Miners are the harvesters of the earth's fruits. To reap those fruits, the earth must be plowed up. After harvesting, the plowed fields can be reclaimed and restored to pristine, natural beauty with only temporary disturbance to the earth.

Reclamation of surface mines can profitably utilise the void space for burial of society's solid wastes while restoring the mined land surfaces to their original beauty or utility. Industry and environmentalists should rejoice.

Contents:

• An Historical Review — Early Man to Recent Regulations:
• A Brief History of Mineral Lands and Regulation
• A Brief History of Environmental Damage and Litigated Pollution Claims from Non-Fuel Surface Mining with Emphasis on Water Resources
• A Brief History of the Disposal of Wastes by Earth Burial
• A Review of the Environmental ERA Regulatory Actions for Surface Mining with Litigated Interpretations
• A Review of the Environmental ERA Regulatory Actions for Landfilling with Litigated Interpretations
• Legislative Environmental Responses — A Review of Subsequent Legislation to Update the Initial Regulations
• Transition from Present to Future:
• Today's Environmental Regulatory Strengths and Weaknesses for Tomorrow's Needs
• Trends and Future Needs:
• Present and Future Mineral and Waste Trends
• Current and Future Trends for Waste Disposal: The Urgency for Landfill Space
• Landfill Technology and Open-Pit Feasibility
• Future Legislative Problems
• Closing Arguments for Solution and Thesis Solution:
• New Directions for Environmental Law Policy in Regard to Surface Mined Land Reclamation and Solid Waste Disposal
• Appendices:
• A Proposed Best Practice Model Law for Land Conservation and Reclamation of Surface Mined Land by Solid Waste In-Filling
• An Overview of the US General Mining Law, 1872