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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Coal trespass in the Eastern States: more Federal oversight needed. [Federal]

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6156346· OSTI ID:6156346
Recent public and congressional concerns have focused on the illegal mining of Federal coal in the East, specifically in Alabama. GAO's review, requested by the Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, confirms that coal trespass is a serious problem. The Bureau of Land Management: has not taken aggressive and timely action to investigate coal trespass and prosecute trespassers; does not have a good grasp of Federal mineral ownership in the Eastern States to identify trespassers; and lacks ''presence'' and an overall plan to prevent and control trespass in the Eastern States. GAO made recommendations to improve the Bureau's oversight of Federal coal and other minerals in the Eastern States. As an alternative, the Secretary of the Interior may want to divest himself of management responsibility where scattered and isolated Federal coal tracts underlie State and private surfaces.
Research Organization:
General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA)
OSTI ID:
6156346
Report Number(s):
EMD-79-69
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English