ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the four major kinds of mining in the United States: coal mining, hardrock mining, oil and gas drilling, and deep-sea mining. It offers a historical overview of each, by looking at the legal framework that governs them, and discusses the colossal environmental damage caused by each. The chapter explores a program for ending mining and implementing a restoration program to aid in the recovery of these areas under a Rights of Nature framework. Coal was the premier American fuel in 1900. United States has the largest coal deposits of any country in the world. The principal law regulating this devastating activity is the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which is enforced through the US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Oil and gas drilling falls under a different set of laws compared to coal or hardrock mining, both for historical reasons and because the technology and the resources extracted differ so much.
