The Department of the Interior announced Feb. 7 that the Biden administration is making nearly $725 million in fiscal year 22 funding available to 22 states and the Navajo Nation to create jobs and reclaim abandoned mines.
The funding, which is made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will revitalize communities, Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, said in a news release.
"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to helping working families, often in rural and Tribal communities, who face hazardous pollution, toxic water levels, and land subsidence both during mining and long after coal companies have moved on," Haaland said. "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's historic investments will help revitalize these local economies and support reclamation jobs that help put people to work in their communities, all while addressing environmental impacts from these legacy developments."
The BIL allocates more than $11 billion for abandoned mine reclamation over 15 years, the release stated.
Haaland thanked Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and members of Congress for their leadership in funding the transformational program, according to the release.
The funding follows an investment in March 2021 of more than $150 million to reclaim abandoned mines, the release stated.
