Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for the opportunity to offer this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, prior to the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, coal mining played an important role in the United States for nearly 2 centuries, providing critical energy and jobs for our Nation.

However, across Pennsylvania and throughout Appalachia, we continue to have great needs in reclaiming our abandoned mine lands and restoring our waters that have been impacted by historical mining activities.

Since 1977, we have made great gains in restoring our historical mine lands, but much more work still needs to be done.

The Federal Office of Surface Mining has estimated that the unfunded liabilities of abandoned mine lands across the Nation exceeds $10 billion, with nearly half of that obligation located in Pennsylvania.

To complement the funding from the AML trust fund, which was established through SMCRA, this legislation contains appropriations for the AML pilot program in order to support additional funding for abandoned mine lands for areas that need assistance most.

This program provides grants to States ``to accelerate the remediation of AML sites with the economic and community development end uses in mind.''

Unfortunately, this legislation provides $32 million less for the pilot program compared to last year's level.
My amendment is simple and would not increase Federal spending. The amendment would restore funding for the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation pilot program to its 2017 level by reallocating funds from the EPA's Environmental Programs and Management by the same amount.

Mr. Chairman, where these funds are coming from is very consistent with the mission of that account that it would to be taken from. But the difference is that by putting this into the AML pilot program with a laser focus, we are focused on environmental concerns that have been identified, and we are funding remediation techniques that are proven.

We have an obligation to clean up our environment and restore our abandoned mine lands and waters, and this program helps us do just that.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman and ranking member, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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