Communities across Central Appalachia welcome a bill introduced today by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.. The bill includes specific requirements for how quickly coal mine reclamation must be completed following coal removal.
Blog Archives
Community groups praise Beyer bill to ensure timely coal mine cleanup
TAGS: Appalachian Citizens Law Center Kiva Institute mine reclamation ReImagine Appalachia Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Rep. Don Beyer. zombie mines zombie mines
Community advocates welcome Cartwright’s new legislation to fight zombie mine crisis
Community advocates from across Pennsylvania and Appalachia celebrated the introduction of two bills by Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Penn., that would take crucial action to address some of the root causes of the “zombie mine” crisis — the increasing number of non-producing modern-era mines that have not been cleaned up by the coal companies responsible for operating them.
TAGS: Appalachian Citizens Law Center mine reclamation Mountain Watershed Association Pennfuture Rep. Matt Cartwright Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act The Citizens Coal Council zombie mines
No time to waste averting another coal mine cleanup crisis
Regulators are ignoring a growing crisis unfolding in modern mine reclamation. Coal companies are often failing to complete timely reclamation, and safeguards to ensure mine cleanup are failing. Communities are already seeing a new, more devastating wave of abandoned mines — a problem that will get worse without action.
TAGS: abandoned mine lands coal bankruptcy mine reclamation mountaintop removal coal mining Sierra Club Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement zombie mines
Mine Cleanup Concerns Grow As Industry Declines
The decline of the coal industry is exacerbating failures of the current federal system to ensure that mines are cleaned up.
TAGS: coal bankruptcy coal decline coal slurry impoundment mine cleanup mine reclamation Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
How a proposed rule can help communities hold coal companies accountable
The federal surface mining agency has proposed a new rule that, if finalized, will restore community members’ ability to ensure coal companies follow the law.
TAGS: 10-day notice inspection Citizen's Coal Council Hobet Mine Complex mine reclamation Red River Coal Company Sierra Club Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Tennessee enacts law halting efforts to take over surface mine regulation from federal government
On May 11, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee enacted a significant law that temporarily halts the state’s pursuit of primacy. Primacy refers to a state’s right to petition the federal government to become the primary authority in issuing surface mine permits and implementing associated regulations.
Mining agency encourages more, better stakeholder engagement for coal-impacted communities
For years, the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program has been one of the only federal grant programs targeted at revitalizing coal mining communities. It’s now being funded at its highest level to date and is getting a spruce-up from the federal agency that administers it.
TAGS: abandoned mine lands economic revitalization program Downstream Strategies economic development Justice40 Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition rural action Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
House committee to hold hearing on important coal-related bills
On June 9, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing discussing important coal-related legislation, including a bill that would shore up the troubled mine cleanup system and another that would ensure that abandoned mine land funding can be used for long-term acid mine drainage treatment facilities.
TAGS: Acid Mine Drainage Coal mine reclamation Natural Resources Committee Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
Community advocates welcome RENEW Act to address modern-era coal mine reclamation crisis
CONTACT: Dan Radmacher, (540) 798-6683), dan@appvoices.org Trey Pollard, 202-904-9187, trey@pollardcommunications.com APPALACHIA — More than a dozen community groups from across coal country announced their support of U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb’s RENEW (Revitalize, Enhance, and Nurture in Expanded Ways Our Abandoned…
TAGS: mine reclamation modern mines RENEW Act Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Current mine clean-up laws aren’t meeting the challenge of the situation
The system to ensure that surface mines get cleaned up and restored is under intense strain as the coal industry declines, leading to dangerous conditions at many mines and putting taxpayers at risk of having to foot the bill eventually.
TAGS: Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
