WASHINGTON D.C. (WVDN) — The Department of the Interior today announced more than $140 million in fiscal year 2024 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands, create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across West Virginia.
Millions of Americans nationwide live less than a mile from an abandoned coal mine. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided a total of $16 billion to address legacy pollution, including nearly $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years, facilitated by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). This historic funding is expected to address nearly all of the currently inventoried abandoned coal mine lands in the nation, which will help communities address and eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by historic coal mining.
“With this funding, we are not just cleaning up the past—we are building a more sustainable and prosperous future for coal communities that have powered our nation for generations,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “This is an opportunity to ensure that these communities are at the forefront of job creation, clean energy innovation, and economic revitalization. Together, we are addressing legacy pollution while paving the way for healthier, safer and more resilient futures.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law infuses coal communities with the funding necessary to turn past pollution into future prosperity,” said OSMRE Principal Deputy Director Sharon Buccino. “This historic funding is making people safer, cleaning up the environment, and creating jobs. Outcomes that these communities need and deserve.”
Today’s announcement builds on more than $280 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda allocated to West Virginia for AML reclamation since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was enacted. Including today’s announcement, over $492 million in awards for fiscal year 2024 have been awarded nationwide. Funding will be awarded to additional eligible states on a rolling basis as they apply.
AML reclamation supports jobs in coal communities by investing in projects that close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining. Awards can also enable economic revitalization by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational facilities and other redevelopment, such as advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment. As directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding will prioritize projects that employ current and former employees of the coal industry.
This funding is a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in communities and workers to support an equitable transition to a sustainable economy and healthier environment after the closure of mines or power plants. This effort also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative that sets a goal to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that have been are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Additionally, reclaiming abandoned coal mines is a pillar of the Biden-Harris administration’s Methane Action Plan, which includes historic efforts to reduce methane emissions—one of the biggest drivers of climate change—while creating good-paying jobs and promoting American innovation.
