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President’s Proposed Budget for OSMRE Invests $301.9 million in Communities

Date

Date: March 9, 2023
Contact: news@osmre.gov

Abandoned Coal Mine Reclamation and Environmental Protection Remain Top Priorities

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity and economic growth for decades to come.

“The President’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal makes critical investments in America’s coal communities that lay a stronger foundation for generations to come,” said Laura Daniel-Davis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. “These investments will create good-paying jobs and encourage the economic growth of coal communities across the country.”

At the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the budget will:

  • Reclaim abandoned mine lands. A proposed $174.6 million will restore eligible lands and waters mined or left inadequately reclaimed before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act enactment in 1977.
    • $135 million is for the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grants program to return legacy coal mining sites to productive use, foster local economic development, and help create good-paying jobs.
    • $20.4 million for state reclamation program oversight, expanding water treatment grants to mitigate acid mine drainage, federal reclamation operations and projects, and reclamation program development.
    • $19.1 million for technology development and transfer, financial management, and executive direction.
  • Regulate coal mining and provide technical assistance. A request of $127.3 million will help OSMRE and states regulate active coal mining activities and provide technical training and assistance to state regulatory programs.
    • $90.6 million for environmental protection programs, of which $65 million is for state and Tribal regulatory grants.
    • $36.7 million for technology development and transfer, financial management and executive direction activities.

For more information on the President’s FY 2024 Budget, please visit:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.

– OSMRE –

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement carries out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 in cooperation with States and Tribes. OSMRE’s objectives are to ensure that coal mining activities are conducted in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, to ensure that the land is restored to beneficial use after mining, and to mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned coal mines.