| When Circle S Coal Company of Madisonville, Kentucky, first
acquired this site, it contained some old pre-SMCRA (1977) mining pits that were
filled with acid water and the area had been used for the illegal disposal of
household garbage. Portions of the permit area had been previously disturbed by
mining activity from the early 1950s through the 1990s. As a result of the
former mining activity, the company was faced with many difficult environmental
changes from the very beginning. |
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Circle S Coal Company before reclamation
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Circle S Coal Company after reclamation
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| As a result of its outstanding efforts, the site has been
successfully remined and reclaimed to a productive post mining land use of hay
land and pasture. Even before Phase I bond release in 1998, the landowner had
been cutting hay on the site for more than a year. Circle S Coal Company was
awarded the 1999 Kentucky Commissioner’s Award for Excellence in Reclamation. |
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