Congress Addresses Water Pollution in Mining Communities Through STREAM Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, in a victory for coal mining communities and clean water advocates across the country, Congress passed the Safeguarding Treatment for the Restoration of Ecosystems from Abandoned Mines (STREAM) Act as part of the fiscal 2023 omnibus spending bill, ensuring communities can use billions of dollars in new money for abandoned coal mine cleanup to address the ongoing acid mine drainage crisis, as well as mine fires and subsidence issues.

Acid mine drainage is one of the most visible and costly impacts of coal mining, turning Appalachian waterways rust orange with dangerous pollution and threatening the health of people and wildlife. Remediation of this pollution requires long-term treatment facilities, and in turn, long-term funding. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included an unprecedented and transformative $11.3 billion for cleaning up abandoned coal mines, but did not allow states and tribes to set money aside for long-term acid mine drainage treatment facilities.

Through the passage of the STREAM Act, communities can use IIJA funding to address water pollution from acid mine drainage, reclaim and restore abandoned mining sites, and invest in the outdoor recreation economy, all while creating new jobs in areas transitioning away from fossil-fuel based economies.

“The STREAM Act is a commonsense and much-needed law that will allow states and tribes to create and sustain long-term solutions to the long-term problem of acid mine drainage,” Sierra Club Senior Lead Organizing Representative Bonnie Swinford said. “Today, we celebrate the bipartisan STREAM Act’s passage and applaud Representative Matt Cartwright, Senator Bob Casey, and their colleagues in Congress for their continued efforts to address water pollution, protect the health of communities across the country, and revitalize local economies.”

“You can see acid mine drainage all across areas that have been mined for coal, turning our creeks and streams a dirty orange and red color,” said Sierra Club volunteer and East Tennessee resident Darrell J Coker. “This harmful acid mine drainage never goes away and requires ongoing water treatment. No one should have to live with dirty water, and the STREAM Act allows communities to use abandoned mine land funding from the IIJA to finally address these long-term water treatment needs. Increased congressional support to clean up legacy coal mining pollution is part of the solution to support safer and healthier communities in places like my home of East Tennessee and beyond.”