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ST. LOUIS – Thousands of abandoned coal mines across the United States have polluted rivers and streams for decades, in some cases harming fish and contaminating drinking water. Now, efforts to finally clean up the sites may soon be greatly boosted.
The infrastructure bill passed by the Senate contains $ 11.3 billion for cleaning up old coal mines to be spread over 15 years. royalties from mining companies, but this money is far below what is needed to solve the problems.
“The next 15 years – if that passes – is literally a historic breakthrough in mine reclamation,” said Eric Dixon, researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute.
In the past 40 years, only about a quarter of the damage has been cleaned up, he said.
Abandoned coal mines are concentrated along the Appalachians, with clusters also dotting the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains. Sites can clog rivers with debris or pollute streams with harmful discharges from minerals exposed by mining, reducing fish populations and making the water brick red. Safety is another issue, as people can tip over in mine shafts and debris can fall from high mine walls.
Royalties from companies to clean up sites are collected under the Mining and Surface Reclamation Act of 1977, which was intended to address the history of unregulated coal production that has left mines abandoned all over the country. Companies are now regulated so that sites are cleaned up after mining has stopped.
Among the states that need significant funding for mine cleanup include Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, according to the Home Office.
Pennsylvania – the nation’s most in need of funding – has 5,500 miles of waterways whose water quality is impaired due to runoff from abandoned mines, state officials say.
The problem has persisted for so long that some Pennsylvania residents are surprised when the red streams in their backyards are finally cleaned up and change color, said John Stefanko of the Pennsylvania Office of Active and Abandoned Mining Operations.
“These are streams that you wouldn’t want to cross,” he said, noting that sediment from mine runoff can spill onto people.
Another concern is property damage. In 2019, for example, a collapsed tunnel entrance prevented water from escaping from an abandoned mine in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. State officials feared a rupture and downpour would threaten homes downstream. Workers were able to repair the blocked tunnel.
The federal program that funds cleanups prioritizes sites, and those that pose a threat to human safety are placed at the top of the list. Priority rankings may also increase if drinking water is affected. A site may have a lower priority if it only represents an environmental threat.
The infrastructure bill directs sanitation funds to several priority groups.
Elizabeth Klein, senior advisor to the Home Secretary, said clean water is essential to the economic growth that many Appalachian communities pursue.
“It’s really hard to convince people to stay in a community where they think they won’t have access to clean water,” she said.
Some environmentalists want the wording of the bill changed to ensure that money will also be available for maintenance costs that are sometimes required for clean-up projects that deal with water quality.
A single abandoned mine site can pose multiple problems; US officials estimate that $ 10.6 billion in construction costs would be needed to solve the more than 20,000 problems nationwide. Dixon of the Ohio River Valley Institute puts the price at nearly $ 21 billion including inflation, project planning costs, and other expenses.
Dixon also noted that the federal inventory is incomplete because states do not have to document all abandoned sites that do not pose a risk to human health or safety, even if they are harmful to the environment. .
The fate of the infrastructure bill is tied to congressional negotiations on a $ 3.5 trillion spending plan. Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., praised the impact the funds could have on mine cleanup, but questioned the size of the spending plan, complicating negotiations on the package.
The bill would also extend the fees that coal companies pay to the fund until 2034, but at a reduced rate.
Rebecca Shelton, director of policy and organization at the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, said coal company executives “never paid enough” to fix problems and their fees alone were not enough to fix the sites.
Ashley Burke of the National Mining Association said higher fees would hurt coal companies and make them less competitive, but the industry supports extending a reduced tariff.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment
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