FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2021
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Media Contact:
Trey Pollard, 202-904-9187, trey@pollardcommunications.com
Infrastructure Bills Led by Five Senators Work Hand-in-Hand to Restore & Reclaim Abandoned Mine Sites to Create At Least 13,000 Jobs in Coal-Impacted Communities
With coal communities more in need of support and investment than ever before, today Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) unveiled two bills along with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Mark Warner (D-VA) that would spur immediate job creation and help ensure coal country is part of the economic recovery. These Senators introduced the RECLAIM Act and legislation to fully reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Lands fund — bills that work hand-in-hand to reclaim and restore abandoned coal mines and polluted lands and waters, and turn them into new economic development hubs without spending any taxpayer dollars. Together, these bills will create an estimated 13,000 new jobs immediately in reclamation alone.
“Furthering the clean-up of abandoned mine lands is an opportunity to prevent disasters and create jobs in places hit hardest by coal’s decline. These measures couldn’t come at a more important time for our communities. We applaud Senator Manchin for acting to restore our damaged lands and waters as a way to ensure national investment strategies emphasize the economic revitalization of coal country,” said Angie Rosser, Executive Director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.
There is strong momentum for this legislation and the investments they would make in coal communities. Senator Manchin’s long-time support of these investments aligns with President Biden’s recent focus in his budget proposal and in the American Jobs Plan on abandoned mine lands clean-up as a clear opportunity to create jobs and spur economic development. Last month, Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA) introduced the RECLAIM Act and AML reauthorization legislation to bipartisan support in the House.
“The Abandoned Mine Land program will expire this fall if it’s not reauthorized. AML provides vital funds for Wyoming and other coal producing states who have many abandoned sites yet to be reclaimed. With the fee collection already decreasing due to the contracting coal market, we can’t afford to let the program expire,” said Stacy Page, Powder River and WORC Board member and a former Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality regulator. “It needs to be reauthorized at the current fee level and extended long enough for states like Wyoming to finish reclaiming these abandoned sites,”
In 1977, Congress established the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). Since then, the Abandoned Mine Lands program has eliminated over 46,000 open mine portals, reclaimed over 1,000 miles of dangerous highwalls, restored water supplies to countless residents of coalfield communities, and created jobs and economic development opportunities. It’s also protected 7.2 million people nationwide from hazards like landslides and flooding that result from leaving damaged lands unaddressed. But, funding for the AML program is set to expire this year, while new estimates indicate upwards of $20 billion in investment is needed to reclaim and restore remaining abandoned mines throughout the country. This legislation reauthorizes funding for the AML program for 15 years by extending a small fee on coal severance.
“Both the RECLAIM Act and AML Authorization are critically needed to continue the work of uplifting coalfield communities. Mountain Watershed Association has spent decades restoring abandoned mine lands in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, and our work has improved water quality, brought streams back to life, and provided recreation and tourism opportunities in the communities we serve. In order for work like ours to continue, these bills must be passed,” said Ashley Funk, Executive Director of the Mountain Watershed Association in Pennsylvania.
By investing $1 billion in projects in twenty states, the bipartisan RECLAIM Act works together with AML reauthorization by repairing land and waterways damaged by mining, treating polluted waters, sealing and filling abandoned mine entries, and developing erosion prevention measures to prevent dangerous land and mudslides. Then, with abandoned mine sites made available for new uses, the RECLAIM Act funds projects on these sites that turn them into economic hubs and employ thousands of people in agriculture, tourism, retail, and renewable energy while injecting new resources into the local tax base.
“For decades, Appalachian communities like ours have suffered from a lack of investment and from the serious public health and economic consequences of orphaned gas wells and abandoned mines. Senator Manchin’s bills would reclaim and restore abandoned coal mines and the waters they pollute, and turn them into innovative economic hubs that create jobs in agriculture, tourism, retail, and renewable energy. Together, the Senate RECLAIM Act and AML Reauthorization would create an estimated 13,000 new jobs immediately in reclamation alone,” said Veronica Coptis, Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice in Pennsylvania. “Despite what you may hear, there is overwhelming support in coal communities for cleaning up the messes left behind by industry, increasing access to good union jobs, and looking at communities holistically. There is strong momentum for this legislation and the investments it would provide in our communities. Now it’s time for Congress to turn that potential into reality by passing the bills into law and ensuring the people who powered our country for generations are on the path to a brighter future.”
Dozens of local governments and representative bodies passed resolutions supporting the RECLAIM Act in recent years in part because many reclamation projects have already shown positive impacts on local communities. Many more projects are poised to create jobs with federal investments. The RECLAIM Act would direct millions of reclamation and economic development investments to states and tribes to build on and expand these successes, including nearly $300 million to Pennsylvania, $116 million to Kentucky, more than $200 million to West Virginia, and $60 million to Ohio.
“The need for investment in Appalachia has never been greater, nor has the momentum from within historically coal-reliant communities to diversify their economies. The bills introduced in the Senate today are a big step forward, and can be built upon to ensure the region contributes to and benefits from America’s 21st-century economy,” said Chelsea Barnes, Legislative Director for Appalachian Voices.
Along with investing in the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, reauthorizing the Abandoned Mine Land Fund and passing the RECLAIM Act would be a start to the important work to ensure an equitable and sustainable economic future in coal communities and a bipartisan victory for the people and places that powered our country for generations.
The following organizations announced their endorsement of the legislation:
Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center – Appalachian Voices – Center for Coalfield Justice – Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance – Friends Committee on National Legislation – Friends For Environmental Justice – Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light – Kentucky Resources Council, Inc. – Keystone Research Center – Mountain Association – Mountain Watershed Association – National Wildlife Federation – Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition – PennFuture – Policy Matters Ohio – Powder River Basin Resource Council – Sierra Club – Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) – The Alliance for Appalachia – Union of Concerned Scientists – Western Colorado Alliance – West Virginia Rivers Coalition – West Virginia Interfaith Power and Light
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