Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood this week reintroduced legislation that would make it easier for states, the private sector and nonprofit groups to collaboratively clean up abandoned, polluting coal mines plaguing the West and Appalachia.
H.R. 167 mirrors legislation that LaHood introduced last year, dubbed the “Community Reclamation Partnerships Act,” which the House passed in April after it moved through the Natural Resources Committee.
The bill would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, or SMCRA, to provide nongovernmental entities — like Trout Unlimited — with legal protection as they partner with states to clean up abandoned mines.
Under SMCRA, miners have paid reclamation fees since 1977, money that feeds into the federal government’s Abandoned Mine Lands fund to clean up abandoned coal mines.
