BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus traveled to Alabama today to announce more than $20.4 million in fiscal year 2023 funding from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands (AML), create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and catalyze economic opportunity in Alabama.
Today's announcement builds on more than $20.4 million from President Biden's Investing in America agenda allocated to the Alabama in fiscal year 2022. In addition to today's announcement, more than $700.9 million in awards for fiscal year 2023 have been announced to 22 states and Tribes. This grant completes OSMRE's awards for FY23 -- the bureau is now working with states and Tribes to award FY24 funds.
Millions of Americans nationwide live less than a mile from an abandoned coal mine. The President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided a total of $16 billion to address legacy pollution, including $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years, facilitated by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). This historic funding is expected to address nearly all of the currently inventoried abandoned coal mine lands in the nation, which will help communities address and eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by historic coal mining.
"President Biden's Investing in America agenda gives us an unparalleled investment and opportunity to address the majority of currently known abandoned mine hazards," said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Feldgus. "Through these new historic resources, the Interior Department is addressing long-standing environmental injustices, cleaning up toxic and hazardous sites and creating jobs and revitalizing former coal communities."
"Our mission at OSMRE, at its core, is about making people safer, cleaning up the environment, and encouraging economic development in coal communities," said OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino. "What we will be able to accomplish due to the historic investment from President Biden's Investing in America agenda is an unprecedented, once-in-a-generation opportunity."
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Feldgus made the announcement following a tour of the Jess Branch abandoned mine land reclamation project outside of Birmingham. After receiving nearly $4 million in fiscal year 2022 funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, contractors are now reclaiming the toxic and hazardous abandoned coal mine for the benefit of the surrounding community and wildlife.
AML reclamation supports jobs in coal communities by investing in projects that close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining. Awards can also enable economic revitalization by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational facilities and other redevelopment, such as advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment. As directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding will prioritize projects that employ current and former employees of the coal industry.
This funding is a part of the Biden-Harris administration's unprecedented investments in communities and workers to support an equitable transition to a sustainable economy and healthier environment after the closure of mines or power plants. This effort also advances the President's Justice40 Initiative that sets a goal to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Additionally, reclaiming abandoned coal mines is a pillar of the Biden-Harris administration's Methane Action Plan, which includes historic efforts to reduce methane emissions-one of the biggest drivers of climate change-while creating good-paying jobs and promoting American innovation.
