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History and Purpose of the Compact
The Southern Governors’ Conference Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in 1964 recognized and came to grips with the problems of surface mining. Governor Edward R. Breathitt of Kentucky and Governor Bellmon of Oklahoma sponsored a resolution which in part read: “Whereas the Council of State Governments sponsored an interstate conference, in which surface mining problems of the states were reviewed, and whereas such conference underlined the desirability of action by industry to utilize techniques designed to minimize waste of our natural resources and the desirability of action by the states to assure adherence to sound standards and procedures by the mining industry: Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Southern Governors’ Conference that the Council of State Governments be requested to assist representatives of the states in which surface mining takes place in exploring the possible role of interstate action, through Compact and otherwise, in this field.”
The Interstate Mining Compact Commission (IMCC) was thus conceived and Kentucky became its first member followed by Pennsylvania and North Carolina. With the entry of Oklahoma in 1971, the Compact was declared to be in existence and operational. In February 1972, permanent headquarters were established in Lexington, Kentucky and an executive director was retained. Since that time, seventeen additional states — West Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Alabama, Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, and Utah — have become members. New Mexico withdrew from the Compact in 1991 as a full member but rejoined as an associate member in 2000. New York joined the Compact as its first associate member state in 1994. North Dakota joined as an associate member in 2000 and Utah joined as an associate member in 2004.
The Mining Compact is designed to be advisory, not regulatory in nature, and its defined purposes are to:
- Advance the protection and restoration of the land, water, and other resources, affected by mining;
- Assist in the reduction or elimination or counteracting of pollution or deterioration of land, water, and air attributable to mining;
- Encourage (with due recognition of relevant regional, physical, and other differences) programs in each of the party states which will achieve comparable results in protecting, conserving, and improving the usefulness of natural resources, to the end that the most desirable conduct of mining and related operations may be universally facilitated;
- Assist the party states in their efforts to facilitate the use of land and other resources affected by mining, so that such may be consistent with sound land use, public health, and public safety, and to this end study and recommend, wherever desirable, techniques for the improvement, restoration, or protection of such land and other resources; and
- Assist in achieving and maintaining an efficient and productive mining industry and increasing economic and other benefits attributable to mining.
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