Cleaning up abandoned mines can help environment, create jobs in Appalachia
Thousands of miles of streams across the country are running orange, contaminated by highly acidic water draining from abandoned coal mines. Rather than supporting local economies, these abandoned sites and their pollution render water supplies and more than 850,000 acres of land unusable, while posing a risk of flooding and mudslides that could devastate entire towns.
All told, abandoned mine lands are an American infrastructure crisis. But, like many infrastructure problems, we can turn these liabilities into job-creating opportunities with investment at the scale of the problem.
President Biden’s recently released infrastructure investment package — the American Jobs Plan — recognizes that by proposing billions to clean up abandoned mines across the country. Those same goals are reflected in bipartisan bills like the RECLAIM Act and HR1734 to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Fund at its current rate, the resource that has supported much of the clean up that has happened since the AML Fund was created in 1977.
The federal government estimates there are $11 billion worth of abandoned mine land liabilities across the country. But, as the people who live and work near these sites know, this problem is much greater than initial estimates indicate. That was clear throughout my time as the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the federal agency charged with managing the inventory and working with the states and tribes to clean up all abandoned coal mines nationwide. Our changing climate is making things worse. This problem will only get more expensive over time if we do not act.
That is confirmed by new analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI). By accounting for inflation and the true cost of restoration, experts there found that, at minimum, the cost to clean up AML sites is approximately $21 billion — nearly double current estimates. Increased precipitation — driven by climate change — on deforested strip mine sites will lead to increased flooding, erosion, and restoration costs. Combined with the potential of finding more sites, that could add at least $5.4 billion more in costs over the next 30 years. Analysis has shown that even moderate investments could create 13,000 jobs with skill sets that match those of the coal industry.
The ever-increasing price tag is one reason for the urgency. A second is that the benefits of acting now will help communities that need support now more than ever. Investments in cleaning up abandoned mine lands creates jobs and economic growth for people and places struggling with long-term poverty and the decline of the coal industry that COVID-19 only made worse.
One image that sticks in my mind is from an OSMRE visit I made to a hollow in West Virginia that contained open abandoned underground mines. Toxic mine drainage, heavily contaminated with aluminum, flowed from one opening. The head of the hollow was buried with a huge pile of coal waste leaking acidic water. A short walk down the narrow road, children played. The polluted stream flowed through their yard. The open underground mines, the toxic polluted water, and the eroding waste coal were clear dangers for these families.
It is hard to deny that people in these communities face an extreme disadvantage, living and growing in the shadow of pollution and unusable land. But, healing the scars of the past can help create a better future. Coalitions like ReImagine Appalachia have come together to create a vision for how these sites can be transformed, with good jobs for our region’s highly skilled workers.
Nobody goes orange water rafting — they go white water rafting. You can’t swim or fish in a polluted stream, and you don’t want to start a business or raise a family next to one. Investing in mine reclamation and mine drainage treatment is a key first step to restore the ultimate infrastructure, productive land and clean water, to build the bright future Appalachia deserves.
Joseph Pizarchik is the former Director of the Offices of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Prior to that, he was the director of the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Mr. Pizarchik directly oversaw the Abandoned Mine Lands program under the Obama administration and has seen first hand the urgency of these issues.