The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced nearly $24.7 million in fiscal year 2024 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands (AML), create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across Indiana.
Indiana also received nearly $300,000 to update its abandoned mine land inventory to support future remediation efforts.
Millions of Americans nationwide live less than a mile from an abandoned coal mine. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided a total of $16 billion to address legacy pollution, including nearly $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years that is facilitated by OSMRE. This historic funding is expected to address nearly all of the currently inventoried abandoned coal mine lands in the nation, which will help communities address and eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by historic coal mining.
The announcement builds on more than $49.3 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda allocated to Indiana for AML reclamation in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Including this announcement, over $529 million in awards for fiscal year 2024 have been awarded. Funding will be awarded to additional eligible states on a rolling basis as they apply.
AML reclamation supports jobs in coal communities by investing in projects that close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining. Awards can also enable economic revitalization by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational facilities and other redevelopment, such as advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment. As directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding will prioritize projects that employ current and former employees of the coal industry.
This funding is a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in communities and workers to support an equitable transition to a sustainable economy and healthier environment after the closure of mines or power plants. This effort also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative which sets a goal to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Additionally, reclaiming abandoned coal mines is a pillar of the Biden-Harris administration’s Methane Action Plan, which includes historic efforts to reduce methane emissions, one of the biggest drivers of climate change, while creating good-paying jobs and promoting American innovation.
Indiana’s AML program is available to public and private landowners experiencing negative impacts on land that was mined and abandoned prior to 1977. Owners of such land in Indiana should email their information directly to the AML program at abandonedminesrestoration@dnr.IN.gov. They can also call 1-800-772-MINE (6463) or the DNR Reclamation office number, 812-665-2207.
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