The Biden administration announced on Dec. 20 that $1.3 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will go toward cataloging and reclaiming Alaska’s derelict coal mines over a 15-year period. Nationally, it’s part of a $16 billion initiative to address coal pollution.
The Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcementwill oversee the project on a national level. Sharon Buccino, the office’s deputy director, said the project’s goals go beyond cleaning up the old mines.
“The work and the purpose of this program is designed to not only reclaim the land, but allow it to be repurposed for other uses going forward,” she said.
In the first phase of the project, the U.S. Geological Survey will work with state agencies to inventory Alaska’s abandoned mines. They’ll then pinpoint which mines pose the greatest threats to nearby communities — and which have the greatest potential for restoration.
One possible target for the funding could be Healy Valley in the Interior, where many strip pits were left abandoned after commercial coal mining operations ended. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, that operation left behind over 300 acres of land with dangerously steep walls and piles of waste.
To date, the Bureau of Land Management has inventoried over 200 derelict mines in Alaska. However, the federal grant will exclusively restore the state’s coal mines. Other polluted sites, like the Red Devil mercury mine in southwest Alaska, will be left out of the project.
Turning abandoned mines into trails, bike paths and jobs
Buccino said some abandoned mine lands could have recreational uses. For example, rail lines that used to carry loads of coal away could be turned into trails and bike paths. The sites could also have commercial use — Buccino said some participating states have proposed using their funds to harvest valuable materials from the drainage and tailings left over from mining operations.
Buccino said the equipment and skills required to clean up and seal off abandoned mines are often the same ones required to dig them in the first place — meaning, there’s an opportunity for people who worked in the mining industry to get involved in the reclamation project.
“That provides jobs, in the sense of economic development,” she said. “It helps communities design, and then build, both a resilient and prosperous future for themselves.”
The new administration won’t necessarily spell the end
While funding for the project comes from a law signed by former President Biden, Buccino says she’s confident the cleanup won’t be interrupted by the Trump administration. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is an act of Congress, so the program will continue unless Congress takes action to end it.
“It's producing results, like stabilizing dangerous high walls in Alaska, or putting out mine fires, which I saw in Colorado,” she said. “I think it's going to be hard for Congress to say those aren't important.”
