relate to the National Forest Service System Lands and to the USDA-Agriculture Research Service. This paper briefly presents the role USDA-NRCS had in the development of the rules, regulations, and guidelines to comply with Public Law 95-87 that pertained to soils before, during, and after surface mining for coal. 3 The history presented in this paper happened when the agency's name was the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). It seems only appropriate that the event during the SCS era be shown as SCS in this paper. So, events that happened before the name changed to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be shown as SCS. The several and long quotes will hopefully help the reader appreciate the style of writing during that era and the force those written words had on the SCS employees working at that time. Some of the early SCS policy and procedures contained in various SCS documents are paraphrased or occasionally the exact wording is used in this paper. Proceedings America Society of Mining and Reclamation, 2004 pp 1700-1727 DOI: 10.21000/JASMR0401700