(WASHINGTON) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced that the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining has awarded Pennsylvania a grant of $21.2 million to help reclaim dangerous abandoned mine lands.

The Office of Surface Mining estimated last year that in Pennsylvania almost $1.04 billion worth of high-priority problems remain and more than 1,649,959 Pennsylvanians are living less than a mile from a dangerous abandoned mine site. Thousands more live every day with the environmental impacts of abandoned, un-reclaimed coal mines.

The Abandoned Mine Land program, which provides grants to states to reclaim abandoned mine sites, was scheduled to expire September 30. Congress extended the program through June 30. "The Abandoned Mine Land program has made thousands of Americans living in the coalfields safer, but the job is not finished," said Norton. "Even after 25 years of extraordinary national effort, we still have almost $3 billion worth of high-priority hazards to health and safety waiting to be cleaned up. "

"Our Administration remains committed to reauthorizing AML fee collection authority," said Norton. "We are working with Congress now to bring reform to the AML program, speed up the elimination of high priority health and safety abandoned coal mines and to provide for the expedited payment of unappropriated balances to certified States and Tribes."

High-priority AML problems threaten public health and safety and could cause substantial physical harm to persons or property. They include clogged streams and stream lands, dangerous highwalls, impoundments, piles, embankments and slides, hazardous or explosive gases, hazardous water bodies, underground mine fires, surface burning, portals and vertical openings, subsidence and polluted drinking water.

The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) collects fees on current coal mining to fund reclamation of coal mine sites abandoned before 1977.

"The grants we've just awarded will give Pennsylvania's reclamation program some of what it needs to continue working on this enormous problem," said Norton. "Our administration is working to better protect the people of Pennsylvania and eliminate these serious dangers decades sooner."

The AML Program award will provide the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) funding for the following AML activities:

• Non-Emergency Administrative Costs ($2,768,291);
• Non-Emergency Non-Water Supply Project Costs ($13,841,420);
• Non-Emergency Water Supply Project Costs ($1,449, 070);
• Appalachian Clean Stream Initiative Costs ($874,180); and
• Ten Percent Set-Aside Acid Mine Drainage Program Costs ($2,360,697).

Pennsylvania's FY 2005 grant performance period is January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2007, with the utilization of 111 full time equivalents.

High resolution photos of AML problems are available online at www.osmre.gov.