[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H3097-H3098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECLAIMING ABANDONED MINE LANDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring 
awareness to our Nation's abandoned mine lands.
  Our abandoned mine lands desperately need to be reclaimed to prevent 
harm to our communities and to our environment. When these sites are 
cleaned up and mines reclaimed, it improves the quality of our air, 
soil, and water.
  Pennsylvania has more abandoned mine sites than any other State in 
the country. In fact, my district, Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional 
District, has more abandoned mine sites than each of the remaining 434 
congressional districts combined.
  This past September, my Democratic colleague from Pennsylvania's 
Eighth Congressional District, Matt Cartwright, joined me to introduce 
H.R. 4248, the Abandoned Mine Land Reauthorization Act.
  The abandoned mine land trust fund is set to expire in September 
2021, and this bill will not only reauthorize the fund for the next 15 
years but help spur economic growth in coal communities impacted by 
mine closures.

  For more than 40 years, this program has properly closed more than 
46,000 open mine portals. To continue this momentum, the AML trust fund 
must be reauthorized.
  There is still work to be done.
  This past month, I had the pleasure of visiting the Anderson Creek 
watershed in Clearfield County. Reed Johnson, a constituent of mine who 
has owned property in that area for 30 years, has been working 
tirelessly ever since to clean up the abandoned mine site on that 
property.
  Mr. Speaker, what was mined on that site was clay, and it was clay 
that was made to manufacture kiln bricks, the kiln bricks that were 
used to produce the steel that allowed the industrial revolution to 
occur and allowed us to provide the arsenal of democracy to win World 
War I and World War II. But we have a legacy that we need to clean up 
there.
  During that visit, Reed welcomed me, as well as State and local 
officials, for a tour of the property. One of the other attendees was 
Clearfield County Conservation District's Watershed Specialist Kelly 
Williams.
  The impact of abandoned mine lands on our environment is obvious, but 
there are community and economic considerations as well. Ms. Williams 
underscored the impact that abandoned mine lands have, not only on the 
environment, but on our communities as a whole.
  Outdoor recreation is very popular in the area, specifically, boating 
and fishing. When abandoned mine lands are left untouched for too long, 
they have

[[Page H3098]]

an incredibly damaging impact on local waterways.
  When outdoor recreation is a big part of the local economy, our 
communities feel that financial loss. Ms. Williams estimated that 
Clearfield County could lose as much as $3 million a year due to this 
impact.
  Reed continues to work to raise awareness about abandoned mine lands. 
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says the 
project would take years to finish, but I know Reed won't stop 
fighting.
  In the meantime, Congress needs to reauthorize the AML trust fund to 
ensure abandoned mine land sites are reclaimed, our environment is 
protected, and our communities are safe.

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