Current Focus
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) was sweeping federal legislation regulating coal mining in the U.S. Prior to its original passage in 1977, the coal mining industry was largely unregulated, especially with regard to the environment. Over a century of environmentally insensitive mining practices took a huge toll on the land and water where mining occurred. But SMCRA changed the face of the coal mining industry into one with a significantly smaller environmental impact. SMCRA also provided a dedicated, but insufficient and declining, source of funds for states and tribes to address some of the most dangerous abandoned coal mines. Over the years, SMCRA has been amended several times, most recently on November 15, 2021 with the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). IIJA provides Pennsylvania and the nation with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further address the Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) caused by the unregulated mining practices of the past. Through IIJA funding, Pennsylvania will receive approximately $244.9 annually through 2036.
The PA AML Campaign advocates for the policies and programs supporting abandoned mine reclamation through SMCRA and the provisions of IIJA, benefitting coal-impacted communities of Pennsylvania and beyond..
Members
The Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Land (PA AML) Campaign is a no-budget, no-letterhead group of organizations and individuals including, but not limited to local, regional, state-wide, and national non-profit organizations, county conservation districts, townships and municipalities, trade associations, landowners, business owners, sportsmen clubs, and individuals.
• Citizens Coal Council
• Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR)
• Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
• Mountain Watershed Association
• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts
• Pennsylvania Environmental Council
• Trout Unlimited and many of its chapters
• Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (WPCAMR)
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
We are advised by state and national agencies, associations, and commissions such as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (PA DEP BAMR), National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs, and Interstate Mining Compact Commission.
