The 38th annual Surface Mine Reclamation Workshop will be Oct. 4-6 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Bryan/ College Station, 3081 University Drive East, Bryan, Texas 77802. PLEASE NOTE: This is a different address than first released - the workshop has moved due to damage sustained by hurricane Harvey

Dr. Sam Feagley, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state soil environmental specialist in College Station, will lead the workshop, which is planned by industry reclamation personnel specific to Texas mining conditions related to lignite, uranium, clay and aggregates.

Brown mine pit before reclamation
The Brown uranium mine in Karnes County before reclamation. (photo courtesy of the Railroad Commission of Texas)

Registration for state and federal employees is $85; all others are $100. Registration is requested by Sept. 21. A $20 late registration fee will be applied thereafter. Forms can be found at https://smrw.tamu.edu/.

This year’s presentations include mine updates and policies, Texas Mining and Reclamation Association’s Teacher Program update, mine work – big events, environmental work, industry summaries, dragline follow-up, an eagle’s nest movement at Martin Lake and Texas Railroad Commission updates.

The workshop also will feature an area for posters and commercial displays, Feagley said. Mining companies, agencies and educational institutions will display current and completed projects that may be of interest to the other attendees. Also, commercial companies are encouraged to display the capabilities of their companies.

Brown uranium mine after reclamation
The Brown Mine in Karnes County after reclamation efforts. (photo Courtesy of the Railroad Commission of Texas)

Feagley said this workshop came about due to the passing of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Between 1977 and 1980, the industry, along with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension personnel who worked with reclamation decided to hold a conference to pull all the coal mining and reclamation players together to discuss reclamation processes and their advantages and disadvantages.

Feagley said primarily the mining in Texas is for lignite, a young coal. Depending on the price of natural gas, about 25-45 percent of electricity in Texas comes from coal. Of that, about 75 percent comes from Texas lignite and 25 percent from western coal out of the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming.

“Texas A&M has worked a lot with the mining industry to do research and improve reclamation processes,” he said. “This continues today.”
For more information concerning the workshop, contact Alisa Hairston at 979-845-0884 or [email protected].