The federal government recently released a report suggesting that Wyoming is not spending enough of its federal reclamation money to clean up old coal mines.
The report was released on March 30 by the U.S. Interior Department’s Inspector General, stating that between 2008 and 2012, out of the $463 million of reclamation money Wyoming received, $329 million was spent on non-coal related issues. Only $134 million was used towards coal mines, approximately 29 percent of reclamation money.
“Nobody puts more money into coal mines than we do,” Executive Director of the Wyoming Mining Association, Travis Deti said. “That being said, for the amount of money we put in we still try to prioritize it back into the mines.”
According to the Abandoned Mine agreements between the state and federal government, the rules do not require Wyoming to spend all of its reclamation money on coal mining related issues. However, the state must make coal projects it’s number one priority, and mainly to clean up old coal sites and consequential hazards.
“This is a political issue, but it more pertains to mines back east,” Deti said. “I would hope that once the money comes back from Washington that it is spent wisely.”
The report raises issue with the state’s prioritization of spending of these federal dollars.
“Towns like Rock Springs, Wyoming, currently face significant subsidence issues due to historical coal mining,” the report states. “Reclaiming these sites will likely cost nearly $100 million; however, Wyoming is diverting AML grant funds to other projects instead of giving coal reclamation projects top priority.”
The report places responsibility with those responsible for oversight and provides suggestions for more efficient oversight.
“The federal government isn’t necessarily upset with Wyoming, they are upset with their own federal regulators at the OSMRE who aren’t being strict enough with the management of the AML trust fund,” UW Engineering graduate Jacoby Johnson said.
Johnson said he does not understand the frustration from the federal government.
“This doesn’t make much sense to me because the regulations behind the allocation of the AML are vague in nature and spending the funds on projects relating to a reclamation project such as the maintenance on mining roads, is not prohibited,” Johnson said.
Keith Guille, spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, also disagrees with the federal report.
“We can understand what they were trying to do,” Guille said. “Unfortunately, they missed the mark here.” They obviously don’t quite understand the rules and regulations under [federal law]. We’ve spent a lot of money, time and effort dealing with coal, specifically with Sweetwater County and Rock Springs.”
