PENNSYLVANIA, July 26 - opportunities, lowering land values and leaving desolate

communities when the mines are exhausted; and

WHEREAS, Abandoned mine lands ruin sites for further

residential, forestry, commercial or agricultural uses and

threaten the human health and safety of people living in our

coal field communities; and

WHEREAS, The estimated cost of Pennsylvania's abandoned mine-

related cleanup is $15 billion; and

WHEREAS, Reclamation of abandoned mine sites can add to the

economy by creating jobs, increasing community pride, increasing

property values, decreasing stress-related costs through stream-

based recreation, restoring the health of the environment and

providing future sites for commercial and industrial endeavors;

and

WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States enacted the

Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the Surface

Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which

reclaimed areas abandoned before 1977 and established the modern

environmental standards requiring mine operators to reclaim

their sites; and

WHEREAS, The scope of the abandoned mine problem continues to

outpace available resources; and

WHEREAS, In 2006 Congress reauthorized the SMCRA, which

extended fee collection through 2021, increased the set-aside

for acid mine drainage from 10% to 30% and provided for

mandatory distribution of abandoned mine lands money; and

WHEREAS, The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund is not derived

from a tax and is not funded from the United States Treasury;

and

WHEREAS, Money in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund is

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