Reclamation of abandoned mine lands (AML) in conjunction with economic development and communityrevitalization purposes

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been awarded a $29,347,334 Formula Grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) under the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation program (CFDA 15.252). The grant will fund activities to reclaim abandoned coal mine sites in Pennsylvania, including abating AML emergencies, treating abandoned mine drainage, and providing potable water to communities impacted by pre-law mining. The primary objectives are to protect public health, safety, and property, enhance the environment through reclamation and restoration, and promote economic development and community revitalization in coal mining regions. The grant will be implemented over a 3-year period from November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2026, in accordance with Pennsylvania's approved AML reclamation plan. The funding will help eliminate documented health and safety hazards, improve land use and aesthetics, and support opportunities for outdoor recreation, reforestation, farming, and commercial/industrial development on reclaimed sites.

Activities

The primary objective is to protect public health, safety, and property from past coal mining withsecondary objectives to enhance the environment through reclamation and restoration of land and waterresources and promote economic development and community revitalization in conjunction with thereclamation. Funds received will be used to abate AML emergencies, hazardous AML features, treatabandoned mine drainage (AMD), and provide potable water to communities impacted by pre-lawmining. Unfunded, high priority AML features inventoried in the federal database validates the need foraml economic revitalization program funding.expected deliverables or outcomes:overall improvement to the quality of life for citizens living in coalfield communities is the result ofabatement of AML emergencies, AML priority 1, priority 2, and priority 3 features and operation andmaintenance of AMD treatment facilities, as well as providing potable water to communities withdegraded drinking water supplies due to pre-law mining. The primary long-term benefit of amlreclamation activities in general is the permanent elimination of documented human health and safetyhazards, which resulted from the past mining of coal. Long-term benefits include improvements inaesthetics, topography, hydrology, and land use. Projects will specifically target the benefits to the localcommunity and economic development which may result from the AML restored areas that can be putinto productive uses for outdoor recreation, reforestation carbon sequestration, farming or livestock, orcan be developed for commercial or industrial purposes. Environmental restoration and AMD treatmentimprove property values and quality of life which in turn improve population and job retention, hunting, fishing, tourism, and many other opportunities to improve the local economy. The continued operationand maintenance of existing AMD treatment systems is performed to preserve the environmental andeconomic benefits associated with restored streams and rivers. The work proposed will be performed in accordance with pennsylvanias abandoned mine reclamationplan, as amended, and in accordance with the provisions of P.L. 95-87, as amended, the title ivregulations and the federal assistance manual.subrecipient activities (if known or specified at the time of the award):subrecipient details will be forwarded to osmre as needed.