“It gives me great pleasure to award Coal-Mac with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative’s 2010 Excellence in Reforestation Award in West Virginia for exemplifying the use of the Forest Reclamation Approach in their mine reclamation operations,” said OSM Branch Chief Rick Buckley. “The re-establishment of forests ensures the availability of nesting sites for countless birds; provides food and shelter for our native wildlife; and can provide wood products to meet our future needs.”
“We are deeply committed to workplace safety and environmental care,” said Chris Sykes, Coal-Mac’s general manager. “We are honored to receive statewide recognition for our surface mining reclamation practices.”
Coal-Mac is a subsidiary of Arch Coal. Coal-Mac is located near Holden, W.Va., and employs approximately 300 people. Earlier this year, Coal-Mac earned the state’s top safety and environmental awards among West Virginia coal mines for the calendar year 2010. In the past five years, the employees of Coal-Mac have received 11 national and state awards for environmental excellence, including a U.S. Department of Interior National Award for excellence in surface mine reclamation and a National Good Neighbor Award.
