WASHINGTON – The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) today announced more than $1.3 million in fiscal year 2024 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands (AML), create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across Alaska.
Millions of Americans nationwide live less than a mile from an abandoned coal mine. The Bipartisan
lands reclamation projects like this one
in Healy, Alaska, which addressed more
than 1,600 feet of unstable, dangerous
highwalls standing as high as 265 feet.
Photo courtesy of the Alaska
Abandoned Mined Lands Program.
Infrastructure Law provided a total of $16 billion to address legacy pollution, including nearly $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years that is facilitated by 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.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law infuses coal communities with the funding necessary to turn past pollution into future prosperity,” said 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.”
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Alaska is accelerating its reclamation of abandoned mine land. This round of funding will support reclamation projects in both Interior and Southcentral Alaska,” said Justin Ireys, AML program manager. “These reclamation projects eliminate health and safety hazards, create economic opportunity, and increase recreational space. Alaska’s goal is to reclaim all its abandoned mine land inventory by 2033.”
Today’s announcement builds on nearly $2.7 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda allocated to Alaska for AML reclamation in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
Including today’s announcement, over $504 million in awards for fiscal year 2024 have been awarded. 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 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.
– OSMRE –
OSMRE carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in cooperation with states and Tribes. OSMRE’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines. For more information, visit www.osmre.gov or connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.