07.15.16

Hoeven: Coal Mine Reclamation Project in Bowman Recognized for Excellence

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has recognized the Halleck Mine project in Bowman, N.D., as one of the highest quality coal mine reclamation projects in the nation. The Bowman project received the Small Project Award as part of the 2016 Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Awards.

“North Dakota continues to prove that good environmental stewardship does not need to come at the cost of jobs or the economy,” Hoeven said. “The Halleck Mine Project in Bowman is another example of our state’s strong reclamation program. We continue to work to ensure federal rules allow for state leadership, both in producing the energy our nation needs and ensuring the quality of our environment.”

As a member of the Senate Energy and Appropriations Committees, Hoeven has worked to implement a states-first approach to regulating energy development and prevent one-size-fits-all federal rules, including the Interior Department’s proposed Stream Buffer rule. To this end, Hoeven brought Janice Schneider, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, to North Dakota for meetings with state and mining industry leaders to show her the impact of the rule.

During that trip, the senator also hosted Schneider on a tour of the Freedom Mine in Beulah so that she could see firsthand the state’s good stewardship of the land and water and the differences between North Dakota mining and reclamation operations and those elsewhere in the country. Hoeven is working on several fronts to ensure that the department works with states to protect water quality without adversely impacting jobs and the economy, including legislation that will prohibit any modification of the Stream Buffer Rule, which could result in the loss of thousands of jobs in 22 states.

-###-