coal is arang...

Coal: Federal Research and Development NeedsPosted by Sidney Draggan on June 27th, 2007
Posted in Environment and Security, Minerals and Mining, Resource management
With directed funding from Congress, U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, asked the National Research Council’s Committee on Coal Research, Technology, and Resource Assessments to Inform Energy Policy, to examine national research and development (R&D) needs related to coal.
The committee was directed to focus “. . . on resource assessment, mining, and processing—and to recommend funding levels required to meet these needs. The committee was also asked to consider how best to organize federal coal research.”
The committee’s report recommends that, rather than creating a single, integrated multi-agency R&D program, specific research needs should be addressed by partnerships among federal agencies and relevant outside groups. The report (Coal: Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy) assessed R&D budgets in terms of the coal fuel cycle: resource and reserve assessment; coal mining and processing; coal mining safety and health; environmental protection and reclamation; transport of coal and coal-derived products; and coal utilization.