PRINTER'S NO. 1015
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 154
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY YUDICHAK, ARGALL, LANGERHOLC, SCAVELLO, MARTIN,
VOGEL, STEFANO, PITTMAN, BARTOLOTTA, MENSCH, HUTCHINSON AND
GORDNER, JULY 26, 2021
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JULY 26, 2021
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Congress of the United States to reauthorize
2 provisions related to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.
3 WHEREAS, Substantial coal mining has occurred in the
4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for more than 130 years and the
5 industry has been a significant employer of our residents for
6 most of these years; and
7 WHEREAS, At least 44 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are
8 affected by abandoned coal mines; and
9 WHEREAS, At least 1.4 million Pennsylvanians live within one
10 mile of abandoned mine lands; and
11 WHEREAS, Abandoned mines in Pennsylvania pose serious
12 hazards, including dangerous shafts, mountains of black waste,
13 scarred landscapes and acidic drainage, which has polluted more
14 than 5,500 miles of Pennsylvania streams and other hazards
15 threatening human health and safety; and
16 WHEREAS, Abandoned mines and abandoned mine lands create
17 negative impacts on local economies by destroying recreational
 1 opportunities, lowering land values and leaving desolate
2 communities when the mines are exhausted; and
3 WHEREAS, Abandoned mine lands ruin sites for further
4 residential, forestry, commercial or agricultural uses and
5 threaten the human health and safety of people living in our
6 coal field communities; and
7 WHEREAS, The estimated cost of Pennsylvania's abandoned mine-
8 related cleanup is $15 billion; and
9 WHEREAS, Reclamation of abandoned mine sites can add to the
10 economy by creating jobs, increasing community pride, increasing
11 property values, decreasing stress-related costs through stream-
12 based recreation, restoring the health of the environment and
13 providing future sites for commercial and industrial endeavors;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States enacted the
16 Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the Surface
17 Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which
18 reclaimed areas abandoned before 1977 and established the modern
19 environmental standards requiring mine operators to reclaim
20 their sites; and
21 WHEREAS, The scope of the abandoned mine problem continues to
22 outpace available resources; and
23 WHEREAS, In 2006 Congress reauthorized the SMCRA, which
24 extended fee collection through 2021, increased the set-aside
25 for acid mine drainage from 10% to 30% and provided for
26 mandatory distribution of abandoned mine lands money; and
27 WHEREAS, The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund is not derived
28 from a tax and is not funded from the United States Treasury;
29 and
30 WHEREAS, Money in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund is
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 1 derived from a per-ton fee assessed on coal mined by the active
2 mining industry that can only be used for purposes authorized
3 under Title IV of the SMCRA; and
4 WHEREAS, The deposit of mined coal fees into the Abandoned
5 Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the SMCRA is set to
6 expire in 2021; and
7 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has relied upon the Abandoned Mine
8 Reclamation Fund as a primary source of money to clean up toxic
9 mine water in our water supplies, restore land, extinguish mine
10 fires and eliminate other dangerous abandoned mine hazards;
11 therefore be it
12 RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
13 General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the
14 Congress of the United States to reauthorize the collection of
15 fees on mined coal at 28¢ per ton on surface mined coal, 12¢ per
16 ton on deep mined coal and 8¢ per ton on mined lignite; and be
17 it further
18 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
19 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to extend
20 the collection of fees through 2036, exempt the Surface Mining
21 Control and Reclamation Act Title IV grants from sequestration
22 and require all Title IV sequestered money to be transferred to
23 states retroactively to fiscal year 2013; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
25 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to raise the
26 mandatory distribution from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund
27 for minimum program states to $5 million; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
29 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to establish
30 in the budget of the United States Office of Surface Mining
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 1 Reclamation and Enforcement a direct line item for emergency
2 projects to reflect the need for remediating abandoned mine land
3 emergencies in all states and tribes; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
5 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to continue
6 mandatory distribution of future allocated reclamation money and
7 to maintain the current definition of "reclamation priorities"
8 to adequately address all land and water problems created by
9 abandoned mines, including water polluted by acid mine drainage;
10 and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
12 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to use
13 future allocations from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund in
14 ways that promote reclamation, leverage private investment,
15 encourage development where appropriate and complement or match
16 other funds available for redevelopment of abandoned mine land
17 sites; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
19 Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United States to limit the
20 transfer of interest generated by the Abandoned Mine Reclamation
21 Fund to the Combined Benefit Fund to defray health costs for
22 retired miners and their dependents whose companies are bankrupt
23 or are no longer in business and maintain the SMCRA 30% set-
24 aside option.
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