354 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



not been leveled which generally leaves a mosquito-infested bog 

 which is usually most unsightly. 



Agencies affiliated with the State and Federal governments respon- 

 sible for such construction should be urged to take immediate steps to 

 establish criteria to improve construction in this regard. They 

 should also care for such past performances on a retroactive basis 

 where such work has been performed as a part of their responsibility. 



ARNOLD E. LAMM.* Adequate provision was not made for repre- 

 sentation by the surface coal mining industry at the panel discus- 

 sions during the White House Conference on Natural Beauty, par- 

 ticularly since most of the emphasis in the discussions on land rec- 

 lamation was directed toward reclamation of the strip mine areas. 



In the hope that we may be able to have our side of the story 

 heard and included in the conference report to the President, we 

 submit the following statement: 



All parties must recognize that the coal mining industry, including 

 the surface mines, is an essential contributor to our economy. Low- 

 cost surface mined coal in most cases fuels the electric generation 

 which has provided this country with its greatest competitive advan- 

 tage over the low labor cost competitors from other areas. 



Dr. Julian W. Feiss of the Department of the Interior, in a paper 

 before the Council of State Governments on April 13, 1964, said 

 "Mining in one form or another has existed for many thousands 

 of years and will continue to exist as long as man occupies this 

 planet." At another point in this same address, Dr. Feiss said with 

 respect to coal mining, "If it is necessary to strip off 60 feet of rock 

 or overburden to reach a 5 -foot seam of coal, this overburden is 

 waste. There are times when it is advisable to return the waste to 

 the excavation; there are other times when this is difficult." 



The surface coal mining industry has long recognized the need 

 for reclamation of mined land. In fact, the first reclamation projects 

 were inaugurated more than 40 years ago. Since that time thou- 

 sands and thousands of acres of marginal land have been mined and 

 then converted into multiple-use land, the value of which is many 

 dollars greater than the original land. 



The problem of land reclamation in the coal industry is magnified 

 out of all proportion to its true relation in the natural resource picture. 

 The Tennessee Valley Authority, in a publication issued in 1963, 



*This is an extension of the remarks made by Mr. Lamm during the panel 

 discussion. 



