FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2026
CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (276) 289-1018, dan@appvoices.org
COAL COUNTRY — Advocates from across coal communities celebrated the introduction of three bills today to address the root causes of the “zombie mine” crisis — the increasing number of non-producing, unreclaimed modern-era coal mines. Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Penn., and Summer Lee, D-Penn., have introduced two bills that take aim at current deficiencies and loopholes in the law governing bonding for mine cleanup. New legislation introduced by Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., sets more specific reclamation timelines and water monitoring requirements, ensuring that mines are cleaned up and water near a mine is protected.
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 was supposed to ensure that reclamation occurs “as contemporaneously as practicable” alongside mining and required coal companies to set aside funding so that regulators could pay for reclamation if the companies were not able to complete the process themselves. However, SMCRA does not include measurable standards for contemporaneous reclamation, making enforcement difficult. The law is also riddled with loopholes that have allowed many mine operators to avoid responsibility for cleaning up their mines, leaving surrounding communities with ongoing health and safety concerns.
The CLEAN UP Mines Act (Beyer) sets specific time limits for completing reclamation, limits when and for how long a mine can be idle and shifts bond release procedures to incentivize coal companies to complete more reclamation. The proposed time limits respond to the findings of a report released by Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center last year that demonstrated that mine lands in Kentucky were lingering for years in various phases of reclamation long after coal production had ceased. The bill would also improve oversight of stream health and stormwater management during mining and reclamation.
The Coal Clean Up Taxpayer Protection Act (Lee) eliminates the practice of self-bonding — a policy permitted by some states that allows mine operators to merely promise to pay for cleanup rather than put down any money or other collateral to secure bond funding. Self-bonded mines are particularly vulnerable to becoming zombie mines because regulators have little recourse for recovering funding from a bankrupt coal company. The bill also strengthens other forms of bonding to ensure that state bonding programs can actually cover the cost of reclamation.
The Bond Improvement and Reclamation Assurance Act (Deluzio) further tackles bond adequacy issues by requiring full-cost bonding. While SMCRA requires coal companies to post bonds that would give regulatory agencies the money to reclaim mines as needed, in practice, many state bonding programs are insufficiently funded and bond amounts are set too low. This legislation would require bond amounts sufficient to cover actual cleanup costs for each individual mine.
In 2024, over 50 organizations came together to develop and endorse a federal policy platform to address the growing “zombie mine” crisis; these three bills make great strides to advance this work. As the Trump administration renews efforts to prop up the coal industry, it is more important than ever to ensure that communities and landowners are not saddled with more idled and abandoned mines.
What people are saying about the bills:
“Unproductive and unreclaimed mines are eyesores and hazards in coal-producing communities. At best, these sites often sit for years in this status. Worse, coal operators abandon these sites, and it is subsequently discovered that there is insufficient bond funding to clean up the mine. The CLEAN UP Mines Act will help to ensure that mine sites are reclaimed expeditiously and completely. These reforms are long overdue.” — Rebecca Shelton, Director of Policy, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
“Congress acted in 1977 to eliminate the scourge of abandoned mines from coal communities. Now, nearly 50 years later, Congress needs to respond to the coal industry’s pattern of avoiding its reclamation responsibilities. Introducing these three bills is an important step to protect the health, safety and economies of coal communities across the country as the Trump administration attempts to artificially increase demand for coal.” — Kevin Zedack, Government Affairs Specialist, Appalachian Voices
“Mine reclamation is not just about paperwork or technical policy that will affect isolated projects. Closing regulatory gaps and strengthening reclamation requirements helps us begin to build a stronger foundation for economic development in communities that have long been left behind. Reclamation creates jobs, restores land and water, and opens the door to a future not defined solely by extractive economies.” — Heaven Sensky, Organizing Director, Center for Coalfield Justice
“Ending self-bonding and strengthening alternative bonding requirements brings long-overdue consistency and accountability to mine cleanup while reducing financial risk for states.” — Aimee Erickson, Executive Director, Citizens’ Coal Council
“Appalachian communities have powered this country for generations, often at a steep cost to their land and health.‘They deserve land that is safe, clean and cared for. These bills make sure companies can’t walk away from that pollution and leave workers and families holding the bill. Real bonding means real cleanup work, real jobs and real accountability.” — Nickolas Bartel, Clean Air Campaign Manager, PennFuture
“Across the nation’s coal communities, zombie mines threaten water, public safety and local economies, and we must act now to ensure taxpayers aren’t left holding the bag. Illinois has seen closed and idled mines, some with massive coal waste impoundments, where reclamation has been slow or even stalled completely. These bills mark an important first step toward closing some of the loopholes that have allowed companies to avoid cleaning up the land they profited from, but addressing the full scope of the problem will require additional steps.” Amanda Pankau, Director of Energy and Community Resiliency, Prairie Rivers Network
“The work of reclaiming mines in Appalachia not only creates jobs, it creates new opportunities through economic development and allows the land to be put back into productive use for local communities. From a dangerous eyesore that increases risks around flooding, we can create new energy through solar, ecotourism opportunities, commercial and residential construction, and more.” — Dana Kuhnline, Program Director, ReImagine Appalachia
