Article Summary –
The Department of the Interior has allocated over $244 million to Pennsylvania to help address environmental hazards from abandoned mine lands, with funding sourced from the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. More than 250,000 acres of mine land have been left abandoned in Pennsylvania after approximately 200 years of coal mining, leading to pollution and unstable land. Pennsylvania has the largest number of abandoned mine sites nationwide and, along with it, 16 other states were also awarded grants to tackle this issue.
Biden Administration Helps Pennsylvania Tackle Pollution from Abandoned Mine Lands
The Department of the Interior has assigned over $244 million to Pennsylvania for mitigating environmental threats from deserted mine lands. This grant originates from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022, signed into operation by President Joe Biden.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection states that after roughly 200 years of coal mining, over 250,000 acres of mine land were abandoned, leaving behind pollutants and unstable land prone to sinkholes.
During a site visit with Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland highlighted the importance of President Biden’s investment in addressing environmental hazards affecting coal communities.
Pennsylvania, possessing the most abandoned mine sites nationwide, received over $244 million from the infrastructure law in the 2022 fiscal year. The Interior Department confirmed that 16 other states also received similar grants.
In an Instagram post, Haaland underscored that many infrastructure law-funded projects, like the Bovard project, provide construction jobs most often held by labor union members.
The state contract for the Bovard project was awarded to Canonsburg-based Howard Concrete Pumping. The company aims to stabilize homes by filling voids in deserted mines beneath them with grout to prevent subsidence.
Frank Howard, the company owner, informed TribLive that 10 union tradesmen would be involved in the project at its peak, and a quarter of the company’s workforce is part of a union mentorship program.
The infrastructure law encourages the use of labor unions on federally funded projects and emphasizes the needs of communities historically affected by environmental hazards and climate change.
Despite bipartisan support in Congress, all but one Republican member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, opposed the law. All Democratic delegates supported it. The White House has announced more than $8 billion in law funding for projects in Pennsylvania.
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