Series 2693: Inactive surface mining permit files. 1978-2008.
Dept. of Environmental Quality (RG 138)

Series 2693: Inactive surface mining permit files. 1978-2008.
Dept. of Environmental Quality (RG 138)

      Inactive surface mining permit files from the Mining and Reclamation Division of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Geology. The vast majority of operating mines in Mississippi are surface mines producing primarily construction sand and gravel, although some coal is also mined in the state. The purpose of the files is to track the period of mining activity and subsequent environmental reclamation at a particular mine site in order to ensure compliance with the federal Surface Mining and Reclamation Control Act of 1977. This law requires first, that all mining operations be granted and maintain a valid mining permit; and second, that a plan for environmental reclamation of the mine site be submitted and fully implemented by the mining company. To this end, the company is also required to issue bonds to ensure that the regulating environmental agency—in this case, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)—can cover the cost of land reclamation if the company fails to do so. Companies that successfully complete land reclamation based on an assessment by the regulating agency are released from the bond and any subsequent responsibility towards the site.¹
      Two types of files are present: standard permit files and hearing files. Standard permit files contain a copy of the original mining permit; related correspondence; reports on mine site inspections by the DEQ, including photographs; annual reports filed by the mining company on how much product was mined in a given year; and the original application for the mining permit, usually accompanied by a detailed site map. Different sections are denoted within each standard file by a green, legal size sheet of paper. Hearing files are typically for bond release hearings, and contain correspondence related to hearings, hearing notifications mailed out to landowners, and notifications of hearing outcomes. Some hearing files also contain photographs.
      Records are arranged alphabetically by mining company. Researchers should note that a single company generally has separate files for multiple, separately issued permits, and that individual companies’ files are arranged as received from the agency and not necessarily in chronological order. Additionally, records for this series were received in two separate and separately alphabetized transfers. For this reason, the box list below, which combines the records from both transfers, is imperfectly alphabetized.

Footnotes

¹“Coal Mining in Mississippi.” Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://coaldiver.org/coal-diver/Mississippi-Region; “Mining and Reclamation Division.” Accessed January 22, 2013 at http://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/page/Geology_mining_and_reclamation; Squillace, Mark. The Strip Mining Handbook. Accessed January 22, 2013 at https://sites.google.com/site/stripmininghandbook/