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Interior Department Awards Oklahoma $2.8M for Mine Reclamation

Oklahoma Conservation Commission

Oklahoma is getting $2.8 million from the federal government to help reclaim and repurpose abandoned coal mines.

A total of $170.9 million in abandoned mine reclamation grants is being provided to states and tribes this year through the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

The Oklahoma Conservation Commission says the state has a $120 million backlog of work to do to make abandoned coal mining sites safe. Oklahoma’s coal region is comprised of 16 counties in the eastern part of the state.

"In addition to eliminating health and safety hazards, the state receives multiple economic benefits from the annual [abandoned mine land] grant in the form of disposable income and the purchase of goods and services," Oklahoma Conservation Commission Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program Director Robert Toole said in a statement.

"Grant funding expended translates into jobs in areas such as construction, labor, equipment and other services. For every AML dollar spent for construction, $1.59 is returned to the local economy," Toole said.

The reclamation grants are funded in part by a fee collected on all coal produced in the United States. The funds have contributed to the nationwide closure of more than 45,000 abandoned underground mine shafts and openings, the elimination of over 960 miles of dangerous highwalls and the restoration of over 850,000 acres of clogged streams and land.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.