On August 3, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that states and the Navajo Nation can now apply for nearly $725 million to reclaim abandoned mines under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Pennsylvania is eligible to receive $244.9 million in FY 22 funding.  In February, Gov. Wolf announced Pennsylvania was awarded its first $244.9 million reclamation grant from the same program.  Read more here.

The new program advances the Biden administration’s unprecedented investments in coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities and workers, including through the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.

This effort also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which commits to delivering 40 percent of the benefits of certain climate and clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities.

AML reclamation projects support vitally needed jobs by investing in projects that close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, prevent releases of harmful gases, including methane, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining.

AML reclamation projects also enable economic revitalization by rehabilitating hazardous land so that it can be used for recreational facilities or other economic redevelopment uses like advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment.

The Commonwealth is expected to receive nearly $4 billion over the next 15 years to address contamination and pollution caused by its coal mining legacy as a result of the federal commitment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Click Here for the full federal announcement.

For more information, visit DEP’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program webpage.

(Photos:  Little Conemaugh River before after mine drainage treatment.)

NewsClips:

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Eligible For More Than $244 Million In U.S. Interior Dept. Mine Cleanup Funds

-- Post-Gazette: Fayette County Coal Patch Draws A Line In The Sand Against Blight And Decline

Related Articles:

-- DEP Partnering With 15 Engineering Firms To Design Mine Reclamation Projects To Be Funded By Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

-- Federal Office Of Surface Mine Reclamation Awards PA $25 Million For Mine Reclamation With Environmental, Economic, Recreation, Solar Energy Benefits

-- Gov. Wolf Announced PA Received $26.5 Million In Federal Funding For DEP’s Traditional Mine Reclamation Program

-- Gov. Wolf Announced PA Received The Initial $244.9 Million From The Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law To Clean Up Abandoned Mine Lands

[Posted: August 4, 2022]

8/8/2022