In the News
Major progress for action to address acid mine drainage crisis as STREAM Act passes House with strong bipartisan supportAppalachian Voices
Washington,
July 27, 2022
"We are grateful for Congressman Cartwright’s leadership on this key issue,” said Bobby Hughes, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR).
Today, advocates for abandoned mine clean up and clean water across the country celebrated as the U.S. House passed the Safeguarding Treatment for the Restoration of Ecosystems from Abandoned Mines (STREAM) Act — bipartisan legislation that would guarantee that major new investments in abandoned mine land clean up can be directed to address the acid mine drainage (AMD) crisis that threatens waterways across the country. After passing out of committee with unanimous support earlier this month, the bill passed the House 391 to 9.
The STREAM Act was introduced with bipartisan support in the House in March by Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA) and Rep. David McKinley (WV) and in the Senate by Sen. Bob Casey (PA) and Sen. Mike Braun (IN). The bill addresses a technical issue in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. While that legislation secured $11.3 billion in critically important investments for coal communities via the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program, a limitation on this funding that does not exist in the current AML program prevents these investments from being put in set-aside accounts for the long-term treatment of AMD. The STREAM Act provides a fix to that issue, ensuring states can use these landmark investments for the perpetual treatment that acid mine drainage requires. Read more here. |