Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the Department of Interior will provide Kentucky with $8,889,292 to reclaim abandoned mines through the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program. This funding comes in addition to the $74,253,000 Senator McConnell announced last month that Kentucky will receive for abandoned mine land reclamation through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which the Senator supported.
The funding for today’s announcement comes from a fee collection program run by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Senator McConnell supported, extended the OSMRE’s AML fee collection authority through 2034 and reduced fee rates by twenty percent, ensuring funding for the program through 2035 while reducing the fee burden on Kentucky businesses.
Senator McConnell and Representative Hal Rogers (KY-05) worked to create an AML pilot program – the AML Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grant program – in 2015 to develop projects on land previously used to mine coal. Senator McConnell and Representative Rogers have helped secure $140 million through the AMLER program for Kentucky projects. The Commonwealth ranks among the highest of all states for abandoned mine land reclamation needs.
The AML program provides funding to states to reclaim unproductive mine lands, close up abandoned mine shafts, repair unstable slopes, improve local water quality, and create new economic opportunities in areas formerly used for mining. In turn, these activities create Kentucky jobs and provide new destinations for recreation, infrastructure, and economic development.
“Working closely with my good friend Representative Hal Rogers, I have supported abandoned mine land reclamation programs for years to close up Kentucky’s unused mines and create new areas for economic development in the Commonwealth’s mining communities,” said Senator McConnell. “I’m proud that, through last year’s landmark bipartisan infrastructure deal, this program was reauthorized through 2035 while simultaneously reducing fees on Kentucky businesses. The Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program is the culmination of years of collaboration between Kentucky’s federal, state, and local leaders, and I look forward to watching the Commonwealth move quickly to take advantage of the new resources at its disposal.”
“The Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program offers vital opportunities for funding to projects in southern and eastern Kentucky. Thus far, this program has led to the creation of hundreds of jobs and invested millions of dollars in the region. I greatly appreciate Senator McConnell’s and Representative Rogers’s successful efforts to increase funding for AML and look forward to the impact this investment will have in our region,” said Martin County Judge-Executive Colby Kirk.
The AML program has already provided funding throughout Kentucky to establish new projects on abandoned mine lands. Bell County took advantage of an AMLER grant to build a new Appalachian wildlife viewing area, the City of Pikeville used one to construct a new children’s hospital, the City of Albany received AML funds to overhaul its water system, and Johnson County utilized the program to fund an educational and manufacturing skills training program, among others.
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