Coal Production

The Indiana coalfield covers an area of about 6,500 square miles in west-central and southwestern Indiana. It constitutes the eastern-most part of the Illinois coal basin. Twenty counties within, or partly within, the Indiana coalfield have significant bituminous coal reserves. Currently, coal is mined in ten counties. Indiana has approximately 57 billion tons of coal reserves, 18 billion tons of which are recoverable using current technology, 16 billion tons are recoverable by underground mining, and 2 billion tons are recoverable by present surface mining techniques.

Regulation

The Division of Reclamation within the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is responsible for administering Indiana's Surface Coal Mine Reclamation Act. State funding for mine regulation is derived from a fee levied on coal production. Coal operators are assessed $0.05/ton for surface and $0.03/ton for underground coal extracted. Since 2006, the Indiana's regulatory program's revenue and expenditures have been essentially flat. Maintaining adequate fees to support the mandated activities of the agency has been a concern in recent years. A distinction between Indiana and most other states is that the Indiana program receives no money from the State general fund.

Bruce Stevens of the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, has responsibility for SMCRA activities related to active coal mining in the State of Indiana.

Reclamation

Bruce Stevens of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, has responsibility for SMCRA activities related to abandoned coal mines in the State of Indiana.

Grants

Indiana grant reports and related documents are contained in the official grant file maintained at the:

Mid-Continent Regional Office
501 Belle Street, suite 216
Alton, IL 62002

They can be reviewed during normal business hours. Alternatively, these documents can be requested through the Alton Field Division or the Indianapolis Area Office and a copy of the grant file will be made available. The copy may be requested in paper or electronic format.

More Information

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Reclamation

Indiana Oversight Documents

If you are interested in viewing current or past Oversight Documents, please click the appropriate link in the table below for all documents of a particular type for this State, or on the year listed below for all documents of a particular evaluation year for this State.

Oversight Documents by Evaluation Year
EY2010 EY2011 EY2012