MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia, today to announce more than $140 million in fiscal year 2023 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to address dangerous and polluting abandoned mine lands , create good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and catalyze economic opportunity in coal communities across West Virginia. During his visit, Dr.
“Our mission at OSMRE, at its core, is about making people safer, cleaning up the environment, and encouraging economic development in coal communities,” said. “What we will be able to accomplish due to the historic investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is an unprecedented, once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
These Bipartisan Infrastructure Law AML funds supplement traditional annual AML grants, which are funded by active coal operations through OSMRE. During his visit, Dr. Feldgus toured the Richard Mine acid mine drainage treatment plant, which is in part funded by AML grants to West Virginia. The facility will extract rare earth elements from acid mine drainage emerging from the defunct Richard Mine and then discharge treated, clean water into Deckers Creek.