CHARLESTON (Washington Insider Magazine) -The US Department of the Interior announced On Monday that about $725 million in federal money will be provided this fiscal year to 22 states and the Navajo Nation for the rehabilitation of abandoned coal mines and cleaning of acid mine drainage.
The money comes from President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package, and it’s part of a fifteen-year plan to invest $11.3 billion on abandoned coal sites in the United States.
The reclamation of abandoned coal mine sites is critical for reducing contamination and restoring land to its original state. If contaminants are not adequately treated when a mine closes, they can seep into waterways and kill wildlife.
The money is critical for eliminating toxic elements and returning wildlife and fish to waterways that haven’t been productive in decades.
The money will go toward initiatives that will improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, restoring mine-damaged water supplies, reclaiming unstable slopes and closing unsafe mine shafts. According to ABC NEWS, land can also be repurposed for recreational as well as other economic rehabilitation purposes, such as manufacturing.
States will have to give priority to projects that employ displaced coal miners. The financing is contingent on recruiting union workers, which Landrieu described as “not an absolute mandate in all circumstances, but there is a heavy recommendation.”
West Virginia is eligible to receive $141 million, while Pennsylvania is eligible for $245 million. Illinois will receive $75 million, Kentucky will receive $74 million, and Ohio will receive $46 million. In the following weeks, the Interior Department will inform states on how to apply for the funds.
Vast numbers of mining jobs have been lost in the last decade as industries and utilities seek alternative energy sources, and a rising number of mining operations have closed. The federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund used to be reliant on fees paid by coal companies depending on the amount of coal produced, but it has been decreasing over time.
Wyoming, the greatest coal-producing state in the United States, will obtain only $9.6 million. The money is linked to environmental damage prior to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, according to officials. Last week, Biden announced that $1.15 billion from his infrastructure package would be available to states to clean up deserted U.S. gas and oil wells.
During talks with local news agencies in West Virginia last year, Vice President Kamala Harris indicated about a federal reclamation campaign. She misspoke on a few points, referring to “abandoned land mines” in the coal region rather than “abandoned mine lands.”
