Appalachian Voices, the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and other partners will host an April 28 Town Hall meeting on the proposed RECLAIM Act, a bipartisan initiative to free more federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation funding to reclaim abandoned mine lands.

The RECLAIM Act (HR 1733) commits $1 billion to help clean up hazardous abandoned coal mines while also supporting projects that foster community and economic development.

If passed, the RECLAIM Act will spur immediate job creation and create the conditions for longer-term, locally-driven economic development efforts to build better, brighter futures in coal communities across the country.

This is part of a two bill package to reauthorize the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation fee before it expires this September.

AML Fund Reauthorization (HR 1734) would continue to fund the program that reclaims abandoned coal mines permitted before 1977. The program is set to expire this year, and Congress must reauthorize it to continue funding abandoned mine land cleanup for another 15 years.

The RECLAIM Act Town Hall is sponsored by Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS), Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM), The Clinch Coalition, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Reimagine Appalachia, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Citizens Climate Lobby, Center for Coalfield Justice, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC), West Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, The Alliance For Appalachia, and Appalachian Voices!

The Town Hall will be held from Noon to 1:00 p.m.  Click Here to register for this online Zoom Program.

More Information On AML Funding

The Pennsylvania AML Campaign, a coalition of conservation districts, watershed groups, and other local nonprofit groups also support reauthorization of the AML fee collection.

Visit the Our Work’s Not Done website supported by states involved in the federal abandoned mine reclamation program, including Pennsylvania.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.

Related Articles:

-- U.S. House Hearing On Reauthorizing Federal Abandoned Mine Lands Program: We Don’t Deserve To Wait Any Longer For Clean Streams, Diversified Economies

-- PA Members Of Congress Introduce Bipartisan Bills To Reclaim Abandoned Mine Lands, Create Jobs

[Posted: April 20, 2021]

4/26/2021