StateImpact PA: DEP To Receive 36% Less Federal Mine Reclamation Funding This Year

On February 6, Reid Frazier of StateImpact PA reported DEP will receive 36 percent less federal mine reclamation funding this year-- $32 million-- compared to last year-- $55 million-- to cleanup Pennsylvania’s abandoned mines.

He said the drop in funding to the state was caused by the end of a $25 million pilot funding program to turn abandoned mine lands into economically valuable properties and the revenue being brought in by the per ton fee on coal to support the program  is declining due to decreased coal production.

Eric Cavazza, Director of DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, said the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program is the only major source of funding Pennsylvania has to address $3.9 billion in high-priority abandoned mine problems. Click Here for more.

Fee Set To Expire

In addition to declining revenues, the per ton fee financing the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program is set to expire all together in 2021 and efforts have been underway over the last several years to get the fee reauthorized in the face of coal industry opposition.

Bipartisan legislation has been moving in the U.S. House to reauthorize the fee, but there has been no action in the U.S. Senate.  Click Here for more.

Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 191 (Yudichak-D-Luzerne) urging Congress to reauthorize the abandoned mine fee was passed on October 28 and has been sitting in the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee ever since, in spite of the obvious importance of the fee revenue to address Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine reclamation problem..

A companion resolution-- House Resolution 439 (Frankel-D-Allegheny)-- has also been sitting in the House Environmental Committee with no action.

For more information, visit the PA Abandoned Mine Land Campaign and the Our Work’s Not Done websites.

(Photo: Orange water is mine drainage.)

NewsClip:

Reid Frazier: Feds Reducing PA Mine Reclamation Funding By $20M To $32 Million This Year

Related Stories - Mine Reclamation:

Bipartisan Call For Continued Federal Funding For Abandoned Mine Clean-Up By Cong. Cartwright, Meuser, State, Local Officials

Trout Unlimited: Federal Bill To Fund Abandoned Mine Cleanup Moving Forward

U.S. House Subcommittee Hears About Urgent Need For Reauthorization Of Federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee/Program

Op-Ed: Let's Get Reauthorization Of The Federal Abandoned Mine Land Fund Done, Get PA's Congressional Delegation On Board

PA Abandoned Mine Land Campaign Urges Action To Extend Expiring Federal Mine Reclamation Fee

DEP: Federal Fee Due To Expire In 2021 That Is The Only Source Of Funds To Address $3.9 Billion In High-Priority AML Problems

PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference June 24-25 In State College

Related Stories - State Budget:

Gov. Wolf’s Budget Proposal Repairs Damage To Environmental Funding Done Last Year; Proposes Additional Funding For FY 2020-21

Budget Background: Where Did The $2.93 Billion In Environmental Funding The General Assembly Diverted Or Cut Go?

Growing Greener Coalition: Tremendous Backlog Of Environmental Infrastructure Needs Demand Much Higher Levels Of Investment By State

Analysis: 2020 Is A Make Or Break Year For Environmental Funding -- It’s Our Turn Now!

[Posted: February 7, 2020]  PA Environment Digest