Department Oversees Reclamation of Abandoned Mine Land in Callaway County

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, JULY 28, 2020 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Land Reclamation Program awarded a contract to Carl R. Jones Excavating and Hauling of Fredericktown to conduct reclamation activities at an abandoned coal and clay mining site identified as the Westminster Reclamation Project, located in Fulton. 

The project was awarded in the amount of $205,790 and work started at the beginning of July.  This 8-acre project will reclaim a 300-foot-long highwall that is actively slumping. Additionally, a waterbody will be backfilled to make the area safe.

Funds for this project come from a surcharge on each ton of coal mined in the United States, as authorized by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining collects and disburses funds to state and tribal abandoned mine land programs. Services are provided to the landowner at no cost to them.

“To date, Missouri has received $102.4 million in grants and cooperative agreements from U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct reclamation work in Missouri,” said Larry Lehman, the department’s Land Reclamation Program director.

Staff with the department’s Land Reclamation Program work closely with landowners and contractors to ensure mined land is returned to a suitable use and the adverse effects from mining operations are mitigated. Learn more about reclamation in Missouri online at dnr.mo.gov/geology/lrp/reclamation/aml/amlinfo.htm.

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