A federal law passed in 1978 required states to help coal companies clean up sites when they close, but a backlog remains, the newspaper said. It includes an additional 913 acres on 25 mine sites that must be reclaimed at a cost of $3.8 million.
"The number of acres to be reclaimed increases to a point where we can't keep up with it," said John Husted, a state Mineral Resources Division program manager who oversees bankrupt mine-site restorations.
The dilemma comes as the coal industry is enjoying a rebound, fueled by America's appetite for more electricity. Mines are being reopened and new miners are being hired.
Ohio coal mines produced 25.2 million tons last year, up from 21 million tons in 2002.
Power companies are spending billions to fit old plants with pollution-control devices, and they promise to create cleaner- burning plants. But state programs designed to safeguard the land are so riddled with problems that federal officials may take over, the Dispatch reported.
Ohio has a small corps of mine inspectors - one for every 26 coal sites in eastern and southeastern Ohio. That tied West Virginia for the worst ratio of any Appalachian state, according to the U.S. Office of Surface Mining.
Federal officials traveled with Ohio inspectors between 2004 and 2005.
George Rieger, a U.S. Office of Surface Mining division chief, said Ohio inspectors found more violations at mines when accompanied by federal officials.
"That's an indication to us that they need to be doing a better job," Rieger said.
The other problem is money. State law requires coal companies to post bonds equal to $2,500 for every acre of mined land. Ohio can tap the funds if a company collapses, but that - along with a 9-cent tax that coal companies pay on each ton of mined coal - doesn't come close to meeting expenses for restoring the land, the Dispatch reported.
Ohio's tax produced a total of $2.3 million for the state last year.
The state recently backed off a threat to sue Marietta Coal when the company fell behind in its restoration work. The company had $3.9 million in bonds, but cleanup was estimated to cost $8.9 million.
"When your bond is insufficient, there's very little leverage for them to keep up," said Tom Tugend, a deputy chief at Mineral Resources Management.
Marietta Coal President John Nicolozakes said his company has reached an agreement with the state to do the work.
"As far as Marietta Coal is concerned, I think we've done very well at rectifying the problem," he said.
Federal officials have ordered Ohio to raise more money for its mining program or risk losing the power to issue permits and inspect mines, the Dispatch said. A bill in the Ohio House calls for raising more funds.
If it doesn't pass, "then the federal government will have long taken over the regulation of coal mining in Ohio," said Sam Speck, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.