Working to Reclaim Tennessee's Abandoned Mines
By: U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis

According to information compiled by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining, $33 million will be needed to reclaim Tennessee's high priority abandoned mines. At the annual amount that Tennessee receives of $1 million to $1.5 million a year, it will take over a quarter of a century to reclaim these hazardous mines. The benefits gained from reclamation of abandoned mine lands include protection of life, health, safety, improved environmental and social conditions, better use of natural resources, and increased property value. Reclamation also serves as an impetus for creating sorely needed jobs.

There are over two hundred eighty identified abandoned mine problem areas in Tennessee. Many of these contaminated areas contain numerous abandoned mines. These mines and the hazards associated with them such as acid mine drainage, highwalls, gob piles, cave-ins, and industrial waste pose direct threats to our safety, quality of life, and the environment. It has been estimated that forty two thousand Tennesseans live within a mile of an abandoned mine site. The aforementioned mines are most commonly referred to as priority one and two sites. A majority of these high priority sites are scattered throughout twenty counties, with fourteen of the twenty in the 4th Congressional District. They are Bledsoe, Campbell, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Grundy, Marion, Morgan, Pickett, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Van Buren, and White.

Growing up around these abandoned mines, in Fentress County, I understand the problems associated with them and know of the importance of reclaiming them. I have initiated a campaign in the U.S. House, with the support of my colleagues in our congressional delegation, to make sure Tennessee receives the appropriate amount of money needed to properly address these hazards in a timely fashion. At the end of last year I authored and sent a letter to the Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee asking for an increase in funds in the Abandoned Mines Land Fund (AML). It is also worth noting that Governor Bredesen and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Betsy Child have voiced support for the full funding for Tennessee in the AML Fund.

Tennessee is considered a non-primacy state in terms of federal funding since there is no state regulatory program in place. The state gave up the mine inspection program in the mid-1980s. In our letter to the Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee, we requested that the abandoned mine program be slightly altered so states with abandoned mine reclamation oversight programs that monitor sites and develop reclamation plans be guaranteed minimum funding, regardless of primacy. The AML program should increase the amount of money going to areas where the damage still exists. This means allocating more funds to states with abandoned mine lands, not necessary current production.

Reclaiming these mines is an engine for job growth. The Association of General Contractors estimates that every million in AML monies creates fifty nine jobs. This equates to over five hundred thousand new jobs across the country that reclamation could create. Furthermore, the AML fund has and will continue to enable Tennessee to correct a wide array of public health and safety hazards. This is a necessary investment in rural communities struggling with the consequences of past mining practices.

Congressman Davis is a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure, Science, and Agriculture Committees. Davis can be reached by phone in Washington, D.C. at (202) 225-6831.