A local lawmaker is advancing a bill that would help with ongoing cleanup at abandoned coal mines as well as foster economic development in communities harmed by their closure.
U.S. Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson who represents a portion of Butler County in the 15th District of Pennsylvania is one of two lawmakers to introduce the Abandoned Mine Land Reauthorization Act.
This act would reauthorize a trust fund originally established in 1977 and set to expire in September of 2021. It would also expand the authority of states to collect fees at current levels for 15 years as well as provide for the delegation of emergency programs.
Pennsylvania’s 15th District has the most abandoned mine land sites of any district in the country.