Do the current mining laws need to be revised?
There is an overwhelming need for revision of the 1977 SMCRA (Surface Mining Act). Crucial items that need to be revised are the treatment of gob (waste) piles, longwall mining under Prime farmland, protection for the property and water rights of individual landowners (primarily farmers), and many other equally important items. What we have now are regulations that were intended to deal with the ravages of surface (strip) mining that have been “updated” with a water color brush to “cover” underground mining. There is no verbiage in any of the regulations that specifically addresses the ravages of longwall mining.
