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.,-J <br />SMCRA § 701(2) (emphasis added). <br />The definition of AOC expressly requires that the surface <br />configuration achieved by the backfilling and grading of mined <br />land closely resembles the general surface configuration "of the <br />land prior to mining." Thus, the reference point for determining <br />whether the surface configuration of reclaimed land meets AOC is <br />the land prior to mining; i.e., its original, pre-mining surface <br />configuration. <br />In comparison, the definition of AOC also requires that the <br />drainage patterns achieved by the backfilling and grading of <br />mined land blend into and complement the drainage pattern "of the <br />surrounding terrain." Thus, the reference point for determining <br />whether the drainage patterns of reclaimed land meet AOC is the <br />drainage pattern of the terrain beyond that actually disturbed by <br />mining; i.e., the surrounding countryside. <br />Clearly, the standards for determining whether the surface <br />configuration and drainage patterns of reclaimed land meet AOC <br />differ explicitly. Presumably, if Congress intended the same <br />standard for each feature, it would not, in its definition of <br />AOC, have distinguished the two features and required, for each <br />feature, a different reference point for meeting AOC. <br />The legislative history of SMCRA also makes clear that, with <br />regard to surface configuration, the reference point for meeting <br />AOC is the original configuration of the land actually disturbed <br />~ The definition of AOC at section 1.04(13) of the Colorado <br />regulatory program approved by OSM under SMCRA is virtually and <br />substantively identical to the definition of AOC in SMCRA. <br />3 <br />