OSMRE to reclaim abandoned coal mines

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - More than $126.5 million in Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fee-based grants were made available to states and tribes for AML reclamation efforts that continue to protect the health and safety of Americans and restore the environment, according to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s announcement for the fiscal year 2023.

“OSMRE is proud to announce today the availability of the 2023 AML fee-based grants,” said OSMRE Deputy Director Glenda Owens. “These grants will continue to ensure our state and Tribal partners have the resources needed to continue their decades of successful reclamation work on our nation’s abandoned mine land sites.”

OSMRE, through its AML Reclamation Program, addresses the hazards and environmental degradation posed by legacy coal mine sites. AML fee-based grants are funded in part by a fee collected on all coal produced in the United States to help eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining.

Under the AML Fee-based Reclamation Program, OSMRE has granted approximately $8 billion to states and tribes to address the physical hazards posed by mined and abandoned or inadequately restored lands and waters prior to 1977.

Wyoming received $25,900,397, and North Dakota received $2,829,000.