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The Language of Mine Waste Clean up: Exploring the Visual Rhetoric of Reclamation, Remediation, and Restoration

Michelle Sullivan

Abstract

Three key terms - reclamation, remediation, and restoration - have been identified as central legal and technical terms in the language of mine waste clean up. Since each of these terms is culturally constructed, their meanings may vary among different groups of people. This proposal involves a study of how our language (both verbal and visual) shapes the renewal of natural lands the have been degraded. Because there has been a lot of mining in Montana, there is much interest in how best to return mined land to a condition that recognizes natural resource values and functions. Restoring the natural function of degraded lands is essential to ensure the health of our watersheds. The function of wetlands is especially important.

In order to conduct interviews, Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines must be met. An 11-point summary, informed consent form, and checklist were created and accepted by the IRB in Missoula, Montana. The first clearance for an invasive interview procedure was attained in the Clark Fork Watershed.

Biography

A Butte native, Michelle Sullivan is completing her degree in Professional and Technical Communication (PTC). After high school, she attended college in 2001 for a year studying mechanical engineering - but her path veered and she did not complete that degree program.

After a year and a half hiatus from school and a move to Billings, she returned to Montana Tech in 2003 to study professional and technical communication. In May of 2007, she will graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in PTC. Her undergraduate research project has opened her eyes to the importance of research and expanded her academic horizons. Her project combines a communication and historical approach to understand meaning that has been centuries in the making.

Michelle also expresses herself through creative writing and art-especially painting. After college, her goal is to work in Human Resources.

Michelle Sullivan

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