The Hopi Tribe will receive $191,699 to plan for an abandoned mine reclamation program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today.
The Tribe became eligible for the funding on signing a cooperative agreement with Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM).
Under the agreement, the Tribe's Office of Natural Resources will compile information needed to develop a priority listing for its abandoned mine reclamation projects. The information will include identification of the areas on the reservation that were adversely affected by past mining practices without proper reclamation. The Hopi Reservation is in Arizona.
The reclamation plan will also provide description of the problem areas, determine how the lands should be reclaimed and the effect of reclamation on prevailing economic, social and environmental conditions.
Funds will be made available on a priority basis to reclaim lands where no legal reclamation responsibility can be established.
From Oct. 1, 1977 through Dec. 30, 1979, OSM has collected more than $1 million from mining operators on the Hopi Reservation. Half of these funds will be available to the Hopi for reclamation purposes when they have approved regulatory and reclamation programs.
