Title 40 Mines and Mining
Chapter 10 Coal Mining and Reclamation
Section 1 Legislative finding.
40-10-1. Legislative finding.
The Utah Legislature finds that:
(1) Coal mining operations presently contribute significantly to the nation's energy
requirements; surface coal mining constitutes one method of extraction of the resource; the
overwhelming percentage of Utah's coal reserves can only be extracted by underground mining
methods; and it is, therefore, essential to the national interest to insure the existence of an
expanding and economically healthy underground coal mining industry.
(2) The expansion of coal mining in Utah to meet the nation's energy needs makes even
more urgent the establishment of appropriate standards to minimize damage to the environment
and to productivity of the soil and to protect the health and safety of the public.
(3) Surface mining and reclamation technology is now developed so that effective and
reasonable regulation of surface coal mining operations is an appropriate and necessary means to
minimize so far as practicable the adverse social, economic, and environmental effects of the
mining operations.
(4) In recognition of the innate differences between coal and other mineral deposits and
between surface and underground mining methods, the Legislature perceives a need for a separate
chapter for effective and reasonable regulation of such operations.
Enacted by Chapter 145, 1979 General Session
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