Abandoned Mine Lands

AML Fund Reauthorized!

Read news articles and reactions to this historic event here including an interview with J. Dawes, administrator of the Western PA Watershed Program.

A mine fire blazes. (Photo Credit: tennessee.gov) Unregulated coal mining scarred the landscape of Appalachian Coal Country--leaving behind dangerous high walls, devestating landslides, mine fires, refuse piles, and toxics-laden mine drainage that seeps into our streams and rivers. State and Federal Agencies, along with hundreds of dedicated grassroots watershed groups, are working together to address abandoned mine lands issues. Acid Mine Drainage devastates streams. (Photo Credit: WPCAMR) Are there policies and legislation that affect the reclaiming of abandoned mine lands? You bet. And this site is dedicated to keeping you informed and updated about changes in legislation that have an impact on your watershed clean-up work. Let us know if there are other tools or resources that your watershed group needs in order to understand or use abandoned mine lands legislation.

Now What??? How will this impact watershed associations? Highlights of Abandoned Mine Lands funding. What is included in the SMCRA Amendments Act of 2006? What is at stake? How do these changes relate to water quality? Also check out this chart comparing the 1977 SMCRA and the 2006 ammendments. Confused? Check out these Frequently Asked Questions prepared by the Western Penn- sylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation. MAP created by the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining (OSM) demonstrating the overlap between abandoned mine land sites and economically distressed counties.   What you can do to advance watershed restoration in Coal Country.

Resources

The Roundtable's AMl Toolkit is a visual, easy-to-read tool to help you understand and explain the Surface Mining Control Act (SMCRA) and the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.

Creek Clips, Coal Country's e-newsletter, keeps you updated on upcoming legislation and possible implications. Subscribe today!

Abandoned Mine Posts provides articles and notices about abandoned mine drainage and abandoned mine reclamation. This free e-mail subscription service is provided by the Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation. Subscribe today!

The AML Campaign discusses thoughts on future funding here.

The AMR Clearinghouse http://amrclearinghouse.org/

Ohio DNR Mineral Resource Management's AML Reauthorization Update page http://www.ohiodnr.com/mineral/abandoned/reauthorization.htm

The design and implementation of this website has been made possible through assistance provided by the the Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (WPCAMR).              (c) 2005, ECRR - Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable