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Appalachian Voices: Abandoned Mine Cleanup Disrupted By Ongoing Freeze In Federal Funding

On February 11, Appalachian Voices, a group that brings together people from across Appalachia to advance a just transition to an equitable clean energy economy, released this statement on the "freeze" in federal funding for abandoned mine reclamation--

As the Appalachian region is experiencing intense rainfall this week, the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is not processing state requests seeking approval for abandoned mine land reclamation projects according to state agency officials and congressional staff.

This is part of an ongoing federal funding freeze that is defying court orders.

State offices of mine reclamation are not able to access funds or get authorizations to proceed with reclamation projects because the funds were provided in the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the federal agency is still freezing funds provided through the 2022 law.

Heavy rainfall and thawing ground as temperatures warm often lead to new or worsened AML problems, such as subsidence and landslides.

“Abandoned mine land projects are essential for improving community safety, creating jobs and addressing decades of pollution,” said Matt Hepler, Environmental Scientist for Appalachian Voices. “These efforts not only restore the environment but also provide critical economic support to affected areas. The decision to freeze funding at such a crucial time raises serious concerns, as it jeopardizes ongoing remediation work.”

“The Abandoned Mine Land Program has broad bipartisan support, with a decades-long record of creating jobs and improving safety for the millions of people who live near abandoned coal mines,” said Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy. “We urge Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to restart the crucial Abandoned Mine Land Program immediately.”

Background

Abandoned mine lands are coal mining sites that were mined prior to Congress’ 1977 passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Before that law, coal companies were not required to remediate damaged land and water after mining to protect nearby communities, a process known as reclamation.

To reclaim the thousands of pre-1977 mine sites, the law set up the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program where current coal companies pay a fee per ton of coal mined to support cleanup of the industry’s decades-old abandoned sites.

The 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law extended the AML fee on coal mined and also infused $11.2 billion in the fund to address a significant backlog of abandoned mine lands in need of reclamation. State and Tribal governments use this funding to hire local contractors to address environmental and safety hazards at abandoned mine land sites.

Pennsylvania

DEP now receives significant federal funding for state and local abandoned mine reclamation projects [$843.6 million] and conventional oil and gas well plugging [$197 million] under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and hundreds of millions of dollars of pass-through grant funding for various energy and climate programs authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act.

But, DEP also receives federal funding to support core environmental protection program staff and operational costs for programs it administers for the federal government, like Air Quality [$4.2 million], Water Quality [$5.5 million] , Mining [$6.5 million], Drinking Water [$7 million], Storage Tanks [$4.6 million], Coastal Zone [$4.7 million], in addition to federal pass-through grants in some of these programs.

During the previous federal Republican Administration, serious proposals were made to cut these grants to states, which would cripple these programs. Read more here.

NewsClips - Freeze:

-- AP: Federal Appeals Court Won’t Halt Judge’s Order Requiring President To Unfreeze All Federal Cash

-- AP: White House Says Federal Judges Going Against President’s Actions Are Provoking A ‘Constitutional Crisis’

-- CNN: Billions In Federal Funding Remain Frozen Despite Federal Court Orders To Keep The Taps Open

-- NYT: EPA Still Has Grants Frozen Despite 2 Federal Court Orders To End The Freeze

-- Grist: President’s Push For ‘Efficiency’ May Destroy The EPA; What Does That Mean For You?

-- Bloomberg: EPA Seeking To Claw Back $20 Billion In Awards From Federal Climate Law

-- The Hill: EPA Fires 388 Probationary Employees

-- EPA Places 171 DEIA And Environmental Justice Employees On Administrative Leave

-- Reuters: Sweeping US Dept. Of Energy Layoffs Of Up To 2,000 Hit Nuclear Weapons, Radiation Waste Sites, Funding Offices, Hydro Plants, National Labs

-- The Hill: Dept. Of The Interior Fires 2,300 Employees Who Were On Probationary Status

-- Politico: US Forest Service Fires 3,400 Probationary Employees After ‘Deferred Resignation’ Deadline Passes