26 THE, AUD WB ONG BiG eee 
Conservationists Hail New Bill Which Tightens 
Reclamation Requirements of Illinois Strip Mines 
by MRS. JUDITH JOY 
This is the year marking the 100th anniversary of one of Illinois’ highly 
controversial industries—strip mining—in which state production tops the 
nation, and with which conservationists have long concerned themselves. 
In this 100 years, the simple horse-drawn scrapers gave way to gi- 
gantic electric power shovels which tower above the landscape, but, 
unfortunately, the development of a philosophy of wise use and conservation 
of the land has lagged behind mechanical progress. 
One finally may catch up with the other, however. In 1961, Illinois 
became the seventh state to pass a reclamation law—applying to quarries 
as well as strip mines, and enforced by the Department of Conservation. 
Before the law’s passage, only about half the affected land was being re- 
claimed. Today, compliance has reached nearly 100 per cent. 
In early 1967, a new reclamation bill was scheduled for introduction 
in the General Assembly. Among its major concerns is disposal of mine 
wastes: After coal is mined it is taken to a washery for removal of im- 
purities—which amount to as much as 30 per cent. Coarser wastes (called 
“sob”) consist primarily of shale, unreclaimed coal, slate, and metallic 
sulphides. When gob is exposed to air, these sulphides or pyrites oxidize 
to produce sulphuric acid which so pollutes streams and soil that nothing 
will grow. 
Near abandoned mines you often see old gob piles which have re- 
mained barren eyesores for years. Sometimes this unreclaimed coal ignites 
spontaneously, and these sulphurous fires may smolder for as long as 
ten years. 
The proposed law will require coal operators to bury gob under four 
feet of soil materials or water so that it cannot oxidize. Gob piles are 
also produced by shaft mines; as yet no law has been proposed to regulate 
gob disposal from underground mines. 
From the standpoint of strip mining, it is fortunate that Illinois is 
a flat state, and has been spared most of the terrible devastation caused 
by contour stripping. In mountainous states, lke Kentucky, the coal 
occurs in outcrops on the hills, and the earth is peeled back in encircling 
bands to uncover the coal seam. The “overburden”, or material which 
is removed, contains large amounts of acid shale, slate, and pyrites. Much 
of this material washes down hillsides, producing landslides, floods, erosion, 
stream pollution, and untold misery. Any reclamation procedures in such 
areas are extremely difficult and costly, and since much of this land is 
leased, it is allowed to remain in a ruined condition. Unfortunately such 
conditions exist in Saline and Gallatin Counties in southwestern Illinois. 
The problems and conditions in these areas are similar to those in 
Appalachia; they are just as much a disgrace. 
However, in many other regions of Illinois, the large coal companies 
own most of their land and seem to be doing an acceptable job of rec- 
