ABINGDON, Va., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. , a leading Appalachian coal producer, announced today that a subsidiary company has earned West Virginia's top environmental award for excellence in land reclamation.
The West Virginia Coal Association (WVCA) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection presented the 2005 Green Lands award to Herndon Processing Co., LLC, in recognition of the "complete and efficient restoration of the Covel No. 1 Processing Site during remining operations."
The award states: "The company utilized advanced drainage control techniques at the Wyoming County site to transform a waste area into an environmentally safe area suitable for development."
Reclamation at the Covel site involved reclaiming coal from the area and removing rocks and other waste material, leaving the land where a refuse pile once stood contoured to fit the terrain and fully vegetated.
"Environmental stewardship is a key part of the operating plan at Alpha Natural Resources," said Michael J. Quillen, Alpha's president and CEO. "It is very gratifying to be recognized for employees' careful attention to reclamation plans and development of the land, and this encourages all of us in the industry to raise the bar and to keep improving."
"The employees of the Covel No. 1 Processing Site of Herndon Processing have conducted the type of mining operation and achieved the superlative results to which all mining operations should aspire," said William B. Raney, president of the WVCA.
About Alpha Natural Resources
Alpha Natural Resources is a leading producer of high-quality Appalachian coal. Approximately 92 percent of the company's reserve base is high Btu coal and 90 percent is low sulfur, qualities that are in high demand among electric utilities which use steam coal. Alpha is also one of the nation's largest producers and exporters of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steel manufacturing. Alpha and its subsidiaries currently operate mining complexes in four states, consisting of 69 mines feeding 11 coal preparation and blending plants. The company and its subsidiaries employ approximately 3,200 people.
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