Interior Dept. Projects Backed 28K Jobs, $3B in 2022

Today, ahead of the third anniversary of President Biden signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of the Interior released a new analysis that estimates that investments from the Law supported more than 28,000 jobs and contributed more than $3.3 billion to the economy in fiscal year 2024.

"Today's report further demonstrates how President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering critical investments into the hands of American communities to create jobs and revitalize economies," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "The law is a historic down payment on ensuring that future generations have clean air, drinkable water, fertile soil, and an improved quality of life, all of which are currently threatened by the worsening climate crisis."

"At the Interior Department, we know that success in implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law means creating good-paying jobs and improving the health, safety and quality of life of Americans," said Infrastructure Coordinator Winnie Stachelberg. "Today's reports show that we are delivering real results as President Biden envisioned, growing the economy from the bottom up and middle out."

The Department also released a three-year anniversary report today, which highlights overall key successes, accomplishments and stories of personal impact as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law contains an overall $28.1 billion over 15 years for the Department's initiatives, including for combatting legacy pollution, restoring critical habitats, addressing the drought crisis, assisting with wildland fire management, and helping communities prepare for extreme weather events. Many of the programs funded by the law advance the President's Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Since President Biden signed the law in November 2021, the Department has, among other milestones:

• Allocated over $12 billion for more than 2,200 projects across the country.
• Plugged over 9,000 orphaned oil and gas wells on state, Tribal, federal and private lands through multiple grant programs, cleaning up toxic legacy pollution and building healthier communities.
• Helped states reclaim over 811 acres of dangerous or polluted lands by addressing 130 abandoned mine land hazards.
• Supported over 587 water infrastructure and conservation projects in the 17 western states, Alaska and Hawaii, bringing clean drinking water to communities who've never had access before and safeguarding the West in the face of severe drought conditions. For example, the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System connected 20 new communities in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota to its system, wrapping up the project a decade ahead of schedule thanks to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
• Launched a first-of-its-kind voluntary Community Driven Relocation program with $135 million in funding. By the end of 2024, Newtok Village in Alaska will have relocated and reunited its members in their new, safer community in Mertarvik using funding and technical assistance from the Department and other federal agencies, the State of Alaska, and non-profit organizations.
• Advanced efforts to save Hawaiian Forest Birds from extinction, which without intervention were expected to go extinct within the next two years.
• Increased fuels management work to reduce wildfire risk, with resilience efforts conducted on over 2.2 million acres.
• Broke ground on a new U.S. Geological Survey Energy and Minerals Research Facility on the Colorado Schools of Mines campus to advance collaborative research and continued partnership.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Fiscal Year 2024, by Activity:

The economic estimates released today examine the direct, indirect and induced impact from the Department's orphaned well program, abandoned mine land remediation program, water infrastructure program, and ecosystem restoration program. These estimates do not capture the totality of social, environmental, and long run operational contributions from the Department's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law activities.