The Department of the Interior and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) today announced more than $244 million in fiscal year 2024 funding from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands, create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across Pennsylvania. This is the largest annual state allocation under the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program and is funded from the once-in-a-generation investment of $11.3 billion in AML funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Communities once powered by the coal industry are now polluted by abandoned mine lands, which leach toxic discharge into lands and waterways, cause land subsidence and structural issues, and fuel underground mine fires. This funding will ensure that coal communities are not left behind, but rather are revitalized by the jobs created for displaced coal workers, economic opportunity, and clean air and water provided by these cleanup projects.
"Thanks to President Biden's Investing in America agenda, we have an extraordinary opportunity to address nearly all of the documented abandoned mine land hazards across the nation," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "These historic resources are helping the Interior Department address long-standing environmental damage, clean up hazardous sites, create good-paying jobs, and help reinvigorate former coal communities."
"The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic progress to invest in the energy communities that have long powered our nation. By reclaiming abandoned mine lands, we not only make our landscapes cleaner and safer, but we also create good-paying jobs and spur economic opportunities that will lift Pennsylvania's middle class," said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. "The cleanup funded by these investments will allow Pennsylvania communities to position lands currently fenced away and idled as the sites for future manufacturing facilities or clean energy infrastructure. This investment to clean up legacy pollution in Pennsylvania is a win for the environment, a win for communities, and a win for local economies."
Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 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.
"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law infuses coal communities with the funding necessary to turn past pollution into future prosperity," said OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino. "This historic funding is making people safer, cleaning up the environment, and creating jobs. These are the outcomes that these communities need and deserve."
Today's announcement builds on more than $489.7 million from President Biden's Investing in America agenda allocated to Pennsylvania for AML reclamation in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Funding will be awarded to additional eligible states on a rolling basis as they apply.
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 are 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.
