Page LeVander, Hon. Herald, Governor, State of Minnesota. Little, Grover C., Jr., executive director, West Virginia Division, Izaak Long, Gene, general manager, Reclamation and Land Use, Truax-Traer Moody, Joseph E., president, National Coal Policy Conference; accom- Supplemental statement.. 267 342 294 National Association of Manufacturers_ Orth, Franklin L., executive vice president, National Rifle Association of Padgett, Ward, chief mine inspector, Department of Mines, State of Peplow, Edward H., Jr., executive secretary, Arizona Mining Association_ Prater, Lewis, Idaho Bureau of Mines, representing the Governor of Idaho. 113 120 305 155 353 308 287 328 122 296 210 133 181 Sall, George, director, Mined Land Conservation Conference, National 127 State Mining and Geology Board of California. 359 Studebaker, Sam S., president, National Association of Soil and Water 303 Thiele, Paul, president and chairman of the board, Thiele Kaolin Co., 293 Tippy, Roger, assistant conservation director, Izaak Walton League.. 337 29 Utah Mining Association_ Wachter, Frank C., vice president, Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corp.. Williams, Hon. Jack, Governor, State of Arizona. Zeigler, George A., chairman of the board, National Limestone Institute, COMMUNICATIONS Antonioli, Peter J., secretary-manager, Mining Association of Montana: Letter to Hon. Henry M. Jackson, chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, dated April 29, 1968--- Babcock, Tim, Governor, Montana: Letter to Hon. Lee Metcalf, chairman, 346 Bein, Hugh, Del Monte Properties Co., California: Letters to Hon. Thomas April 3, 1968 371 April 25, 1968. 375 Douglas, Phillip, executive secretary, Sport Fishing Institute: Letter to 367 Dole, Hollis M., State geologist, Department of Geology and Mineral 356 362 Gutermuth, C. R., vice president, Wildlife Management Institute: Letter Harrison, John R., president, Lakeland Ledger, Florida; Letter to Hon. Marsh, Victor R., Jr.; Black, McCuskey, Souers, and Arbaugh, attorneys Smith, Roger, vice chairman, legislative committee, Glendive Chamber of Stearns, James G., director, State of California-Resources Agency, Page 366 372 367 365 355 369 371 369 372 360 Teske, A. J., secretary, Idaho Mining Association: Letter to Hon. Henry M. Jackson, chairman, Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, dated April 29, 1968-- 357 Watt, James G. secretary, Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Letter to Hon. Henry M. Jackson, chairman, Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, dated May 10, 1968-.. 360 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Bituminous coal and lignite, statistics for surface mining, 1966... Land disturbed by strip and surface mining as of January 1, 1965– "Polk Lakes Are Doomed'-Phosphate Said Primary Cause," article by W. D. Shilling from the Ledger, Lakeland, Fla., April 28, 1968----Resolutions: National Wildlife Federation and State of California "Restoring Surface-Mined Land," Publication No. 10827 of the Department of Agriculture___. Statistical reclamation report__. Status of land disturbed as of January 1, 1965 Suggested amendments to S. 3132_ U.S. Imports of Metals, 1966__ 132 131 176 277 372 360, 366 73 130 178 217 107 SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1968 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 3110, New Senate Office Building, Senator Lee Metcalf presiding. Present: Senators Nelson, Metcalf, Allott, Jordan of Idaho, Bible, Fannin, and Hansen. Also present: Jerry T. Verkler, staff director; Stewart French, chief counsel; Porter Ward, professional staff member, and E. Lewis Reid, minority counsel. Senator METCALF. The committee will be in order. This is an open, public hearing by the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on proposed legislation for the protection and reclamation of lands and waters from the effects of surface mining operations. There are three bills for this purpose now before the committee. They are S. 3132, which was drafted and submitted by the Department of the Interior and which Senator Jackson introduced for himself and Senators Nelson, Lausche, and Anderson; S. 3126, which is sponsored by Senator Nelson, and S. 217, sponsored by Senator Lausche, with Senators Bartlett, Fulbright, Metcalf, Nelson, Scott, Tydings, Young of Ohio, and Kuchel as cosponsors. Without objection, I will direct that the text of all three of these measures appear at the conclusion of these brief opening remarks, together with the text of the executive communication by which the draft of S. 3132 was submitted and any departmental reports we may have. All of these measures are similar in purpose, and I am happy to be able to point out that the chief sponsors of S. 3126 and S. 217 have joined Senator Jackson, the chairman of this committee, in sponsoring the administration bill. Thus, it can be anticipated that S. 3132 will be the measure on which the committee will act, with, of course, such amendments as are adopted. The administration bill, S. 3132, is based on a study undertaken by the Department of the Interior with the active cooperation and assistance of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Health, Education, and Welfare, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. This study was authorized and directed by section 205 of the 1965 Appalachian Regional Development Act, Public Law 89-4, on a nationwide scale. (1). The Interior Department submitted to the President a comprehensive, strikingly illustrated report last fall on the results of this study entitled "Surface Mining and Our Environment." S. 3132 would put into effect many of the findings and recommendations set forth in this report. The title of the bill is descriptive of its subject and purpose. It states that the bill is "To provide for the cooperation between the Secretary of the Interior and the States with respect to the future regulation of surface mining operations * * *" The key phrases are "cooperation with the States," and "future regulation. "That is, under S. 3132 the States themselves would have initial and primary responsibility for regulation and control of future surface mining operations within their borders, and for making provision for restoration and reclamation of lands and waters that may be detrimentally affected by surface mining operations. I might point out that Senator Nelson's bill and that of Senator Lausche, which is restricted to surface mining of coal, would provide programs for use of Federal funds for reclamation and restoration of the 2 million acres of already surface mined lands that the Interior Department's report finds require treatment "to alleviate a range of environment damage both on-site and off-site." The cost of such a retroactive program, so to speak, would be tremendous-upward to at least $50 million the Interior Department estimates-whereas the cost of the prospective program established by the administration bill would be relatively modest. While we are on the subject of cooperation between the States and the Federal Government, I would like to speak a word in behalf of cooperation continued cooperation-among the several agencies of the Federal Government that have jurisdiction and responsibilities for lands and waters that are affected by surface mining. Each agency has its own particular expertise, and the expertise of all will be needed to meet, in an equitable manner, the problems arising from regulations and reclamation of surface mined areas. Unquestionably long-range planning for such a program as we envision requires geologic knowledge, such as possessed by the Geological Survey; mineralogical knowledge, such as that of the Bureau of Mines; and water pollution control knowledge, such as that in the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration. All these are agencies of the Department of the Interior. It also has within it other agencies, such as the Bureau of Reclamation, that have knowledge and skills invaluable to the program. At the same time, the Soil Conservation Service and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture also have essential expertise for reforestation and cover crops for surface-mined lands, as does the Corps of Engineers of the Defense Department with respect to many problems of hydrology. Other agencies also have the trained personnel and the background of experience necessary to make the control and restoration program successful. In short, it is the hope and expectation of the Congress that the surface-mined lands program will be a truly cooperative one as to the Federal agencies as well as to the States. In bringing these remarks to a close, I want to point out that the committee is well aware of the basic importance of surface mining to |