Christine Ho, christine.ho@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC – New reporting confirms that state Abandoned Mine Lands programs are no longer receiving Congressionally-approved bipartisan funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law following the Trump Administration’s illegal funding freeze. These investments are helping put thousands of people to work repairing land and waterways damaged by mining, treating polluted waters, sealing and filling abandoned mine entries, and developing erosion prevention measures to protect against dangerous land and mudslides. Analysis indicates these investments will create 2,970 new jobs and nearly $10 billion in economic growth in Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia alone.
After the funding freeze went into effect, Judge McConnell with the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order in late January, putting the funding freeze on hold. The Trump Administration sought to lift the restraining order, but on Tuesday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied the request.
Judge McConnell directed the Trump administration to abide by the restraining order again this week as he found they had violated it by continuing to withhold the funding.
In response, Sierra Club Campaign Organizing Strategist Bonnie Swinford released the following statement:
“The Trump Administration’s illegal funding freeze threatens the major progress states are making to clean up dangerous toxic pollution and create jobs in Appalachia and coal-impacted communities across the country. By halting the bipartisan investments in the AML program, Trump is taking aim at the families that have borne the brunt of the negative impacts of abandoned mine pollution. Congress passed this funding to create unprecedented opportunities to make our communities safer and cleaner while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and countless economic opportunities in the process.
“Abandoned mine lands are a liability for the people who live near them, often posing flooding and landslide risks, ravaging landscapes, and harming health. They drive away residents and businesses because of the dangers they create. Now, those risks will linger and the jobs created by cleaning them up could be lost because of this unsound and illegal attempt to bottle up investments that already have bipartisan support.
“The families and communities that powered our country for generations deserve the support of the president to ensure they have a bright future – but Trump’s freeze will leave them behind yet again. It is vital that the Abandoned Mine Lands program is restarted immediately to ensure these investments can get to work strengthening our communities and our economy.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.