[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 98 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2996) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal rear ending 
     September 30, 2010, and for other purposes:

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the manager's 
amendment put forth by Chairman Dicks to H.R. 2996, the Department of 
the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
2010. This manager's amendment incorporates an amendment I offered to 
allow funds appropriated to the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to be 
used as the non-Federal share of the cost of certain environmental 
restoration projects that repair acid mine drainage from coal abandoned 
mines.
  For many years, the Interior Appropriations bill authorized OSM to 
provide matching funds for federally-funded projects related to 
treatment or abatement of acid mine drainage from abandoned mines. The 
language was inadvertently removed from the appropriations bill several 
years ago and today I am pleased that Chairman Dicks agreed to collect 
this oversight by restoring this important provision in the fiscal year 
2010 legislation.
  Communities that are impacted by environmental damage related to 
abandoned mines tend to be in economically distressed areas of the 
country. These communities have small budgets and little, if any, money 
for environmental restoration projects. Furthermore, the economic 
downtown has caused budget shortfalls for many municipalities and 
providing basic services such as police and fire protection takes 
precedent over environmental restoration.
  Permitting OSM to use these funds to serve as the local match will 
help meet the department's mission of ensuring that citizens and the 
environment are protected during mining and that the land is restored 
to beneficial use when mining is finished. This provision will not cost 
the federal government any additional dollars.
  In closing, I would like to thank Chairman Dicks for including my 
amendment in this legislation and urge my colleagues to support this 
manager's amendment.

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