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Federal Land Management: Limited Action Taken To Reclaim Hardrock Mine Sites

RCED-88-21 Published: Oct 21, 1987. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 1987.
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Highlights

In response to a congressional request, GAO revisited 30 unreclaimed mine sites that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) believed to be abandoned without reclamation, to assess the status of reclamation efforts at the sites.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Land Management The Director, BLM, should direct BLM state officials to contact operators or claim holders of known unreclaimed mine sites as soon as feasible to urge their reclamation. Priority should be given to those mine sites that are not covered by financial guarantees.
Closed – Implemented
BLM has taken other steps to identify unreclaimed land and obtain its reclamation. In its FY 89 Annual Work Plan, BLM increased the priority for inspection and enforcement actions related to reclamation and created new program elements to track progress. BLM is placing priority on documenting case files to better determine where reclamation is needed and where it has been completed.

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Topics

Environmental policiesLand managementMiningStrip mining land reclamationSurface mining land reclamationMiningPublic roads or highwaysExplorationPrecious metalsRegulatory noncompliance