WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has awarded the Ohio Department of Natural Resources a $10,285,761 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation grant. These funds will go toward reclamation and restoration projects in previously mined sights across the state, including closing dangerous mine shafts, eliminating high walls, reclaiming unstable slopes, treating acid mine drainage, and restoring water supplies damaged by mining.
“Ohio coal communities helped build and power this country and they deserve our respect and attention,” said Brown. “These funds will ensure they have the resources they need to restore the land and keep their communities safe.”
Brown has been fighting for investments in Ohio’s coal communities. In March of 2017, he introduced the RECLAIM Act with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to create jobs and spur economic growth by reclaiming abandoned mining lands and restoring these lands and waters to develop them for future use. The RECLAIM Act aims to support the development of new economic and community development opportunities in impacted coal communities by utilizing $1 billion in existing funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to direct toward these communities.