Dakota Westmoreland Corporation has been named the Public Service Commission’s 2015 reclamation award winner.
Commissioner Randy Christmann says the company received the award for taking special measures to preserve wooded draws at its Beulah mine.
"Wooded draws are naturally occurring steep, narrow valleys primarily vegetated by trees and shrubs," said Christmann. "They provide valuable wildlife habitat, as well as landscape diversity and livestock shelter."
Christmann says if they are disturbed, they're hard to reclaim. He says often, the upper reaches of those wooded draws are disturbed by sedimentation ponds or by coal removal.
"Westmoreland modified its mine plan to avoid disturbance to several wooded draws," said Christmann. "This involved the relocation of several ponds and associated diversions out of the wooded draw locations. Dakota Westmoreland used creative mining and water management methods to avoid disturbance to the upper reaches of the wooded draws, preserving those unique features."
PSC staffers nominated the mine and the company for the award. It will be presented at the Lignite Energy Council's annual meeting this fall.