WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVNS) – U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) as well as Representative David McKinley (R-WV) announced West Virginia will receive $140,751,000 in Fiscal Year 2022 for the purpose of reclaiming abandoned mine lands.
This historic amount of funding was only made possible by the recently enacted bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided nearly $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years in annual allotments to eligible States and Tribes.
In West Virginia, this funding will be used by the State’s Department of Environmental Protection in projects to close dangerous mineshafts, reclaim unstable ground, improve water quality, restore damaged water supplies, and above all else, provide local jobs for previous coal workers themselves.
The goal of using the funding received is to help ensure the health and safety of West Virginia’s coal communities while driving economic growth and creating good-paying jobs.
“For generations, West Virginians and coal communities around the country have done the heavy lifting that made us the world leader we are today. These communities still bear the scars of those sacrifices. Today’s announcement follows last week’s news that West Virginia was receiving nearly $142 million dollars to clean up abandoned wells – both of which are truly historic investments, not only in West Virginia but in communities across the country. As Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I fought to extend the AML fee and include substantial funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure our hardworking coal communities are able to rebuild and thrive once again and West Virginians are given new economic opportunities. I thank Secretary Haaland for her commitment to implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and I look forward to seeing West Virginia move quickly to put these funds to work. As always, I will continue to work with the Administration, as well as my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to fight for programs that invest in West Virginia,” – U.S. SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV), CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
“Reclaiming our abandoned mine lands will continue to have positive impacts in West Virginia, leading to improvements in our water quality, revitalized landscapes, and further economic development and job creation. Restoring forests, while simultaneously improving the ecosystems of our wildlife, are important steps to keeping West Virginia wild and wonderful for years to come. I’m glad to see West Virginia continuing to see benefits from the bipartisan infrastructure law I helped negotiate and craft, and I look forward to the difference this investment will make in our communities,”— U.S. SENATOR SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV)
“With more than 30% of West Virginians living within a mile of abandoned mine land sites, today’s announcement that we will begin receiving funds dedicated to reclaiming mine land sites is essential to restoring the economic viability of these communities. We expect to see more than $700 million over the next five years, a direct benefit of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which will address concerns like acid mine drainage and water supplies damaged by mining, resulting in more jobs and economic opportunity across West Virginia.” – REPRESENTATIVE DAVID MCKINLEY (R-WV)
The funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act announced today is more than seven times the amount West Virginia received in 2021 through the traditional AML program and over three times more funding than the traditional AML grants and AML Economic Revitalization Grants (AMLER) Program funding from last year combined. In addition to creating good-paying jobs, these investments can create safer and more inhabitable communities and drive new economic opportunities to West Virginia.