Feb. 9 (UPI) — The United States Department of the Interior on Thursday announced more than $24.6 million in funds to help create union jobs in Indiana and reclaim abandoned coal mines that pose environmental dangers.
The Interior Department said the funding will enable states to remediate mines found to be leaking methane, noting that millions of people throughout the United States live within “less than a mile” of an abandoned coal mine.
“Reclaiming and restoring these sites will create jobs, revitalize economic activity, and advance outdoor recreation. I am so excited about what we can do with these new resources, today and for future generations,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
The administration said it aims to invest in projects that “close dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve quality by treating acid mine drainage and restore water supplies damaged by mining.”
Nearly $677 million in awards have been announced to provide funding in more than a dozen states so far, the department said.
The funds are being allocated under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Funding for coal mine reclamation under the law is appropriated based on how many tons of coal individual States or American-Indian Nations produced before August 3, 1977, when the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act became law.