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Introduced Version Senate Concurrent Resolution 202 History

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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 202

By Senators Blair (Mr. President), Clements, and Hamilton

[Introduced June 24, 2021]

Urging the federal government to allocate $8 billion for coal mine reclamation funding to the State of West Virginia to reclaim forfeited mine sites and to revitalize struggling West Virginia coal communities, workers, and their families.

Whereas, West Virginia has a storied history of being a nationwide leader in coal production for the United States, helping power the country through such events as World War II and beyond; and

Whereas, West Virginia coal miners and their families have endured many struggles and hardships in their endeavors to produce power for the country; and

Whereas, Some West Virginia miners paid the ultimate sacrifice in tragic coal mine accidents such as the Sago Mine disaster, the Farmington Mine disaster, the Monongah Mine disaster, the Aracoma Alma Mine accident, and others; and

Whereas, The State of West Virginia recognizes the current national shift towards alternative energy sources, but continues to recognize the need for coal production; and

Whereas, Keeping workers in West Virginia employed and maintaining a tax base for the State of West Virginia is integral for its very survival, while also having a positive environmental and economic impact on these forfeited mine sites; and

Whereas, There is no “one size fits all” solution for the State of West Virginia, and by having federal moneys available for the reclamation of forfeited mines in West Virginia, local solutions for particularized mine sites can best benefit the surrounding communities as a whole; and

Whereas, Retraining coal miners for the purpose of reclaiming abandoned and/or forfeited coal mines can be easily done with minimal retraining costs, as many miners are intimately familiar with the abandoned mines from their previous years of work there; and

Whereas, West Virginia coal miners have an average age of 30 to 40 years old, while the average age of an unemployed coal miner in West Virginia is 47, and by working in these reclaimed mine sites for an expected span of 10 to 15 years, this would allow many unemployed coal mine workers in an aging workforce to get to retirement age; and

Whereas, There have been problems with coal companies in the State of West Virginia with being able to obtain loans for working capital in the banking and insurance industry because of federal regulations and restrictions, and pressure to reduce carbon emissions, this reclamation money could help ease this process; and

Whereas, West Virginia is a carbon-neutral state because of the vast expanse of trees and forests of the Appalachian Mountains that surround the entire state; and

Whereas, West Virginia land is being leased to out of state companies in the northeastern United States and in California so that they may use this land as a carbon credit, in order for those companies to maintain carbon neutral status, per the American Carbon Registry, and through one California-based project alone, over 281,000 acres have been used for this purpose across seven southern West Virginia counties, with no financial or other benefit to the State of West Virginia; and

Whereas, When the land is leased for this purpose, there are explicit restrictions and conditions placed upon the land, ensuring that leased land cannot be used for recreational, commercial, or residential purposes; and

Whereas, Five of the top 25 Bureau of Land Statistics areas associated with key coal occupations are in West Virginia, including #1 southern West Virginia non-metropolitan area, #3 Wheeling, West Virginia, #11, northern West Virginia non-metropolitan area, #23 Beckley, West Virginia, and #24 Charleston, West Virginia;

Whereas, According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2019, 22 counties in West Virginia had active coal mine operations; and

Whereas, According to this same data, there are a total of 231 active and inactive mine sites in West Virginia, with recent data indicating 162 of these mines currently being in operation; and

Whereas, A single mine site may have several mining permits associated with it (i.e. there are just under 1,800 permits currently active for the 162 mines in operation); and

Whereas, There are approximately 3,300 active bonds in West Virginia, and each permit issued to a coal company may have several bonds attached to it; and

Whereas, West Virginia must incentivize mine reclamation, and should not permit company liabilities to be transferred to the State of West Virginia, as is being done now; and

Whereas, There are a total of 30,788.96 current acres of forfeited mine sites in West Virginia, with only a fraction of these sites having already been reclaimed; and

Whereas, If these federal funds are released to the State of West Virginia, there is already a framework in place to spend the money for reclamation-based projects, as opposed to other states who may qualify for similar funding without such a framework; and

Whereas, This opportunity would be a chance to correct federal action and inaction over the years that have disproportionately impacted the State of West Virginia in a negative way; and

Whereas, Mine reclamation is directly linked to helping infrastructure through the cleanup of coal mine sites across West Virginia; and

Whereas, There has been a direct negative effect on the citizens of West Virginia’s coalfields and the coal economy due to the dramatic change in federal regulations on coal and coal-fired power plant emissions since 1976; and

Whereas, Due to the dramatic shift in environmental policy of the federal government over the last few decades, it would be fundamentally unfair for the State of West Virginia to bear the burden of the upkeep of these bankrupted coal mine sites; and

Whereas, When the money is released to the State of West Virginia, it then allows the state as a whole to assist with implementing other executive plans, such as the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Act, etc.; and

Whereas, The RECLAIM Act, H.R. 2156, would commit $1 billion to help clean up dangerous and polluting abandoned coal mines on public and private lands, which will spur immediate job creation and create the conditions for longer term, locally driven economic development efforts to build better, brighter futures in coal communities across the country; and

Whereas, Abandoned mine sites have already been leveraged to create jobs through sustained revitalization efforts, wildlife habitat and restoration, and water quality improvement, but frequently, funding is hard to come by, and the RECLAIM Act would alter that landscape; and

Whereas, By reauthorizing the Abandoned Mine Land Program, which is set to expire in September of 2021, money could benefit West Virginia reclamation efforts; and

Whereas, For all of the above reasons, West Virginia communities, workers, and families all stand to benefit greatly by the distribution of federal money to the state for the purposes of mine reclamation; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Legislature hereby urges the federal government to allocate $8 billion for coal mine reclamation funding to the State of West Virginia to reclaim forfeited mine sites and to revitalize struggling West Virginia coal communities, workers, and their families; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the West Virginia Legislature specifically requests that the federal government pass the RECLAIM Act of 2021, H.R. 2156, which would immediately disburse $1 billion in the Abandoned Mine Land fund, with about $200 million of that money being designated for the State of West Virginia; and, be it

Further Resolved, that the West Virginia Legislature hereby urges the federal government to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Land Program, which is set to expire in September of 2021, with a fee assessed on production of coal to be distributed to the states to fund reclamation projects; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation.

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