With this round of funding, PA has received more than $488 million to clean up abandoned mine lands
One-third of the Nation’s abandoned mine land is in Pennsylvania, affecting 43 of PA’s 67 counties and as many as 1.4 million residents
Pennsylvania is eligible to receive more than $3 billion over the next 15 years from the infrastructure law to clean up abandoned mine land
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) secured $244,786,476 from the U.S. Department of the Interior for abandoned mine land cleanup in Pennsylvania. This second round of funding, from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will create more good-paying jobs in rural and energy communities in Pennsylvania while reclaiming abandoned mine lands and mitigating the health hazards and environmental pollution from legacy mining sites.
“Pennsylvania’s coal industry built and powered our Nation for decades. Now these communities bear the brunt of abandoned mine land pollution, including ravaged landscapes, property damage, and poor health,” said Senator Casey. “Thanks to the infrastructure law, we can continue cleaning up this land, protecting our environment, and delivering a boost to our economy with new, good-paying jobs.”
Senator Casey has been a strong advocate for abandoned mine land cleanup, including passing the STREAM Act to allow states more flexibility to use infrastructure law funding to clean up acid mine drainage (AMD), which pollutes Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams, and other long term impacts of abandoned mine land.
In March 2024, Senator Casey delivered $90 million from the infrastructure law to build solar facilities on former mine lands in Clearfield County. The Mineral Basin solar project is expected to produce enough energy to power 70,000 homes per year. In May 2022, Casey announced $26.6 million from the Department of the Interior’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program. In January 2022, after delivering $244 million in an initial round of funding for abandoned mine cleanup, Casey spoke to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland about the need for additional flexibility during her visit to Swoyersville, PA, and continues to push the Biden Administration to allow states to use their AMD set-aside programs to complete acid mine drainage reclamation. In addition to voting to pass the infrastructure law, in April 2021, Casey introduced legislation to extend abandoned mine land cleanup funding and to provide a boost for coal reclamation projects that provide economic development and growth in communities impacted by the downturn in the coal industry.
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