The United States Department of Energy program for Surface Coal Gasification has evolved over several years of R and D activities beginning with the Office of Coal Research and followed by a thrust from the Energy Research and Development Administration to build demonstration plants and a growing realization that the United States technology base, economics, and domestic manufacturing infra-structure requires stimulation to meet the targeted 1992 alternate-fuels goals established. In this setting, the US DOE Fossil Energy's pilot-plant program has assumed a dual role: (1) developing advanced processes and (2) expanding the technology base necessary to support potential demonstration-plant problem areas, optimization, and commercialization. The successful commercial application of surface gasification of coal could enable the United States to use from its vast deposits of coal to produce a wide variety of energy products and chemical feedstocks. The technology base is well developed and extremely flexible for converting coal into alternate products suitable for the demands of a broad and heterogeneous market and a wide array of users/owners. To meet the defined program objectives, several pilot plant and process-development operations are being conducted. Four of these operations are described in this report: Combustion engineering low-Btu entrained-bed gasifier; bi-gas high-Btu entrained-bed gasifier; Westinghouse Ash-Agglomerating Fluid-Bed Gasifier; and the Cities Services/Rockwell Short-Residence Time high-Btu Hydrogasifier. Gasification technology-crosscut conclusions and results of technical problems and issues common to the four pilot plants are discussed in detail.