WASHINGTON – The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement today announced nearly $2.4 million in fiscal year 2024 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for New Mexico to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands (AML), create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and catalyze economic opportunity.
reclamation projects similar to this one in
Colfax County, New Mexico, where unstable
coal piles were reclaimed and the water
channel restored. Photo courtesy of
New Mexico Abandoned Mine Land Program.
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 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.”
Today’s announcement builds on more than $4.8 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda allocated to New Mexico for AML reclamation in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Including today’s announcement, over $8.4 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.
“These funds will allow the state to reclaim abandoned coal mines in an environmentally responsible manner and protect public health and safety,” said Abandoned Mine Land Program Manager Mike Tompson. “The funding will be used to abate mine subsidence in Yankee Canyon, near Raton, mine fires and subsidence near Farmington, mine subsidence near Cuba, mine fires and subsidence in Gallup, and stormwater and erosion control measures and a new water tank and lines for fire suppression efforts due to legacy coal mining issues in Madrid, New Mexico.”
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 historically 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 –