The Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation is asking watershed and environmental groups, land conservation and sportsmen’s organizations, local governments and conservation districts all across Pennsylvania to adopt a resolution urging their U.S. Senators and Representatives to take final action on the RECLAIM initiative (H.R. 1731).

Pennsylvania would receive about $253 million over the next 5 years to accelerate the pace of abandoned mine reclamation projects that lead to job creation if the RECLAIM Act becomes law.

It is critical to point out this is money that is already in the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund just sitting there waiting to be spent.  Also critical is the fact the per ton fee on coal that supports this Fund will expire in 2021 if not reauthorized.

In a similar pilot program, the Department of Environmental Protection received $30 million for reclamation projects that have already started. Click Here for a list of projects.

The text of the suggested resolution is below or Click Here to download.  To be most effective, it should be placed on your group’s letterhead along with the date of when it was passed and by whom.

Resolutions should be sent email, snail mail or deliver it to a local office of both U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Patrick Toomey as well as your member of the U.S. House.  Click Here to find contact information for your member of the House.

Questions should be directed to Michael Hewitt, EPCAMR Program Manager, 570-371-3522 or send email to: mhewitt@epcamr.org.

Draft Resolution

WHEREAS, Substantial coal mining has occurred in Pennsylvania for more than 140 years, and the industry has been a significant employer of our citizens for most of these years; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is #1 in the nation with the most abandoned coal mined lands and streams; and 

WHEREAS, Abandoned mines pose hazards in Pennsylvania of dangerous shafts, mountains of black waste, scarred landscapes, acidic drainages polluting more than 5,500 miles of our streams and other hazards threatening human health and safety and depressing local economies; and

WHEREAS, At least 44 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are affected by abandoned coal mines; and

WHEREAS, At least 1.4 million Pennsylvanians live within one mile of abandoned mine lands; and

WHEREAS, Abandoned mines and abandoned mine lands create negative impacts on local economies by hampering recreational opportunities, lowering land values, leaving desolate communities once the mines are exhausted and ruining sites for further residential, forestry, commercial or agricultural uses, and threaten the human health and safety of people living in our coal field communities; and

WHEREAS, Reclamation of abandoned mine sites can add to the economy by creating jobs, increasing community pride, increasing property values, decreasing stress-related costs through stream-based recreation, restoring the health of the environment and providing future sites for commercial or industrial endeavors; and

WHEREAS, Congress established the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to reclaim areas abandoned before 1977 and the modern environmental standards requiring mine operators to reclaim their sites; and

WHEREAS, The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 imposed on coal operators a per ton fee to provide a source of revenue for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to help finance the reclamation and remediation of lands mined prior to 1977; and

WHEREAS, The scope of the abandoned mine problem continues to far outpace available resources, and the AML Fund has been impacted by sequestration, meaning less restoration money is being distributed to the states and tribes; and

WHEREAS, The AML Fund fee collection is set to expire in 2021 if it is not reauthorized; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has relied upon the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund as a primary source of money to clean up toxic mine pollution in our water supplies, restore impaired lands, extinguish mine fires and eliminate other dangerous abandoned mine hazards; and

WHEREAS, The RECLAIM Act (H.R. 1731) releases unspent funds within the AML Fund to compensate for reduced funding caused by sequestration to spur job creation, improve economic conditions, and facilitate restoration; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania would receive $253 million over the next 5 years to accelerate the creation of new jobs to clean up impacted lands and streams if the RECLAIM Act becomes law. 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That ________ urges the United States Congress to pass the RECLAIM Act (H.R. 1731), which will enable us to restore our mining-impacted lands and streams, assist with job creation, and ensure a more vibrant future economy for our coal impacted communities.

(Photo: Ehrenfeld Mine Reclamation Project, Cambria County.)

Related Stories:

U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Reports Out RECLAIM Mine Reclamation Initiative

Op-Ed: Reclaiming PA’s Coal Heritage With New Federal Legislation - RECLAIM

U.S. House Hearing On RECLAIM Making $200M Available For Mine Reclamation

Wolf: $30M Pilot Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Economic Development Program

DEP Hosts Kick-Off Ceremony For Ehrenfeld Mine Reclamation Project In Cambria

[Posted: Feb. 1, 2018]

2/5/2018