Tell your senator that you want to see $10 billion for the Abandoned Mine Land Fund

The American Jobs Plan proposes $10 billion of federal funding for the Abandoned Mine Land Fund to address coal mine land clean-up and to support job creation and economic transition in coal communities across the country.

Repairing abandoned mine lands is an investment in the country’s infrastructure because these sites cause drainage issues, landslides, subsidence, and other issues that affect roads, water lines, housing, and other built infrastructure.

There are many reasons why this funding should be allocated to the Abandoned Mine Land Fund:

• A recent analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute found that the cost to clean up all abandoned coal mine sites is closer to $26 billion. The longer we delay cleaning up these sites, the more expensive they will become.
• A 2020 Political Economy Research Institute analysis found that for each $1 million in spending on AML clean-up, 13.1 jobs are created. A ten year investment of $10 billion would create 131,000 jobs.
• Cleanup of abandoned mines has positive environmental impacts both locally and globally. AML sites damage wildlife habitat and pollute waterways, but also produce greenhouse gas emissions and are the 11th largest source of methane emissions in the U.S.
• In coal communities, AML sites contaminate drinking water and are hazardous to those that live nearby. In just the last year, approximately 20 landslides have been documented in Kentucky as a result of AMLs, damaging property, homes, and endangering human life.

Write to your U.S. Senator today to ensure an investment of $10 billion for the AML Fund to use in the most impacted coal communities across the nation.