By: Paddie H.R. No. 1170

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The Sabine Mining Company of Harrison County has earned the 2019 Reclamation Award from the Railroad Commission of Texas and the 2019 National Mine Reclamation Award from the Interstate Mining Compact Commission; and

WHEREAS, Each year, the RRC's Surface Mining and Reclamation Division recognizes a company for outstanding and innovative reclamation achievements at Texas coal mines; the winner is selected according to the criteria of the IMCC's annual Reclamation Awards program; and

WHEREAS, In 2019, the RRC has recognized the Sabine Mining Company for its successful effort to replant native grasses on 3,400 contiguous acres near its South Hallsville No. 1 Mine in Harrison County, restoring the land as a habitat for bobwhite quail, grassland songbirds, pollinating insects, grazing livestock, and monarch butterflies; and

WHEREAS, The reclaimed acreage includes streams and developed ponds, as well as forested corridors to provide wildlife with protective cover and access to water; these corridors and stands of trees were developed under the guidance of biologists and representatives of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; the IMCC independently recognized the success of this project by awarding Sabine the National Mine Reclamation Award in the coal category; and

WHEREAS, A subsidiary of North American Coal Corporation, the Sabine Mining Company operates the South Hallsville No. 1 Mine and the adjacent Rusk Mine, which together employ more than 280 people; the two mines help fuel the production of electricity in the Lone Star State by producing more than four million tons of lignite coal each year for the H. W. Pirkey Power Plant, which is owned and operated by Southwestern Electric Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power; with the support and cooperation of Southwestern Electric, Sabine has not only met, but exceeded its reclamation obligations under state and federal law; and

WHEREAS, The Sabine Mining Company has made a positive difference through its land reclamation efforts, and it is truly deserving of these prestigious awards; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate the Sabine Mining Company on its receipt of the 2019 Reclamation Award from the Railroad Commission of Texas and the 2019 IMCC National Mine Reclamation Award and extend to the company and its personnel sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the Sabine Mining Company as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.