LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Biden administration has announced a $74,252,680 investment to create "good-paying" union jobs and reclaim abandoned mine lands (AML) in Kentucky.
The investment comes from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocates a total of $11.3 billion in AML funding over 15 years.
The funding will help clean up hazardous sites, as well as help communities eliminate dangerous environmental conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland traveled to Kentucky to make the announcement Thursday. Haaland was in Pineville and Lexington to see remediated sites, meet with state officials, and host a roundtable.
According to the Biden administration, AML funding will help states to remediate abandoned mines that are leaking methane. AML reclamation projects support jobs in coal communities and enable reclaimed hazardous land to be revitalized and redeveloped.
Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires funding to prioritize projects that employ dislocated coal industry workers. The law also requires allocations to be determined based on the number of tons of coal historically produced in each state, or on Indian lands, before August 3, 1977.
