PENNSYLVANIA — President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is again delivering for Pennsylvanians—this time in the form of a $3.8 billion investment to reclaim abandoned mines across the commonwealth. This transformative project will mitigate acid mine water runoff, keep waterways clean, and restore and reinvigorate scarred mine land, according to the Times Leader. Along with funds to reclaim unused mines, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $17 billion in the commonwealth for key improvements to roads, bridges, transit and more.
Times Leader: $3.8 billion for Pa. mine reclamation a big win
[…]That’s why it was genuinely good news when U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Moosic), U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Scranton) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland got together to announce an estimated $3.8 billion will be coming to Pennsylvania for reclamation and cleanup projects, courtesy of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
[…]The law set aside $11.3 billion for reclamation across the country. And it looks and sounds like Pennsylvania’s share is fair. “Pennsylvania has more unreclaimed abandoned mine land acreage than any state in the country, the majority right here in Northeastern Pa.,” Cartwright said, according to staff writer Bill O’Boyle’s story.
We don’t know where he got his stats, but driving around the Wyoming Valley or the Hazleton area it sure seems like it’s true.
Mitigating acid mine water runoff is essential to keeping waterways clean. Eliminating culm banks is more than a reduction of eyesores, it’s a way to restore forest and greenery that can help keep our air clean. And restoring scarred mine land to usable tracts can encourage economic growth.
There have been those, over the years, who have argued sincerely that such sites are part of our history and should be preserved. We agree, but not much. Pick one or two big culm banks, and maybe an old stripping pit, and save them as museum pieces, both to remind us of how we despoiled the land for profit and how hard it was to rebound from letting companies profit by trashing the environment without consequences.
But the rest? Let’s reclaim it. The sooner and more thoroughly, the better.
It’s too early to say how much reclamation this money will buy. We doubt it will get us to that “Here’s the lone culm bank museum, kids!” moment. But it’s a healthy boost in the right direction.
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