Biden Administration Announces $144 million to Support Coal Communities

The U.S. Interior Department on March 4 announced a funding of $144 million is accessible to states and Tribes for abandoned mine land, or AML, retrieval efforts in fiscal year 2022. This builds upon the $725 million fiscal year 2022 investment from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to speed up cleaning up of neglected mine lands throughout the U.S. The funding permits states to embark on remediation projects, which may bring down methane emissions – a significant producer of climate change. This grant comes as part of the Biden administration’s investments in coal, oil and gas and power plant communities, as well as through the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.

The 2021 law extends the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcements (OSMRE) AML fee collection up until Sep. 30, 2034, and lowers reclamation fee rates by 20 percent to ensure a financing source for grants up until 2034. The purpose of these grants is to aid communities rejuvenate local economies by encouraging good paying union jobs and tackling hazardous environmental situations and pollution from legacy coal developments. This endeavour also builds upon the President’s Justice40 initiative, which pledges to deliver 40 percent of the benefits of particular climate and clean energy investments to underprivileged communities.

Reclamation projects assist critically required job opportunities for coal communities by financing projects that close unsafe mine shafts, retrieve unstable slopes, enhance water quality by handling acid mine drainage and rebuild water supplies damaged by mining.  Furthermore, the reclamation initiatives also enable economic revival by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational amenities and other commercial redevelopment efforts like innovative manufacturing and renewable energy implementation.

OSMRE has offered AML awards to 24 coal producing states and two Tribal AML Reclamation Programs during fiscal year 2022, according to a congressionally assigned formula. The endowment formula is based on earlier and current coal production and the program is financed in some way by a fee accumulated on all coal produced in the U.S.