ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF THE SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT |
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| Authors: | Uday Desai |
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| Institution: | Uday Desai is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Master of Public Affairs Program at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. His articles have appeared in such journals as Administration and Society, International Review of Administrative Sciences, American Review of Public Administration, Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law, and Environmental Professionals. He received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. |
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| Abstract: | Even a dozen years since the passage of the Surface Mining. Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) there is little agreement on how well i t has worked. The paper attempts to assess the impacts of SMCRA in six major surface coal producing states. Although i t is not possible to make an unqualified overall national assessment, the evidence presented in the paper indicates that in many (but by no means all) cases, surface coal mining is now carried out in environmentally less destructive ways then before the Act. However, the accomplishments have fallen far short of expectations. The situation in some states has gotten worse than before the Act. Overall, the impact of the Act on the ground has been mixed and has depended on the rigor with which the Act has been implemented in individual coal states. |
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