Illinois Code § 1.1

§ 1.1.

Article I. Findings and Purposes. (a) The party States find that: 1. Mining and the contributions thereof to the economy and well-being of every State are of basic significance. 2. The effects of mining on the availability of land, water and other resources for other uses present special problems which properly can be approached only with due consideration for the rights and interests of those engaged in mining, those using or proposing to use these resources for other purposes, and the public. 3. Measures for the reduction of the adverse effects of mining on land, water and other resources may be costly and the devising of means to deal with them are of both public and private concern. 4. Such variables as soil structure and composition, physiography, climatic conditions, and the needs of the public make impracticable the application to all mining areas of a single standard for the conservation, adaptation, or restoration of mined land, or the development of mineral and other natural resources, but justifiable requirements of law and practice relating to the effects of mining on land, water, and other resources may be reduced in equity or effectiveness unless they pertain similarly from State to State for all mining operations similarly situated. 5. The States are in a position and have the responsibility to assure that mining shall be conducted in accordance with sound conservation principles, and with due regard for local conditions. (b) The purposes of this compact are to: 1. Advance the protection and restoration of land, water and other resources affected by mining. 2. Assist in the reduction or elimination or counteracting of pollution or deterioration of land, water and air attributable to mining. 3. Encourage, with due recognition of relevant regional, physical, and other differences, programs in each of the party States which will achieve comparable results in protecting, conserving, and improving the usefulness of natural resources, to the end that the most desirable conduct of mining and related operations may be universally facilitated. 4. Assist the party States in their efforts to facilitate the use of land and other resources affected by mining, so that such use may be consistent with sound land use, public health, and public safety, and to this end to study and recommend, wherever desirable, techniques for the improvement, restoration or protection of such land and other resources. 5. Assist in achieving and maintaining an efficient and productive mining industry and in increasing economic and other benefits attributable to mining. (Source: P.A. 81-1509.)