318 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



can be further divided between the past and abandoned, and those 

 being currently mined or planned for future operation. 



In the category of older, abandoned surface mines in steep, 

 mountainous country, the private landowner cannot be expected to 

 provide full rehabilitation because of the dollar loss involved. The 

 costs of restoring lands in this category will either have to be shared 

 or borne entirely by public funds. 



The use of public funds for a greatly expanded program of re- 

 habilitation can be justified by the public interest in removal of 

 ugly scars on the landscape; improved water quality of streams; 

 availability of additional public lands for recreation purposes; and 

 other benefits. To some degree, the Land and Water Conservation 

 Fund provides a means for the Federal Government and States to 

 acquire in fee, or acquire an interest in, those lands where outdoor 

 recreation use would be the major purpose. The States should 

 find a place for this kind of acquisition in their statewide compre- 

 hensive recreational plans that are a prerequisite for funds under 

 the Land and Water Conservation Act. 



On the other hand, restoring surface-mined areas on level and 

 rolling topography could be profitable for imaginative investors and 

 communities. It is in these areas that cost sharing and technical 

 assistance from Federal and State governments might best be con- 

 fined to planning phases of rehabilitation and future use. 



Many strip-mined areas in this category have already been re- 

 stored to a useful purpose and often to a higher surface value than 

 the original lands. Agencies, mechanisms, and skills are presently 

 available at Federal and State levels to assist in this work but specific 

 legislative direction is needed to carry it out. 



In addition, we need more uniformity in the development and 

 administration of surface mining laws by the States. Existing State 

 laws vary widely in substance and application, creating indecision 

 and unfair economic advantage among the States. As a minimum, 

 these laws should include basic principles common to all States where 

 surface mining is practiced. 



For present and future surface mining, we suggest the following 

 set of basic principles : 



First, all surface mine operations should be based upon an oper- 

 ating plan that includes not only methods and time schedules of 

 extraction and restoration, but also a portrayal of its final appear- 

 ance and prospective use. The treatment of waste dumps, roads, 



