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Peabody Coal Company has received two awards for reclamation at its former Ken Mine. Active mining operations at the surface mine in Western Kentucky had spanned a half century when it closed in 1997.

The Kentucky Coal Association and Kentucky Department for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement presented one award at the Association's annual meeting in October. Peabody received the second award -- the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award for Mining Reclamation -- at the recent 26th Annual Governor's Conference on the Environment, in Lexington.

"Peabody's long-term commitment to environmental stewardship is widely respected in the coal industry," said Midwest Operating Unit Operations Manager Kenneth E. Allen. "Our reclamation results continue to receive the industry's highest honors and reinforce our mission to be a worldwide supplier of low-cost energy that contributes to economic prosperity and a better quality of life."

The Ken Mine reclaimed site includes 1,532 acres that had been mined from 1946 to 1997, producing nearly 3 million tons of coal per year. The entire area was reclaimed to a fish and wildlife post-mining land use. Today, the site is populated by deer, turkey and waterfowl, and a dozen ponds are stocked with bass, bluegill and catfish.

Peabody reclamation specialists planted more than 200,000 trees and shrubs to provide shelter and food for wildlife. Extensive planting of native and Western grasses completed revegetation.

The crushing and loading facility at the site was dismantled and removed, much of it being recycled. Pit impoundments with unacceptable water quality were excavated and reclaimed with more than 120,000 cubic yards of earth, eliminating an environmental hazard and restoring water quality.

The Ken Mine reclamation was honored in 2000 by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining with a national Excellence in Surface Mining Award.

Peabody Coal Company is a subsidiary of Peabody Energy , the world's largest coal company. Its coal products fuel more than 9 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity generation.

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SOURCE: Peabody Energy