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Confluence: May 2003, Vol. 5, No. 3
In Focus

Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program
The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund was created as a method of taxing coal producers for the costs of restoring lands mined and abandoned or left improperly restored prior to August 3, 1977. Coal production is taxed at the rate of 35 cents per ton of surface-mined coal, 15 cents for each ton of underground-mined coal, and ten cents per ton of lignite. All active U.S. coal mining operations must pay the tax. Taxes collected are deposited in the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund, which disburses funds to pay for abandoned mine land reclamation projects. From the fund's inception in January 30, 1978, to the end of 2002, approximately $6.5 billion has been collected. The current fund balance is approximately $1.5 billion.

On September 30, 2004, the AML tax program is set to expire. Legislation has been introduced to renew the tax, but its future is uncertain. In the Bush administration's 2004 budget plan, President Bush recommended a 14 percent cut in spending on abandoned mine reclamation projects, from $203 million to $174 million. Some opposition has been voiced to this plan; according to various state officials and government departments, more than $2 billion in cleanup projects await funding. According to the Office of Surface Mining, the federal department in charge of the program, the Bush administration "plans to prepare an extension to the coal fee authority," but budget documents released to date do not indicate such plans.

To view AML fund statistics and for more information on the program, visit the Office of Surface Mining Web site at http://www.osmre.gov

Additional information about acid mine drainage remediation, with a focus on Appalachian remediation efforts, can be found at the Web site of the Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable, www.easterncoal.org

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