State environmental regulators are expressing strong concern about reports that the congressional supercommittee is considering changes to abandoned mine cleanup funding to achieve deficit reduction.

The secretive panel may be mulling over a White House proposal to cut the reclamation fund and rework the abandoned mine lands (AML) program to focus on high-priority coal sites through competitive grants. Often at odds over other oversight matters, state regulators and environmental advocates are united in hoping to stop the plan.

"The coal AML proposal would have significant, deleterious impacts on current efforts by state and tribal programs for the ongoing cleanup of abandoned mine lands and as such we strongly oppose it," said an Oct. 24 letter from the Interstate Mining Compact Commission to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

The IMCC is a union of states and tribes that advocates on natural resource issues. The National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs also signed the letter.

Critics worry about states losing flexibility over how to handle the money, something they say would impact their ability to tackle acid mine drainage cleanups and address other environmental impacts. They say money for mine reclamation is too low to endure more cuts.

"While we understand that two of your primary goals are to eliminate wasteful spending and realize savings to the federal Treasury," the letter said, "this proposal would do so at the expense of existing state and tribal programs that effectively and efficiently protect the public and clean up the environment."

The letter also opposes the president's proposal to eliminate payments to "certified" states that have finished cleaning up their abandoned coal mines. Several Democrats, led by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), echoed the idea in their own letter to the supercommittee.

"Because these states have completed all needed remediation," the Markey letter said, "ending these payments would have no impact on remaining remediation projects elsewhere."

While the AML money is for coal mine cleanups, many states prefer the flexibility of using some of the funds to reclaim abandoned hardrock mines. And lawmakers from certified states like Montana say it would be unfair for the state's coal industry to pay a reclamation fee without the state getting any of it back.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has spoken out against the proposal in the past and may do so again as a member of the supercommittee.

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, another supercommittee member, may also not be keen on changes to the mine reclamation system. His state is a top recipient of abandoned mine land funds. In an interview last night, Toomey would not reveal the panel's deliberations.

The National Mining Association says coal companies have paid more than $10 billion into the AML pot. The industry group says companies should not stay on the hook for the fees once the reclamation of priority sites is complete.

Markey and Obama are also proposing a new reclamation fee on the hardrock industry to clean up non-coal abandoned mines. They also want producers of materials like uranium and gold to pay a first-ever royalty for resources extracted from public lands.

The Interstate Mining Compact Commission has not taken a stand on that proposal. NMA spokeswoman Carol Raulston said it would "hurt the competitiveness of U.S. mines in the world marketplace and undercut our ability to generate good mining jobs."