The National Mining Association applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its new mining sector snapshot, which provides the public with a platform to increase understanding of the environmental performance and economic contributions of the metal and coal mining sectors.

“With this new snapshot, the EPA is introducing a thoughtful approach to assessing and communicating the industry’s significant environmental achievements and extraordinary economic contributions,” said Rich Nolan, President and CEO of the National Mining Association. “The U.S. mining industry is one of the most heavily-regulated industries in the world, and our proven record of environmental progress shows that we continue to meet and, in many ways, exceed the strictest standards. This snapshot shows that smart regulation can produce better environmental and economic outcomes.”

The mining industry is the tip of the U.S. supply chain, providing the raw materials required for nearly every industry and consumer product, and supplying low-cost, reliable fuel for homes and businesses across the country. The industry directly employs 537,000 Americans and generates another 1,026,000 jobs in related industries that depend on mining. At the same time, the industry strictly adheres to a comprehensive framework of federal, local and state regulations to ensure that every stage of mining – from exploration to closure and remediation – occurs with minimal to no impacts to the environment.

Developed by EPA’s Smart Sectors Program, the sector snapshots tool features an interactive app that shows comprehensive, historical environmental and economic performance on a sector basis and allows users to visualize the data and choose different combinations of parameters. EPA’s Smart Sectors Program developed the sector snapshots using public data from EPA and other federal sources, offering users access to information about general sector characteristics, environmental performance indicators, and economic data through interactive graphics. Users can select environmental and economic indicators individually, or paired combinations of indicators, to view trends over time.

For more information about the EPA’s Smart Sectors program or to access the sector snapshots, visit: https://epa.gov/smartsectors/sector-snapshots.

EPA Smart Sectors is a partnership program that provides a platform to collaborate with regulated sectors and develop sensible approaches that better protect the environment and public health. To learn more about the program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/smartsectors.

See the release here.