Community advocates from across Pennsylvania and Appalachia celebrated the introduction of two bills by Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Penn., that would take crucial action to address some of the root causes of the “zombie mine” crisis — the increasing number of non-producing modern-era mines that have not been cleaned up by the coal companies responsible for operating them.
Regulators are ignoring a growing crisis unfolding in modern mine reclamation. Coal companies are often failing to complete timely reclamation, and safeguards to ensure mine cleanup are failing. Communities are already seeing a new, more devastating wave of abandoned mines — a problem that will get worse without action.
The decline of the coal industry is exacerbating failures of the current federal system to ensure that mines are cleaned up.
The federal surface mining agency has proposed a new rule that, if finalized, will restore community members’ ability to ensure coal companies follow the law.
On May 11, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee enacted a significant law that temporarily halts the state’s pursuit of primacy. Primacy refers to a state’s right to petition the federal government to become the primary authority in issuing surface mine permits and implementing associated regulations.
For years, the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program has been one of the only federal grant programs targeted at revitalizing coal mining communities. It’s now being funded at its highest level to date and is getting a spruce-up from the federal agency that administers it.
On June 9, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing discussing important coal-related legislation, including a bill that would shore up the troubled mine cleanup system and another that would ensure that abandoned mine land funding can be used for long-term acid mine drainage treatment facilities.
CONTACT: Dan Radmacher, (540) 798-6683), dan@appvoices.org Trey Pollard, 202-904-9187, trey@pollardcommunications.com APPALACHIA — More than a dozen community groups from across coal country announced their support of U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb’s RENEW (Revitalize, Enhance, and Nurture in Expanded Ways Our Abandoned…
The system to ensure that surface mines get cleaned up and restored is under intense strain as the coal industry declines, leading to dangerous conditions at many mines and putting taxpayers at risk of having to foot the bill eventually.
As the Blackjewel bankruptcy continues, the responsibility to reclaim mine sites and workers’ compensation for past medical bills are still major issues.
