Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement: Call for Nominations for 2009 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards

For specific information on how to submit a nomination, go to http://www.osmre.gov/topic/awards/docs/2009NomAML.pdf and refer to “Rules and Required Information.”

The Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)is currently accepting nominations for its annual Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation (AML) Awards. The new deadline for nominations is April 1, 2009.

The AML Awards ceremony will be held on September 28, 2009, in Rogers, Arkansas.

Any Abandoned Mine land project that is funded wholly or in part by OSM’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and completed by an approved state or tribal program is eligible for an award. This includes all coal, non-coal, high-priority, and emergency projects. Abandoned mine reclamation completed by citizen groups or other non-state/non-tribal organizations are not eligible. Each state or tribal program may submit one project per year.

There are five awards for 2009: one national award, one national award for small projects, and one award in each of OSM’s three regions. Any entry is eligible for the national award.

State and tribal Abandoned Mine Land Programs must provide nominations directly to the Office of Surface Mining Headquarters in Washington, D.C., by April 1, 2009 (new date). Please e-mail nomination submissions and questions about the awards to: Peter Mali at pmali@osmre.gov and Cynthia Johnson at cjohnson@osmre.gov.

OSM carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in cooperation with states and Indian tribes. OSM’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines.

More information about the AML Awards is available at: http://www.osmre.gov/topic/awards/Awards.shtm.