COAL PROGRAM
The Coal Program is responsible for providing permits to coal companies, completing site inspections to confirm compliance and overseeing the reclamation and bond release process. Ensuring provisions of the coal rules are followed allows for continued extraction of coal to occur in a way that reduces and/or eliminates long term impacts to the environment.
Coal extraction is important to Utah. In 2017, five Utah coal operators produced 14.4-million short tons of coal valued at $493 million from seven underground mines and one surface mine. Communities in Carbon and Emery counties rely on the coal industry to provide jobs and stimulate their local economies.
The Horizon Coal Mine
The Horizon coal mine, a bond forfeiture site in Carbon County, was a reclamation project managed by the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining's Coal Program staff. It took roughly three months to remove the coal mine’s five-acre footprint and re-contour the site to match the surrounding landscape. Reclamation involved demolishing and sealing the portals, re-establishing the stream channels through the facility and parking fill pads, and applying topsoil, mulch and seed to the final contoured slopes.