The Department of the Interior announced that nearly $725 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is available to 22 states and the Navajo Nation to create good-paying jobs and catalyze economic opportunity by reclaiming abandoned mine lands . This is the third allotment from the investment of $11.3 billion in Abandoned mine lands funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will help communities clean up dangerous environmental conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining in alignment with President Biden’s environmental justice agenda.
This includes over $1.6 Million for the Navajo Nation and over $2.3 million for the state of New Mexico.
Communities once powered by the coal industry are now polluted by abandoned mine lands, which leach toxic discharge into lands and waterways, cause land subsidence and structural issues, and fuel underground mine fires. This funding will make an attempt to ensure that coal communities are not left behind, but rather be revitalized by the jobs created for displaced coal workers, economic opportunity, and clean air and water provided by these cleanup projects.
Abandoned mine land 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. Abandoned mine land projects can enable economic revitalization by reclaiming hazardous land for recreational facilities and other redevelopment uses, such as advanced manufacturing and renewable energy deployment. In accordance with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states and Tribes are encouraged to prioritize projects that employ current and former employees of the coal industry.
Secretary Deb Haaland said “Through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are making historic investments to help revitalize local economies and support reclamation jobs that help put people to work in their communities, all while addressing environmental impacts from these legacy developments.”
