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Carol Raulston

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2002

NMA TO PETITION FOR STAY OF DISTRICT COURT RULING AND APPEAL DECISION

Washington, DC - The National Mining Association (NMA) today announced it will petition the court for a stay of its ruling pending NMA's appeal of the March 29 ruling by the federal district court in the District of Columbia regarding section 522(e) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).
Speaking on behalf of NMA, its president, Jack Gerard, said, "The district court's opinion pays no deference to the Department of Interior's long-standing interpretation of the statute and fails to acknowledge that the regulation it would set aside has been reflected in the Office of Surface Mining's (OSM) actions and approved state regulatory programs since the inception of the program. Because of these shortcomings, we are optimistic this decision will be reversed on appeal."

Citizens Coal Council et al. v. Norton and NMA challenged a December 17, 1999 rule codifying the OSM's interpretation of SMCRA that confirmed that prohibitions on surface mining with respect to certain designated areas do not apply to underground mine workings. Rather, underground workings are regulated under separate provisions of the Act.

One of the purposes of SMCRA is to "encourage full utilization of coal resources through the development of underground coal technologies." SMCRA specifically encourages underground coal mining because Congress found that it is, "essential to the national interest to insure the existence of an expanding and economically healthy underground coal mining industry."

"This decision is directly contrary to the law's clear purpose," Gerard concluded.