Contact: Thomas Young, Sierra Club, thomas.young@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- On Tuesday, June 15th, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will host an oversight hearing focused on the unfulfilled coal reclamation obligations that threaten coal communities across the country. Watch the hearing live on the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats’ YouTube page.
As the coal industry continues its steady and permanent decline, it has become increasingly clear that coal mining companies -- and regulators -- have failed to account for billions of dollars worth of reclamation obligations. Without intervention, the costs to clean up the mines and protect environmental and public safety will fall on the local communities and taxpayers. These issues affect coal mining communities across the country, from Appalachia, to the Powder River Basin, to Navajo and Hopi lands.
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 was intended to ensure that all coal mines would be fully reclaimed, either by the mine operator directly, or by a government regulator using funds from bonds provided by the mine operator. Several events over recent years reveal deficiencies in the design and implementation of SMCRA, including the Blackjewel bankruptcy that allowed the company to abandon dozens of mines, and the placement of ERP Environmental Fund into "special receivership" to avoid forfeiture of its mines and exhaustion of West Virginia’s Special Reclamation Fund.
What: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources oversight hearing: “Environmental Justice for Coal Country: Supporting Communities Through the Energy Transition."
When: Tuesday, June 15th at 10 AM ET
Where: The hearing will be livestreamed on the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats’ YouTube page.
Who:
- Presiding: The Honorable Alan Lowenthal, Chair
- Democratic witnesses:
- Mary Cromer, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Inc.
- Joe Pizarchik, former OSMRE Director in the Obama administration
- Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director of Tó Nizhóní Ání
- Ben Nuvamsa, former Chairman of the Hopi Tribe
- Republican witnesses:
- Kyle Wendtland, Wyoming DEQ
- Rickie Nez, Chair of the Navajo Nation Council’s Resources and Development Committee
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.