Environmentalists win halt in strip-mining revisions

The Interior Department agreed to delay, at least until October, its controversial deregulation drive to relax rules for strip mining. The National Wildlife Federation, which opposes relaxing strip mining rules, had brought suit against the department, charging potential harm to the environment.

Secretary of the Interior James Watt had planned to introduce in mid-1981 a revision of 46 strip-mining controls. The delay will allow time for environmental impact reports assessing the effect of the revision on water pollution, landslides, and scenery.