Federal Help For Mining Cleanup?

A number of conservation organizations and public officials are rallying behind a bill that would designate at least $1 billion in federal funds to clean up abandoned mine sites in Pennsylvania, many of them in the northcentral region.

Senate Bill 2616, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2006, has attracted support from organizations as diverse as the Western Pa. Conservancy and the coal industry.

Money would be used for remediation at abandoned strip mines, spoil piles, mine entries and mine shafts. This bill would also pay for health care costs of employees from mine companies that have folded or declared bankruptcy.