Land Use
Coal operators are guided by the principle that coal extraction carries with it the responsibility of restoring the land. Surface mining today is as much a land reclamation process as it is a way of extracting coal. In fact, the land can be left in better condition after extraction than before the mining started. In addition, electric utilities exercise land stewardship through maintenance of the areas where transmission and distribution lines are sited.

Mining companies plan the reclamation process before digging even begins.

• Mining companies work in partnership with federal, state and local agencies to ensure that they meet all applicable land management guidelines and practices.
  
  
• Computer-aided reclamation designs are used to develop exact profiles on-site and monitor progress. In addition, aerial photography is sometimes employed to document the success of ongoing reclamation efforts.

• Utilities and mining companies employ hundreds of scientists and biologists who use state of the art technologies to evaluate the resource and wildlife conditions of our lands.
  • Scientific analyses are conducted on water, soil, vegetation and other factors crucial to the success of reclamation activities.
  • Hydrologists study and document how sedimentation from the disturbed areas will be controlled and how ground and surface waters will be protected.

Reclamation is widespread and successful.

• According to the Mineral Information Institute, approximately 46% of all the land mined between 1930 and 1980 has been reclaimed. Most remaining land that has not yet been reclaimed is still producing minerals and metals.
  
  
• The coal industry has reclaimed in excess of 1.6 million acres of mined lands over the past 20 years.
  
  
• Reclaimed land benefits the American people in two ways. First, it has been a source of plentiful and affordable coal energy. Second, it can be a productive, attractive and useful utility and recreational area once the mine is restored.
  
  
• Coal mining is a temporary use of the land, therefore, the coal mining industry is uniquely positioned, during reclamation, to rehabilitate, reconstruct and even develop new, highly functional wetlands. For example, in the last decade, the coal industry has created almost 3,000 acres of wetlands in Illinois alone. According to William O'Leary, a land reclamation specialist with the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals, an acre of wetland "supports more wildlife than an acre of forest or grassland."
  
  
• Through regular management and maintenance of the vegetation on utility transmission and distribution rights-of-way, utility companies provide important habitats for many types of plants and wildlife.
  
  
• Utilities commonly open their lands and waters to the public for such recreational activities as fishing, hunting, boating, picnicking, camping, hiking and wildlife viewing. They also open many tracts of their land to federal, state, county, local and municipal agencies for use as parks, wildlife refuges, game management areas and natural sanctuaries.

Electric utility and coal mining companies carefully manage hundreds of thousands of acres of land across the U.S. Their responsible land management practices include:

• Tree planting
  
• Vegetation control
  
• Timber management
  
• Fisheries and wildlife protection
  
• Transmission and facility line siting
  
• Recreation
  
• Education