ELR Citation: ELR 20527
No(s). 86-1001 (4th Cir. Jan 30, 1987)

The court rules that reclamation fees under §402(a) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) may be assessed on coal mined prior to SMCRA's enactment where the economic benefit has been derived after SMCRA's effective date. Therefore, a coal company may be assessed fees on coal mined prior to SMCRA's enactment in 1977 but recovered from a refuse pile and sold in 1978. The court also holds that the extraction of coal from a refuse deposit is subject to the same fee as coal from a surface mine.

Counsel for Appellee
Dianne M. Shawley
Office of the Solicitor
Department of the Interior, 18th & C Sts. NW, Washington DC 20240
(202) 343-1100

Counsel for Appellant
Daniel E. Rogers
Consolidation Coal Co.
1800 Washington Rd., Pittsburgh PA 15241
(412) 831-4105

Before Fussell, Sprouse & Chapman, JJ.