Consol Energy Earns Virginia Reclamation Award
PITTSBURGH, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX) was awarded the 2011 Best Completed Deep Mine Award from the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation and the Virginia Mining Association (VMA) for reclamation of its Consolidation Coal Company E-2 mine in Buchanan County, Va.
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The award, presented during the VMA's 41st annual meeting and awards banquet in Norton, Va., March 31, recognizes CONSOL Energy for its reclamation efforts at the 38 acre E-2 site.
To be eligible for the award, a site must be recommended by an inspector with the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy. Wayne Hankins was the nominating DMME reclamation inspector.
Katharine Fredriksen, CONSOL Energy senior vice president of environmental strategy and regulatory affairs, noted the reclamation award is indicative of CONSOL Energy's commitment to being a good steward of the environment.
"We consider being a good steward of the environment as one of the most important obligations we have," Fredriksen said. "To be honored by the state of Virginia for our efforts further validates our commitment to our core value of compliance, and our recognition that our responsibilities go beyond those required by statutory obligations."
Charlie Bauguess, manager of closed operations for CONSOL Energy, noted that one of things of which he is most proud of in conjunction with the E-2 site award is that an adjacent stocked trout stream was protected during mining and reclamation.
"The reclamation we conducted on E-2 is proof positive that industry and the environment can and do co-exist," Bauguess said. "Design and implementation of our reclamation plans oftentimes serves to not only protect wildlife and fish habitat, but to enhance it. As a fisherman, I am especially pleased to see in our reclamation of E-2 that a state trout stream was protected and enhanced through a reduction in sediment to that basin."
The E-2 site reclamation consisted of the Dismal Creek E-2A portals, fill F-1 and the Mine Rock Fill. CONSOL had an alternate material topsoil variance and implemented a post-mining land use of unmanaged forest on the site. The portals site was approved to operate within the buffer zone of Dismal Creek. While reducing sediment to a stocked trout stream, Consolidation Coal Company achieved a productive forest on breaker rock fill using current Forest Reclamation Approach Guidelines. DMLR released the permit in March 2011.
CONSOL Energy Central Appalachia Closed Operations Project Engineer Ed Asbury; and Environmental Permitting Manager Gerald Ramsey accepted the award on behalf of CONSOL Energy.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) is a Pittsburgh-based producer of coal and natural gas. It has 12 bituminous coal mining complexes in four states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.5 billion tons. The company's premium Appalachian coals are sold worldwide to electricity generators and steelmakers. In natural gas, CONSOL has transformed itself from a pure-play coalbed methane producer to a full-fledged exploration and production company. The company is a leading producer in the Marcellus Shale, has an active exploration program in the Utica Shale and has proved natural gas reserves of over 3.5 trillion cubic feet. Operational safety is the company's top core value and CONSOL boasts a record of almost two times better than the industry average for underground bituminous coal mines. In 2011, the company recorded its best safety record since it was founded in 1864. CONSOL Energy is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and the Fortune 500. Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its Web site: www.consolenergy.com.
SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.