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Coal-country aid: Struggling communities need Congress to act

Coal-country aid: Struggling communities need Congress to act

Some of the coal-field communities that once produced black gold are now patches of poverty, the industrial and environmental landscapes having shifted under their feet. Congress has the opportunity to pass a bill that would free $1 billion to jump-start economic development in these struggling communities. Congressmen from coal states, Democrats and Republicans alike, should lead the charge for passage.

Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., introduced the Reclaim Act, which would tap $1 billion from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The money — $200 million a year for five years — would be doled out to affected states for development projects on abandoned-mine sites. The projects would have the twin objectives of cleaning up the past and laying a foundation for the future. Importantly, community input would be part of the planning process.

Mr. Rogers hails from the heart of coal country. Kentucky, he says, has lost more than 11,000 mining jobs since 2009 alone. He has kindred spirits in Pennsylvania, where coal also has struggled. That’s why Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, has come out in support of it.

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Some opposition is understandable. The Hill reported that some Western officials oppose draining the cleanup fund or giving a huge allocation to Appalachia and that at least one congressman, Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., favors a smaller pilot project to start. More puzzling is that a Post-Gazette story on the bill Sunday described some of Pennsylvania’s Republican congressmen as on the fence or silent about it.

Conspicuously absent from the list of supporters is Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, a Centre County Republican described as having more abandoned mine land in his district than any other congressman in the nation. Mr. Thompson expressed support for the bill’s concept but said he wanted safeguards to ensure funds aren’t misused. Similarly, Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, said the act reflects “principles of environmental restoration and job creation” that he supports. But he said he must be assured that the funds will be used to address the environmental and health problems posed by abandoned mines.

Supporters should sit down with the holdouts, including Western congressmen, and address their concerns so the bill can move forward in a powerful bipartisan tide. Without that unity, the bill and struggling coal communities across Appalachia will be at the mercy of a gridlocked and tone-deaf Congress.

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First Published: August 5, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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