Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Congressman Darin LaHood's (IL-16) bill, H.R. 6233, the Community Reclamation Partnerships Act. H.R. 6233 would expand protections under existing law to third-party groups who participate in the cleaning and re-purposing of inactive coal mines, abandoned before modern regulations.
Throughout the United States, there is over $12 billion worth of abandoned mine sites with no responsible party. The outstanding abandoned mine land (AML) liabilities, or the estimated cost of the earth work needed to complete the reclamation of all remaining AML sites, in Illinois is currently $163 million.
"Mining is an important part of our economy, but unused or abandoned mines present safety risks and leave opportunities for economic and land development on the table," said Rep. LaHood. "The Community Reclamation Partnerships Act will enable partnerships between states and nongovernmental entities to reclaim and restore land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining activities. I am proud this legislation passed the House unanimously, and urge the Senate to pass it swiftly."
“H.R. 6233 enables non-governmental organizations to remediate abandoned mine lands across the country while also easing the burden on the taxpayers. Representative LaHood has championed this bipartisan, commonsense bill through the committee, and I thank him for his efforts to pass it through the House," said House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman.
Background:
Currently, states are responsible for these rehabilitation projects and receive funding from the AML Fund, supported by fees paid by coal operators. Given the project backlog and need in communities across the country, non-government organization have been encouraged and interested in contributing their time and resources to the effort, but are often deterred due to potential liability. To address this issue, under this bill, these entities would be recognized as “Community Reclaimers” and states would assume responsibility for all Community Reclaimer projects, just as they currently do for approved AML contractors. The legislation also sets up a process for recognizing agreements between states and federal agencies establishing approved practices at abandoned mine sites for Community Reclaimer projects.
###
