Nick Rahall: “I join in the support of this resolution. It is no secret that for many years I have worked to liberate the unspent…”

“I join in the support of this resolution. It is no secret that for many years I have worked to liberate the unspent balance in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund for its intended purpose. And that is, the restoration of abandoned coal mines sites which pose a threat to human health, safety and the environment of coalfield residents. The program has enjoyed success, to date, $1.4 billion worth of public health and safety coal related problems have been addressed. Yet, at the same time, there exists an unspent balance in the fund of an estimated $1.9 billion as of the end of fiscal year 2002. The expenditure of these funds is certainly need. There remains about $2.8 billion or so worth of outstanding high priority problems. While record keeping is sporadic, just last week the New York Times reported there have been 78 deaths in abandoned or inactive mines since January 2000, including 26 this year. And the West Virginia Charleston Gazette noted in an September 13th editorial: "If West Virginia could simply get its share of the $1.4 billion locked up in the Abandoned Mine Lands reclamation fund, hundreds, if not thousands, of miners could be put to work cleaning up the industry's past messes." It should be noted that this fund is not financed by general taxpayer dollars, but rather, from a fee assessed on every ton of mined coal.”