From Appalachian Voices (http://www.appvoices.org/):
Responding to the dire need for economic support caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, federal lawmakers have taken the first step to clean up and reuse old coal sites across the nation. On July 1, the House of Representatives passed the RECLAIM Act and Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Fee Reauthorization as a part of the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2). But don’t celebrate just yet — we still need to get the two proposals through the Senate!
Help support increased funding for hazardous land clean-up, job creation and economic development in the coalfields by telling your senators to support the RECLAIM Act and AML Reauthorization now!
The RECLAIM Act would provide $1 billion to clean up abandoned mine lands affecting the health and safety of communities across the country. With the support of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, not only will the RECLAIM Act improve the land, it will immediately jump-start job creation and create long-term, locally driven economic development opportunities in Appalachia and other struggling coal-impacted communities across the country.
AML Reauthorization is needed to continue the per-ton fee charged on current coal production to fund the remediation of the environmental and health hazards posed by coal mines abandoned prior to 1977. According to the Office of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation, there is more than $9.7 billion in remaining abandoned mine costs, and only $2.3 billion left in the AML fund.
Senators must pass both of these proposals to bring critical economic benefits to coal communities across the U.S. Take action now at https://appvoices.org/reclaim-and-aml/.
Leave a Reply