State and federal agencies are not achieving the goals of a key law enacted in 1977 to protect society and the natural environment from damage by coalmining, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and WORC.

Undermined Promise - Reclamation and Enforcement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act reveals serious problems with land and water reclamation and inspection and enforcement of the law as well as with data collection and reporting.

Undermined Promise was released on 30th Anniversary of the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, August 3, 2007.

• Download the report
• Download the report's appendices
• Read a summary of the report
• Read WORC's news release

Testifying before the House Natural Resource Committee on the 30th Anniversary of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), Ellen Pfister, a Bull Mountain rancher representing both the Northern Plains Resource Council and WORC, cited three failures with the act:

• See WORC news release